The Seattle Seahawks roster moves have resembled a bit of musical chairs after re-signing a number of players who were previously released. The Seahawks have re-signed wide receiver John Ursua to their practice squad after releasing him earlier this week. Ursua was previously cut to make room for fellow receiver Penny Hart on the active roster.
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll’s response to the recent moves indicate the team was concerned Hart would get snagged from the practice squad by another NFL team. The Seahawks’ plan worked to perfection as Ursua passed through waivers unclaimed allowing Seattle to re-sign the receiver just as it had done in prior days with Shaquem Griffin among other players.
“We’re really excited about Penny getting a chance to be on the roster,” Carroll explained in his weekly press conference. “We love Johnny [John Ursua], too. There was concerns going through the final releases and stuff like that that we went through, and it just turned out this way. That’s like a no answer right there, sorry.”
Caroll on Ursua: ‘As Soon As It Clicks…He’s Going to Be a Factor’
Back in January, Carroll praised Ursua’s potential calling the receiver a “factor” once he gets acclimated to the NFL. During training camp, Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer noted that Ursua had made strides since his rookie season.
“J.U. has done a really, really good job picking up the system,” Schottenheimer explained, per Seahawks.com. “Last year was hard for him coming from Hawaii, more of that spread system where all they did was run a bunch of option routes and things like that. He has tremendous ability at the line of scrimmage, so as we work kind of our choice option games, he’s always been very natural at that. It’s some of the other things, the details and stuff that he’s been off on. This year, that’s been completely different. …So I love what we see from J.U., really just playing well and playing faster. He’s playing more rather than thinking a lot. Last year I think he was having to think, ‘OK, what’s this route mean, what’s my split?’ And this year, he looks much more relaxed, much more comfortable.”
David Moore Is the Favorite to be the Seahawks Third Receiver
It has been a challenging training camp for Ursua who landed on the COVID-19 list after a false positive test. Ursua then spent a good portion of camp sidelined with a lingering injury after being cleared from the COVID list. There has been plenty of uncertainty surrounding the Seahawks wide receiver group.
Seattle still has not received word on Josh Gordon’s reinstatement application as the receiver continues to practice away from the team. Phillip Dorsett is sidelined with an injury making David Moore the favorite to be the team’s third receiver. It will be worth watching to see if Hart gets any snaps against the Falcons in Week 1. Ursua’s path back to the active roster is much clearer given the revamped NFL roster rules as a response to COVID-19.
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Seahawks Make Final Decision on Wide Receiver’s Status