The Seattle Seahawks have an underrated wide receiver room as long as the key players stay healthy. Many national pundits see Jaxon Smith-Njigba and how much he outproduced the rest of Seattle's wideout corps last season, and assume the same will need to happen again in 2026.
That might happen, but if Tory Horton can stay healthy, he can likely help JSN out quite a bit. The issue is that no one knows if Horton can consistently be available for games. He had a metal rod inserted in his shin last November, and he appeared fully back to work in training camp.
Not now, though. He didn't play in the first preseason game, which might not have implied a major setback. Many players don't play in the preseason, as risking them to injury is nonsensical. But Horton also missed practice on Monday and might miss more time.
Tory Horton could be dealing with another injury issue for the Seattle Seahawks
According to the Tacoma News Tribune's Gregg Bell, head coach Mike Macdonald said that Horton was "working through some things," with an implication that those "things" had to deal with an injury instead of some off-field situation.
No timetable exists for the return of the wideout, and what isn't known for sure is whether he is hurt. Perhaps the team is simply holding him out of camp to give him some rest due to his 2025 shin problem. There is a possibility that Horton has a non-injury situation currently.
Still, the Seattle Seahawks would feel right in worrying about the long-term health of Tory Horton. He fell to the fifth round of the 2025 draft after suffering a knee injury in his final year at Colorado State. After a good start to his rookie season, in which he scored six total touchdowns in eight games, he missed the rest of the year with a shin injury.
Plenty of players have had their careers hindered by various injuries. That hopefully isn't the case with Horton, but things might be trending that way. He is fast and tall, but he is also thin. He is 6'2" but weighs less than 200 pounds. Horton might not have the girth to continuously take the punishment the NFL delivers.
Should he stay healthy consistently, based on his rookie start, he could turn into a very productive receiver for the Seahawks, playing off the brilliance of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and seeing a lot of one-on-one coverage. He has the speed and quickness to expose defenders.
Again, as long as he can stay healthy. He hasn't been able to do that so far. It appears he might be struggling with a new issue, though maybe the problem lies elsewhere and can be quickly remedied. Otherwise, 12s won't quit worrying for the foreseeable future that Horton will be hurt easily, lowering his overall success and impact.
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