Seahawks 90-Man Rundown: Mike Morris Facing Critical Third Season in Trenches
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="898"]
Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Mike Morris attempts to sack Tennessee Titans quarterback Mason Rudolph in a preseason game. Credit: Mike Morris/Instagram [/caption]
With their offseason program now complete, the Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC on July 23, marking the start of the upcoming season before fans have a chance to blink.
In preparation for year two under coach Mike Macdonald, I’ll be detailing every member of the Seahawks' 90-man roster over the next several weeks, sharing fun facts, exploring best- and worst-case scenarios, and predicting what to expect from each player entering the 2025 campaign.
Following a sluggish sophomore season with limited production, will Mike Morris finally achieve a breakout season playing in a familiar defense as a rotational chess piece on the defensive line?
Mike Morris
Height/Weight: 6-6, 295 pounds
2024 Stats: Five tackles
Ranked as a three-star recruit coming out of American Heritage High School in Delray Beach, Florida, Morris racked up 173 tackles, 56 tackles for loss, and nine sacks in his last two prep seasons, putting himself on the radar for several Power 4 programs. Committing to Michigan in 2018, he didn’t see his first game action until 2020 as a sophomore and appeared in 13 games as a junior in 2021, playing for Macdonald interestingly enough, who was Michigan’s defensive coordinator at the time. But his breakout season came as a senior in 2022 when he amassed 11 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and a forced fumble, ending his time in Ann Arbor on a strong note.
Despite the big numbers in the backfield, however, Morris had just 23 combined tackles in his final season with the Wolverines, which coupled with poor athletic testing led to his draft stock plummeting. Seattle selected Morris in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft and he made the Seahawks’ initial 53-man roster after a solid training camp and preseason. But after recording three tackles in Seattle’s Week 1 game versus the Los Angeles Rams, a shoulder injury led to season-ending surgery. Coming back from the injury a year ago, he remained on the roster as a rotational defender, contributing five tackles in 15 games while logging just 70 snaps on that side of the football.
Fun Fact: Successfully making his way back from shoulder surgery, per PFF, Morris ranked second on the Seahawks in quarterback pressures (10) last preseason behind only Jamie Sheriff.
Best Case Scenario: Now more than a year removed from his shoulder injury, Morris once again has a stellar preseason with double-digit pressures and three tackles for loss, securing a more expanded role as a rotational defensive end and defensive tackle behind Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, and Byron Murphy II to help compensate for the departure of Roy Robertson-Harris in free agency.
Worst Case Scenario: Failing to take the next significant step in his development, Morris has a quiet training camp and preseason, eventually losing out on snaps to undrafted rookie Jared Ivey and becoming an unexpected pink slip candidate during final roster cuts.
What to Expect in 2025: Possessing outstanding size and athleticism that plays better than his testing would suggest, Morris has tantalized in preseason games over his first two seasons, including posting multiple quarterback hits against the Vikings as a rookie. But his progress was stunted significantly missing all but one game in the regular season that year and even after being one of the more productive Seahawks last August, those contributions didn’t carry over when the bullets started really flying. He posted a dismal three percent pass rush win rate and played a grand total of three defensive snaps in the last 10 games, losing out on the few snaps he was receiving after Robertson-Harris came over in a trade.
Now in his third season, including his second with Macdonald, the clock is ticking for Morris to carve out a consistent rotational gig in the trenches. On one hand, Robertson-Harris and Cameron Young departing creates more of a void for him to potentially fill from a depth perspective. On the other hand, if fifth-round pick Rylie Mills returns earlier than expected from a torn ACL and/or Ivey emerges as a capable rotational piece, improved competition could put him squarely on the roster bubble. His past experience in Macdonald’s scheme remains an advantage and for now, he should be safe to make the 53. But at the same time, if he isn’t able to find more consistency on the field, particularly as a pass rusher, patience may start to wear thin from the coaching staff.
