The Seattle Seahawks have stubbornly stayed in their 4-3 base defense nearly 70% of the time this year, in part due to coach Pete Carroll’s faith in his trio of linebackers, Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright and Mychal Kendricks.
That trio is also joined by rookie Cody Barton, who finally got a chance to play a whole series on defense Sunday against the Falcons — recording one combined tackle on his five snaps.
Carroll acknowledged the team would like to keep getting him reps on the defensive side of the ball, which could indicate that more rest is coming for Wright and/or Kendricks as the season wears on.
“They weren’t really regular plays so he didn’t really get as much rhythm as we would like,” Carroll said. “But he was really active on special teams again. We’d like to keep playing him; we’d like to keep him getting some reps.”
Barton was selected in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of the University of Utah. He played well in the preseason, but it was never expected that he’d have a big role on the defense with the trio of linebackers already in tow.
However, Carroll admitted he likes to get his younger players more playing time as the season wears on — a clear sign Barton’s playing time will go up in the second half.
“You can feel the guys that are more comfortable now,” Carroll continued. “As we head into the second half, it’s when we want to get this win and let’s get going. You kick into the mode of utilizing those guys more. They make it deeper. Like you saw yesterday, you saw us playing some younger guys some. That gives other guys a break and can keep the whole team fresher because you don’t have to burden guys as much. You can get them in rotations and all that.”
Considering Wright and Kendrick’s injury histories, it makes sense to have Barton ready to go should those guys miss any time, or just need regular rest in games where the defense spends too much time on the field.
Expect to see Barton on special teams, and maybe a little bit on defense, on Sunday when the Seahawks take on the Buccaneers at CenturyLink Field.
