Sources: WR Baldwin may have played final down
At the age of 30, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin might be unable to play again because of the cumulative effect of multiple injuries, league sources told ESPN.
There is a real chance that Baldwin, one of the Seahawks’ best and most popular players, has played his last NFL down, one source said Friday.
This offseason alone, the Pro Bowl wide receiver has undergone surgery on his groin and shoulder. It is believed that Baldwin would like to continue playing, but he simply may not be able to, per sources. The Seahawks know he could be facing the end of his career.
Seattle used the last pick of the second round, the 64th overall selection, on Mississippi wide receiver D.K. Metcalf.
The Seahawks know they needed help at the position. It was widely known that Baldwin fought injuries all last season but played through them. Coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider have made no secret about the difficult road ahead for Baldwin given his recent injuries and surgeries.
“That’s a process we’re still working through,” Schneider said last week after confirming Baldwin’s latest surgery, for a sports hernia. “He’s recovering from that right now and we’ll see where it goes. He’s a tough guy though. I mean, if anybody can recover from surgeries like this, it’s Doug. He’s a stud.”
Carroll has spoken in similarly conditional terms about Baldwin’s future.
“That it’s just taken a toll on him,” Carroll told 710 ESPN Seattle at the owners meetings in March when asked what his concern is about Baldwin undergoing another procedure. “It was a tremendous toll on him last year during the season. He’s such a stud of a kid, and a great competitive kid, that he endured it. … And it’s just been a big burden for him. So we’ll just hang with him. If anyone can do it, he can.”
Baldwin’s nightmarish season included injuries to both knees, an elbow, a shoulder, groin and hip. He acknowledged in December that he’s on “the downside” of his career. That was a couple days before he caught a pair of touchdown passes in a loss at San Francisco. He had his best game of the season a week later in a victory over Kansas City, with seven catches for 126 yards and another score.
So he was still an impact player despite the injuries that kept him out of three games and limited him in others, but his 618 yards were his fewest since 2012. Before 2018, that was the last time he didn’t played a full 16-game season.
“He’s been challenged by it,” Carroll said in March when asked about where Baldwin’s head is at after the most trying season of his career. “To be less than he’s been in years past — he’s always done everything, never missed a day of practice, always worked in every drill we’ve ever had. It was challenging for him to have to deal with that. We had to monitor him throughout the year. I have so much respect for the way he was able to deal with it.”
Baldwin is scheduled to make $9.25 million in 2019 salary, with another $750,000 available in per-game roster bonuses. He could make up to $11 million in 2020, the final year of his contract.
Tyler Lockett led the Seahawks with 965 receiving yards last season followed by Baldwin (618) and David Moore (445). Veteran Jaron Brown, whose 166 yards ranked sixth, is under contract for another season with a cap charge of $3.725 million. Amara Darboh, Malik Turner, Keenan Reynolds and Caleb Scott round out the receiver depth chart.
ESPN’s Brady Henderson contributed to this report.