Seahawks 2021 Free Agent Primer: Neiko Thorpe

Following an early Wild Card round exit, the Seahawks have officially transitioned into an offseason that could be one of the most significant of the Pete Carroll and John Schneider era.

When the new 2021 league year kicks off in March, Seattle will have a whopping 24 players set to become unrestricted free agents. Four players will be restricted free agents, while six will be exclusive rights free agents and several others will be entering the final year of their current contracts ready to negotiate extensions, including safety Jamal Adams.

Over the next several weeks, I will break down each and every one of the Seahawks' unrestricted free agents by revisiting their 2020 seasons, assessing why they should or should not be re-signed, breaking down an ideal contract, and making an early prediction on whether or not the player will return in 2021.

Wrapping up the series, injuries once again kept Neiko Thorpe off the field for most of the 2020 season. Given his past success on special teams, will the team bring him back for one last chance to get his career back on track?

Season In Review

After re-signing with Seattle on a one-year deal in April, Thorpe earned a spot on the 53-man roster coming out of training camp and suited up for each of the first two games of the season, playing 35 special teams snaps and four defensive snaps. But he suffered a hip injury during a win over New England in Week 2 and after missing two weeks of action, the team placed him on injured reserve. He was activated in mid-November but reaggravated the injury after playing just 12 snaps against the Rams in Week 10, returning to injured reserve and missing the rest of the season. He finished with a single tackle and no other statistics.

Why Seattle Should Re-Sign Him

When healthy, Thorpe remains one of the better gunners on punt coverage in the entire NFL. From 2016 to 2018, he produced 28 tackles and recovered three fumbles, with the vast majority of that production coming on limited snaps on special teams. Pro Football Focus graded him in the top 10 (90.1) for special teams standouts in 2016. In the few times he's been forced into action as a cornerback in emergency situations, he has been serviceable. He's also a beloved presence in the locker room and has been a "glue" guy for the Seahawks during his five years with the organization.

Why Seattle Should Let Him Walk

Though Thorpe remains a talented special teams player, he hasn't been able to stay on the field. After playing in 29 out of 32 games in his first two seasons in Seattle, he has missed 26 combined games due to injury in the past three seasons. Regardless of what he offers in the important third phase of the game, the number one quality is availability and he simply hasn't been available to contribute for the Seahawks. Considering he turned 31 years old in February makes these recent durability issues all the more concerning.

Ideal Contract

1 year at $1.2 million

Prediction

After missing nine games due to sports hernia surgery, it seemed unlikely the Seahawks would re-sign Thorpe last offseason, and yet he was brought back in the later stages of free agency. But now that he's one year older and didn't stay healthy as the team hoped he would in 2020, the chances of that happening again seem remote at best. He won't be expensive to re-sign and likely won't draw much interest on the market from other teams, so re-signing him shouldn't be ruled out, especially considering his popularity in the locker room. But given his age and inability to stay healthy, the time has come for Seattle to move on.

Previous Seahawks Free Agent Primers

Chris Carson

K.J. Wright

Shaquill Griffin

Mike Iupati

Benson Mayowa

Quinton Dunbar

Ethan Pocic

Jacob Hollister

Bruce Irvin

Carlos Hyde

Cedric Ogbuehi

David Moore

Lano Hill

Nick Bellore

Phillip Dorsett

Damontre Moore