Is Jermaine Kearse going to be on Seattle’s 53-man roster? Or will the Seahawks cut him and go with younger players? I think it’s a question that will be answered in late August.
Kearse has been pretty terrible lately. An article published by 710 ESPN Seattle last week mentioned that Kearse was flagged for offensive pass interference 5 times last year – the most in the league. (Only two entire teams last year had more OPI penalties last year than Kearse had all by himself.)
Paul Richardson, meanwhile, came on nicely late last year, starting to look like what the Seahawks thought he would be when they drafted him in the second round. With Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett and Richardson, the Seahawks might be comfortable dumping Kearse. I tend to believe that’s the route they’ll go. It makes more sense to go with younger receivers with those 4th and 5th roster spots.
But another article, (also published by 710 ESPN Seattle) explains that there’s no big financial advantage to releasing Kearse. If he’s not on the roster, that will probably save the team about $2.2 million.
So the correct course seems to be to bring Kearse into camp and see how things transpire. Is Lockett healthy? (He broke a leg last year). And does some other wide receiver get injured at camp? No reason to rush the decision on Kearse. Ultimately, though, I expect it will be Baldwin-Lockett-Richardson as the three main wide receivers on this team.
Kearse simply hasn’t been good enough. Inside the 10 over the last three years, for example, he’s caught only 2 of the 20 passes thrown his way. That ranks him a distant last among the 42 wide receivers with at least 15 targets during that time.
| WIDE RECEIVERS WITH 15 TARGETS INSIDE 10 (2014-16) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Com | Pct | EZ |
| Golden Tate, Det. | 24 | 18 | 75% | 9+1 |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 36 | 24 | 67% | 17+1 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 29 | 19 | 66% | 9+1 |
| Mike Wallace, Min.-Balt. | 17 | 11 | 65% | 9+1 |
| Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 27 | 17 | 63% | 8+2 |
| Jordan Matthews, Phil. | 16 | 10 | 63% | 7 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 25 | 15 | 60% | 7+2 |
| Seth Roberts, Oak. | 15 | 9 | 60% | 4+3 |
| Calvin Johnson, Det. | 15 | 9 | 60% | 8 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 24 | 14 | 58% | 12+2 |
| Allen Robinson, Jac. | 30 | 17 | 57% | 14+2 |
| Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 32 | 18 | 56% | 13 |
| Roddy White, Atl. | 16 | 9 | 56% | 7 |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 20 | 11 | 55% | 7 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 22 | 12 | 55% | 6+1 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 46 | 25 | 54% | 15+3 |
| Eric Decker, NYJ | 28 | 15 | 54% | 11 |
| James Jones, Oak.-G.B. | 19 | 10 | 53% | 7+2 |
| Odell Beckham Jr., NYG | 27 | 14 | 52% | 14 |
| Michael Crabtree, S.F.-Oak. | 22 | 11 | 50% | 8+1 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Cin.-Atl. | 16 | 8 | 50% | 4+2 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 28 | 14 | 50% | 11 |
| Eddie Royal, S.D.-Chi. | 18 | 9 | 50% | 5 |
| Allen Hurns, Jac. | 16 | 8 | 50% | 5 |
| Andre Johnson, Ind.-Ten. | 21 | 10 | 48% | 7 |
| Brandon LaFell, N.E.-Cin. | 19 | 9 | 47% | 7 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 24 | 11 | 46% | 7 |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 27 | 12 | 44% | 7+1 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 18 | 8 | 44% | 6+1 |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 18 | 8 | 44% | 6 |
| Brandon Marshall, Chi.-NYJ | 28 | 12 | 43% | 9 |
| Rueben Randle, NYG | 19 | 8 | 42% | 5 |
| Jamison Crowder, Wash. | 17 | 7 | 41% | 2+2 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 39 | 16 | 41% | 9+2 |
| Terrance Williams, Dall. | 15 | 6 | 40% | 5 |
| Anquan Boldin, S.F.-Det. | 23 | 9 | 39% | 5 |
| Kelvin Benjamin, Car. | 17 | 6 | 35% | 6 |
| Pierre Garcon, Wash. | 24 | 8 | 33% | 6 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Chi. | 28 | 9 | 32% | 8 |
| Dez Bryant, Dall. | 26 | 8 | 31% | 8 |
| Vincent Jackson, T.B. | 18 | 4 | 22% | 3+1 |
| Jermaine Kearse, Sea. | 20 | 2 | 10% | 2 |
—Ian Allan