Rookie linebacker Jachai Polite is receiving a second chance in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks after falling out with the New York Jets.
The Jets selected Polite with the No. 68 overall selection in the third round in the 2019 NFL draft but the team waived him on Aug. 31. The Seahawks scooped him up two days later, signing him to the practice squad.
Seattle is aware of Polite’s character concerns, especially the team’s defensive line coach, Clint Hurtt.
“The only thing I said to him, I said ‘listen, I understand all the media articles are out there about what transpired in New York.’ I said ‘you’ve got a clean slate here with me.’” Hurtt told Polite via PFT’s Curtis Crabtree. “I said ‘don’t do anything that’s going to make me conjure up and recall the things that I heard. You got a new start, let’s move forward.
“We don’t deal with any of that foolishness here and if you’re not going to be the consummate pro and be where you’re supposed to be on-time, you don’t give me your undivided attention and work, you won’t be here long.”
Pete Carroll and John Schneider have a history of drafting and acquiring players with character issues, but some of those players have been star contributors on the field. In addition, the Seahawks can choose to cut Polite if he becomes a liability at little to no expense.
Polite is getting another chance to prove himself as an NFL-caliber player, and he must ensure that he takes and runs with it in Seattle.
