Pete Carroll has experimented with the possibility of moving a pair of second-year players to linebacker during the last month of offseason workouts.
Eric Pinkins was drafted in the sixth round to play cornerback last year. Cassius Marsh was drafted in the fourth round as a defensive end. Both saw time this spring working at strong-side linebacker for the Seahawks throughout OTAs and their one on-field day of mini-camp work last week.
Pinkins had already been shifted from cornerback to safety, having bulked up considerably while on the non-football injury list for all of last season. Marsh also missed a significant portion of last season after landing on injured reserve with a broken foot.
“That’s just for flexibility for the future to see how well he adapts to that,” Carroll said in regards to trying Marsh at linebacker last week.
However, the Seahawks could be seeing if Pinkins or Marsh could serve as a viable replacement for Bruce Irvin in the future. Irvin is in the final year of his rookie deal after the team declined his fifth-year option.
Irvin backtracked on previous comments stating his desire to play in Atlanta next season. Yet, Seattle has given an extension to K.J. Wright and wants to get a new deal done for Bobby Wagner as well. Irvin may find himself the odd man out with the Seahawks after this season anyway.