Earlier this week, the Seattle Seahawks has decided to release starting running back Christine Michael in preparation for the return of Thomas Rawls. In the meantime, C.J. Prosise will serve as the team's newest starting RB.
Michael first joined the Seahawks as the 62nd overall draft pick in 2013. After two seasons with the team, he became an expendable member of the roster after the Seahawks signed veteran star Fred Jackson. Michael was then traded to the Dallas Cowboys for a conditional 7th round pick.
Michel did not have an illustrious time with the Cowboys after being declared inactive for the first three games of the 2015 season. After failing to secure a starting spot, the Dallas team decided to release Michal in November of last year.
He then returned to the Seahawks shortly after being waived by the Cowboys. Although his second stint with the team was expected to be better than the first, Michael failed to perform well, even after getting the starting spot following Rawls' injury in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams.
According to Seattle Times, Tom Cable, the offensive line coach of the team, noted that Michael had a hard time following and reading the plays set for the team. Eventually, due to his inconsistent performance, the Seahawks decided to release him from the roster.
Aside from the dip in his performance, another main reason behind the departure of Michal is to make way for the return of Rawls. As confirmed by head coach Pete Carroll, Rawls will officially make his comeback during the upcoming Week 11 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"Thomas is ready to go," he said. "He's going to practice to play this week."
Despite Rawls' return, it is not yet clear if he will immediately take on the starting spot, especially since this was already given to Prosise after Michael was waived. As hinted by Carroll, he might experiment with alternating between Prosise and Rawl in the upcoming match.
"With C.J., the versatility of all the things he seems to be able to do at this point, and knowing that there's really a style to Thomas that we're really looking forward to seeing it could be a real nice matchup," he said. "We will see how that works."