Seahawks bring a hard-hitting veteran safety back to the squad

The Seattle Seahawks re-signed former safety Marquise Blair to shore up their defensive backfield. The only question is, can he still bring it on the field like he did back in the day?

The Seattle Seahawks brought a literal blast from the past back to the Emerald City yesterday. With all the turnover in personnel this offseason - Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, Jordyn Brooks, and of course Bobby Wagner - it's good to see a player we all know return to the team. We can't be certain how new safeties Rayshawn Jenkins and K'Von Wallace will perform. But with this man, we know what he brings to the field.

As I already mentioned, the Hawks moved on from both starting safeties and both inside linebackers of 2023. Well, one and a half of their starting safeties, as Julian Love eventually became the starter at strong safety - and clearly should have been all along, as attested by his Pro Bowl nod. He finally got the deal he deserved, so that's one big question mark resolved for Seattle. But it never hurts to add depth to your squad, which is why I love this new signing.

Seattle Seahawks re-sign former safety in low-risk, high-reward move

I hate to tell you 12s, but no, the Hawks did not bring Kam Chancellor back for the 2024 roster. Sorry, gang. However, they did bring back a player who hits almost as hard. That's right, Marquise Blair came in for a workout, and the Hawks didn't let him leave town without getting him to sign the dotted line. Okay, he worked out earlier in the week and was signed Friday, but in my heart, Schneider inked him to the deal immediately.

The question for Blair is, can he fulfill his early promise? That's actually a two-parter, as dedicated 12s know. First, can he escape the injury bug that plagued him his entire career? The Seahawks second-round pick got into 14 games as a rookie in 2019 and even started three games. Things were looking very promising for the hard-hitting Blair. Yes, I'll probably come up with a dozen more synonyms for a powerful, forceful tackler before I'm done. We all know the dude was a freaking missile on the field.

Injuries derailed that promise, though. He suffered a torn ACL just two games into the 2020 season, after winning the job at slot corner. Another injury ended his season after six games into the 2021 season. Seattle cut him from the 53-man roster in 2022, and he signed with the Panthers.

Being the new kid in town, he didn't get much of a chance there and only got into three games. Carolina cut him and Philadelphia picked him up, but never put him on the field. A torn Achilles tendon in April of 2023 took him out of action all of last year.

Other than the injuries, Blair's aggressive playing style occasionally created its own problems for him. That aggression led to maybe a few too many penalties for late hits. Most notable was one for roughing the passer against the Saints that allowed them to continue a drive that led to their game-wining field goal in a 13-10 loss. Still, that was a sweet hit he laid on Jameis Winston.

I'm hardly the only one who's happy to see him back. As quoted by Bob Condotta in The Seattle Times, Geno Smith had this to say about the return of his former teammate: "Really think the world of Marquise,’’ said quarterback Geno Smith. “(I’m) happy he was able to battle back from some injuries. When I saw him in the locker room, everyone was just so excited, all the guys that have been here with him. We know what he went through to get back, and we’re wishing him the best. Man, I can’t wait for him to get out there on the field and keep showing his stuff.”

We can't wait either, Geno. It's a crowded defensive backfield to be sure, but I'd love to see Blair, the guided missile personified, make the squad. I can't wait to see him make more of those devastating hits this season for the Seahawks.

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