There seems to be quite a bit of chatter about the defensive backs. Is Pete Hunter going to make the team? What about C.J. Wallace? And even comparisons between Jordan Babineaux and Floyd Womack are floating around as well as suggestions that the Seahawks might cut Babs. The short response to that is: Pete Hunter has an extremely slim chance to make the team and it will really take an injury for that to happen. C.J. Wallace might make the practice squad. Babineaux isn’t Womack, and his chances of making the team are 100%.
The Seahawks kept only 7 DBs in 2004, and 8 DBs in 2005 and 2006. It would be very strange if they kept 9 in 2007, which means Peter Hunter isn’t making the team. It will take more than a Babineaux bone bruise to clear a roster spot for him.
The comparison between Babineaux and Womack is completely unfounded. Since Babs was called up from the practice squad on November 26, 2004, he has played in 37 of the Seahawks last 38 games (not including the playoffs, which he played in). He missed one game in two-and-a-half years after suffering a concussion the week before. And that makes him equivalent to "Walking Injury" Womack?
Babineaux has been slowed the past two offseasons recovering from shoulder surgeries, but that is about it. And he took an unfortunate hit on his knee in camp, so a bone bruise is keeping him out for three to four weeks. No big deal.
Pete Hunter was a nice story last year, but that doesn’t make him better than Jordan Babineaux. Babineaux is one of the good, versatile, young players in the NFL. He even made John Clayton's Dream Team (the best 53-man roster he could amass from the entire league that would fit under the 2006 Salary Cap). And the Seahawks liked Babineaux enough to give him a raise from $425,000 to $1.3 million (the 2nd round restricted free agent tender).
The Seahawks could cope for a few games with the current group of 8 DBs if one of the starting corners went down and Babs was unavailable. Wilson would move to the vacated corner spot, Deon Grant would be the nickel corner (he played man coverage in the slot at times in Jacksonville and there is a reason Marcus Trufant jokingly calls him "the big corner"), and Mike Green (or maybe Michael Boulware) would come in at safety in the nickel to replace Grant.
I like that idea better than wasting a roster spot, just so we can bring in Pete Hunter as the nickel CB (and I am not sure he would be a better option than what I outlined above anyway). A serious injury to any of the 8 DBs (cornerbacks or safeties) is really the only way Hunter can make the team. He would come in as a replacement cornerback, and Babineaux would be available as the fourth safety if it were an injury to a safety.
So where does that leave C.J. Wallace? He might land on the practice squad. His UW alum status and big hits in the scrimmage have garnered some attention, but those hits looked like semi-cheap shots to me, especially during an intrasquad scrimmage. He was headhunting and missed on some other attempts at big hits. Wallace even managed to injure a couple of the offensive players. If he keeps that up, then who wants him on the practice squad?
Wallace is also coming off an injury at the end of last year, and he has no chance to beat out Mike Green or Michael Boulware. Mike Green was held out of practice as a precaution on Friday, but his Lisfranc injury isn't an issue. Maybe he isn't back to a 100% yet or isn't ever going to be the same player, but he is one of the four best safeties on the Seahawks as he is right now. If the Seahawks needed them to, then Green and Boulware could start as a safety tandem.
If two of the safeties (including Babineaux for the purpose of this discussion) suffer serious injuries by the start of the season, then C.J. Wallace has a chance to make the team. Otherwise, he can expect to land on the practice squad if he plays better than the rest of the young DBs on the roster during camp and the preseason. CB Kevin Hobbs is probably the favorite for that spot. And the last thing Wallace wanted to see is a healthy Patrick Ghee out there, but Ghee is back on the field after missing about a week and a half with a sore hamstring.
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