Getty The Seahawks could cut Chris Carson.
The Seattle Seahawks could move on from one of their key veterans.
In an article from DevinCsigi of Field Gulls on SB Nation listing several candidates who could be cut by the Seahawks after June 1, running back Chris Carson is one of the names listed. The longtime Seahawks veteran has served as the starting back since his rookie season back in 2017. However, he’s dealing with a serious neck injury, leaving uncertainty regarding his football future.
Cutting Carson now would save $4.6 million but would result in a dead cap hit of $3 million for this season and $1.5 million for next season.
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Why Seahawks Could Cut Carson
Releasing Carson would not only make sense from a salary cap standpoint, it makes sense from a roster personnel standpoint considering Seattle’s bloated depth chart at running back.
“There are a few reasons as to why Seattle might look to release Carson,” says DevinCsigi of SB Nation. “The first being the running back room is crowded with younger and outside of Rashaad Penny, who is playing on a one-year deal, far more cost controllable talent. The combined cap hits of Kenneth Walker lll, Deejay Dallas and Travis Homer will equate to around $3,400,000 less than Carson’s 2022 cap hit.”
When healthy, Carson is one of the better backs in the league. The 27-year-old ran for back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons in 2018 and 2019 and has averaged over 4.2 yards per carry in each one of his five seasons in the league.
According to Pro Football Focus, Carson posted a 78.1 offensive grade during the 2020 season, ranking 17th among backs with at least 100 snaps. During the 2019 season, Carson’s 77.9 offensive grade was the 10th-best among all backs with at least 100 snaps. And to top it all off, Caron’s 83.2 offensive grade in 2018 was the sixth-best mark among all running backs.
Carson May Not Return in 2022
However, after being limited to just four games last season due to neck surgery, there’s no clear-cut indication Carson will even be healthy enough to play the 2022 season. The Seahawks drafted Kenneth Walker in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft due to the uncertain nature of Carson’s injury.
“The second reason is there’s unfortunately no guarantee that Carson is going to be an effective player this year, if ever again,” says DevinCsigi of SB Nation. “He is coming off of a neck injury that required season ending surgery and was at one point believed to be career threatening. We do not know for sure but there is a chance an injury of this style will inhibit Carson’s range of motion, as well as the possibility that it could affect his overall ability to keep up with the toll a 17-game season would put on his body.”
Carson is currently not participating in Seahawks offseason team activities. Even in a best-case scenario where Carson is healthy, it’s hard to envision him gaining carries over Walker and Rashaad Penny, who the Seahawks re-signed to a one-year deal worth $5.7 million.
Head coach Pete Carroll didn’t exactly give a green light on Carson’s return during annual league meetings back in March.
“Chris is feeling pretty good,” said Carroll. “He’s making progress, he’s looking forward to playing. He thinks he’s going to be able to pull it off. We’re looking optimistically at it. He won’t know until he gets back and really gets going. Physically he’ll be able to run around and all that kind of stuff, it’s just whether or not he can take the hits and all that kind of stuff. We’ll have to wait and see, but he’s planning on it.”
Considering Carson’s injury history and his salary cap hit, it’s likely the Seahawks move on from their longtime running back.