The Seattle Seahawks have arguably the best linebacker corps in the entire NFL, with a projected starting unit of Mychal Kendricks, Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright joined by Austin Calitro and a pair of solid rookies in Cody Barton and Ben Burr-Kirven.
That has forced Barkevious Mingo to transition into a pass rusher, a role he needs to excel at if he wants to find himself on the 53-man roster to begin the 2019 season.
Unfortunately, Mingo’s progress as a pass rusher has not gone as planned.
“He made real good progress early, and been a little bit quiet in the games,” coach Pete Carroll commented on Wednesday. “He hasn’t been as productive as we would liked to have seen.”
Mingo is competing alongside Jacob Martin and Shaquem Griffin for a role as a situational pass rusher on the defensive line. Griffin is also transitioning into that role for the first time at the NFL level, but he was excellent at coming off the edge in college.
Martin has a leg up on both players however, showing glimpses of greatness in that role last season.
The Seahawks have roughly $6 million reasons to cut Mingo, as it would save them that much against the cap, but he does have one thing strongly working in his favor – his performance on the special teams.
“He’s working really hard, he’s a fantastic special teams player and a real leader in that group,” Carroll continued. “We think a lot of what he brings to this team. He’s a special kid, he’s got a great motor.”
Mingo was Seattle’s leading tackler on the special teams last year, and he has not missed a single tackle in that role during the preseason.
Considering special teams was a weakness on this team in 2018, Mingo’s ability to lead that group may keep him on the active roster, even if he doesn’t develop into the kind of pass rusher that the Seahawks were hoping for.
