SEATTLE — Will Keith Price get a second chance with the Seahawks?
Thursday, Seattle general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll watched the owner of 11 passing records at the University of Washington “rip it,” in Carroll’s words, at UW’s pro day.
Price hasn’t taken a snap in any pro game following his last college game. He remains a curiosity.
He spent last May in a Seahawks rookie minicamp as an undrafted free agent, but Seattle released him in June because it was trying to see what it had in Terrelle Pryor as a potential backup (the Seahawks released Pryor in August). Price then was out of football until Saskatchewan signed him in September as a never-used, third-string passer in the Canadian Football League.
“All I know was it was cold as hell out there,” Price, a native of Compton just south of Los Angeles, said of the Canadian prairie.
Price looked bigger in his upper body and torso Thursday. And he threw strongly; maybe a half-dozen of his 100 or so passes hit the turf at UW’s Dempsey Indoor facility. His best throws were on consecutive, deep post routes to former Huskies teammates Kasen Williams and DiAndre Campbell. The first one soared 55 yards in the air in stride to Williams, the other 60 yards into Campbell’s sprint. Price threw short out routes, long outs, crossing routes, roll outs on the run and goal-line fades.
The knock on Price is that at 6 feet 1 and 202 pounds he’s not big enough for the NFL. Yet some supposedly small guy named Russell Wilson’s done OK for the Seahawks in the league.
Asked what Price needed to get into the NFL, Carroll said: “I think he’s really close. He really is a QB. He’s got the poise and the stature and the mentality of handling the position. He’s very cool and calm about stuff. He’s very articulate around the huddle, calling stuff at the line of scrimmage. He’s got a very good presence and all of that. Very accurate thrower. He’s not a big-arm thrower, but a very accurate thrower. You can see it on the deep ball; he threw the ball 60 yards out here. So he ripped it.
“I think it’s just a matter of time. He’s got to get his break and get his opportunity to show it. He has a lot of stuff that is hard to find. The intangibles are there.”
Is there any part of Carroll and the Seahawks curious to give Price a second chance by signing him for their minicamp in June and maybe even training camp in late July? Especially with veteran backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson currently shopping the league as an unrestricted free agent?
“Yeah. Yeah,” Carroll said. “He did well again (Thursday).”
As for Wilson, Carroll said again that talks on his new contract are “ongoing” and on track.
Offseason workout dates
The Seahawks’ organized team activities (OTAs) are May 26-27, May 29, June 1-2, June 4 and June 8-11.
Carroll confirmed the Seahawks will be on the field for only one of the team’s three mandatory minicamp days in Renton: June 16, 17 and 18. The NFL docked Seattle two days of on-field minicamp work after determining too much contact went on during last year’s mandatory minicamp.
The first day the players can hold their own organized offseason workouts is April 20. Wilson is taking his receivers to Hawaii after then for his annual spring passing drills, after two years of bringing his guys to Hermosa Beach, California.
Extra point
The re-signing of fullback Will Tukuafu Wednesday gave thought to Derrick Coleman and how the starting fullback is recovering from the foot he broke warming up for the Oct. 21 game at St. Louis. “Supposed to be full go by the time we get going,” Carroll said of one of the Seahawks’ top special-teams players.”
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