While the Seattle Seahawks have always employed a fullback in the Pete Carroll era, recently the position has become a glorified special teams contributor, often not getting used on the offensive side of the ball for entire games at a time.
That was the case last year with Nick Bellore, a converted linebacker whom Seattle used on just 29 offensive snaps all season long, even though he appeared in 14 games.
Bellore did haul in both of his targets for 23 total yards, including a touchdown against the Cardinals, but it was clear his role on the team was on the special teams, where he appeared in 58% of the team’s snaps and recorded seven combined tackles and a fumble recovery.
Now, with one year left on his contract and a $1.05 million hit against the cap, the question is whether the Seahawks will keep Bellore around for 2020 or dump him to save some cash.
The Seahawks don’t have any other true fullbacks on the roster, but if they wanted to move on from Bellore they could attempt to use DeeJay Dallas, a fourth round pick in April’s draft, in a similar role.
Dallas is nowhere near as big as Bellore, but he was an elite receiving back in college and expects to contribute right away on the special teams, which helps fill the gaps of what Bellore did for Seattle.
While Dallas probably won’t be creating running lanes as a lead blocker, the traditional fullback role, Bellore didn’t really do that either, and Dallas is a cheaper, younger alternative with more upside and a smaller cap hit – making him an appealing option to keep on the active roster over the veteran Bellore.
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