Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
It was a long road for Michael Morgan to climb from rookie training-camp cut to the 52-man roster for the Seattle Seahawks. The team initially signed him on as an undrafted free agent out of USC in 2011 before a preseason cut landed him without a roster spot until late in the season, nabbing four snaps in Week 15 of that year.
“The 2011 Trojan defense was full of poor tackling and Morgan’s impressive 6-5, 220 lb frame was not immune to the problem,” via SB Nation’s Seahawks blog. “Perhaps the biggest reason he went undrafted, however, was that the one outstanding feature of his game — getting into the backfield — disappeared as he only notched three TFLs as a senior. Still, he received some late-round draft grades from various pundits and was near the top of most UDFA lists”
After boosting that number to 115 snaps in 2012 between both outside linebacker spots, Morgan attempts to retain his place in the Seahawks defense once again admidst an onslought of high-profile free-agent signings on the defensive side for this franchise. Ourlads.com currently has Morgan at No. 2 strongside linebacker behind K.J. Wright on the depth chart, which would in theory be good enough for a roster spot.
It’s typically harder to find a place on defense when that unit is fresh off finishing first scoring defense, but fortunately for Morgan the ‘Hawks linebacker spot is much thinner than line or secondary — which are fairly stacked. Morgan recorded nine tackles and four stops in his limited duty last year, and surely aims to improve regardless of the total playing time he receives in Seahawks training camp.
Thomas Emerick is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasEmerick, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
