Seahawks: Five Players Under the Most Pressure in Camp
By Ben Renner
Jermaine Kearse
The undrafted free agent out of the University of Washington took a huge step backwards last year after spending five seasons making clutch catches and proving himself a possession receiver for Wilson. He’s made a few of the most memorable catches in Seahawks history, of course, but last season, Kearse slumped big-time, leaving room for rookie Amarah Darboh, former sprinter Cyril Grayson, and four-year veteran Paul Richardson to take his role in the offense.
Your eyes didn’t deceive you. The numbers agree that Kearse was terrible last year. In 2015, Kearse turned only 68 targets into a career-high 49 catches for 685 yards and five touchdowns.
Last season, Kearse was rewarded for his 72.1% catch rate the previous season with 89 targets. He caught only 46.1% of those targets for less yardage than 2015:
| Game | Game | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Lng | R/G | Y/G | Ctch% | AV |
| 2012 | 22 | SEA | 7 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 0 | 17 | 0.4 | 4.4 | 42.9% | 0 |
| 2013 | 23 | SEA | 15 | 5 | 38 | 22 | 346 | 15.7 | 4 | 43 | 1.5 | 23.1 | 57.9% | 4 |
| 2014 | 24 | SEA | 15 | 14 | 69 | 38 | 537 | 14.1 | 1 | 60 | 2.5 | 35.8 | 55.1% | 6 |
| 2015 | 25 | SEA | 16 | 16 | 68 | 49 | 685 | 14.0 | 5 | 50 | 3.1 | 42.8 | 72.1% | 7 |
| 2016 | 26 | SEA | 16 | 15 | 89 | 41 | 510 | 12.4 | 1 | 36 | 2.6 | 31.9 | 46.1% | 4 |
| Care | Care | 69 | 51 | 271 | 153 | 2109 | 13.8 | 11 | 60 | 2.2 | 30.6 | 21 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/5/2017.
You don’t need to be a math genius to know that 41 catches on 89 targets is not good. Since Kearse is not known for his blazing speed or huge stature, running good routes and making the catch is his calling card. Last season, he simply didn’t get it done.
If Kearse’s inability to reel in targets continues in training camp, he could find himself on the outside looking in when Week 1 rolls around.
It’s unlikely the Seahawks will release Kearse if he continues to disappoint this season because of his contract structure. But after 2017, John Schneider will save $5 million against the salary cap by releasing him. Kearse could find himself on the bench in 2017 and out of a job in 2018 if he can’t perform starting in training camp this season.