3 players the Seahawks should cut before the season
By Lee Vowell
Player 2: Seahawks defensive back Marquise Blair
I like Blair. At least, I like him as a football player when he actually plays. Blair is fast (I am assuming), a good tackler (I assume) and can be aggressive in run support (again, I assume). I am assuming all these things because to be fair, Blair stays hurt so much that we can only judge him in the little bit of time he has actually played.
Out of a possible 49 games in his three-year career, Blair has played only 22 of them. In the last two seasons, Blair has only played 8 combined games. He is good enough for Seattle to want to start him at slot corner the last two years even though he is truly a safety. But Blair can’t stay healthy enough to lock down the spot.
This is one big reason Seattle brought back Justin Coleman this offseason. Coleman was excellent in the slot for Seattle in 2017 and 2018 and he is still young enough (he is 29 years old) to be trusted to play another two or three seasons as a high-quality nickelback. This means Blair has no real home anymore other than a backup safety and a backup slot corner.
$638,936 of Blair’s $1,984,388 contract for this coming season is guaranteed. Seattle saves two-thirds of the money owed to Blair if he is released. It may not be much – just a bit over $1 million – but it could be enough to bring in a released veteran who can help the team more, and stay healthier, than Blair.