Huard: Paul Richardson will see more demand in free agency than previous Seahawks WRs
Mar 6, 2018, 1:40 PM | Updated: 1:40 pm
Paul Richardson had a breakout season in his fourth year with the Seahawks. (AP)
(AP)
Paul Richardson is set to hit free agency after spending the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Seahawks, and while 710 ESPN Seattle’s Brock Huard said it’s possible he could return to the Hawks, he’s not exactly betting on it.
“I’m getting phone calls from my friends in the radio business in other markets and that leads me to believe that there is some real interest in other places,” Huard said on the Blue 42 segment of Brock and Salk on Tuesday.
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There is a good reason to expect other teams will be eager to sign the 25-year-old receiver, and it has to do with the track record of other receivers after they have left Seattle’s offense.
“Look at what (Jermaine) Kearse did when he got out of this system,” Huard said of a former Seahawks wideout who had five touchdowns and 810 yards on 65 receptions with the New York Jets in 2017. “He had a breakout year … and I bet there’s a case that Paul’s agent is certainly making, like look, Golden Tate gets out of a run-first system … and he has 1,000-yard seasons in Detroit. Jermaine Kease gets out of Seattle and has a career year with the New York Jets.”
Richardson himself is coming off what Huard called a breakout year, hauling in 44 receptions for 703 yards and six touchdowns, and with the prior success of Kearse and Tate with the Detroit Lions, Huard expects the market to be especially competitive for Richardson.
“I think there’s a story to be told, and with (Richardson’s) twitch and his speed and with a bad receiver class in this draft, I think there’s gonna be more market demand for Paul than there was for Jermaine and some other receivers from Seattle,” Huard said.
You can listen to the full Blue 42 segment at this link.
