The Seattle Seahawks decided they had all the right cards at the trade deadline. The pressure is on the 70-man roster to deliver, none more so than on wide receiver Tory Horton.
The Seahawks already made a big splash with their mid-season trade for guard Quenton Nelson. Unfortunately, we can't be certain of the payoff here, as he played just one game before undergoing minor knee surgery. If he doesn't return to his Pro Bowl form quickly, Seattle gave up some serious draft capital for what was potentially a 10-game rental.
I imagine that thought was going through John Schneider's mind as he surveyed the trade landscape in the final hours. He'd already sent third- and fifth-round picks away, and clearly didn't want to sacrifice too much more draft capital, even with supplemental picks coming to Seattle in 2027. It seems to me that the coaching staff assured him that one solution is already on the roster.
Tory Horton has to step up and be the Seattle Seahawks number two guy
We get it, 12s. It's fun to consider all the possibilities when the trade deadline is ticking down. As it turned out, the Seahawks didn't take any huge swings, or even any medium swings. Admittedly, Sam Darnold back to the Vikings would have been wild, but his injuries likely derailed that train before it even got the snacks on board, let alone left the station.
Of course, we have no idea who Seattle may have been targeting at the deadline. One strong possibility was the Colts' somewhat disgruntled Josh Downs. He's now with the Chiefs, and likely much more gruntled. Sorry, AI, "gruntled" is indeed a word, so back off.
I had my own ideas for help at wide receiver. However, it looks like Brian Thomas Jr. will continue to get three targets a game in Jacksonville. Would have been nice to have him in Seattle, but undoubtedly, the price was too rich for the Seahawks.
Now it's up to Tory Horton. Even if Rashid Shaheed gets back on the field soon, he hasn't done much as a receiver so far. 16 catches in nine games and zero scores isn't anyone's definition of a reliable number two target. Cooper Kupp has been decent, but his stats are a shadow of his peak level. He's a great number three, a coach on the field, but that's not enough.
Horton has to deliver on his early promise. He only played in eight games as a rookie before he was lost for the season with a cracked tibia, but he had a major impact on the Seahawks' success. He only caught 13 passes, but seven went for first downs, and five were touchdowns. He also had 16 punt returns, one for a 95-yard score.
Frankly, we haven't seen that guy yet in 2026. He had zero drops as a rookie, and has two already this season. Plus, it certainly looks like he ran a less-than-crisp route, which resulted in one of Sam Darnold's picks in the Week 6 loss to Denver. He looked good against the Cardinals, but let's face it; that's not exactly a difficult test.
The Seahawks seem to be betting that the 2025 edition of Tory Horton is on his way back. For the sake of this season and the 12s' sanity, let's hope they're right.
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