Christine Michael currently leads the Seahawks with 117 carries for 469 yards and six touchdowns. In a surprising move, the Seahawks placed him on waivers. What makes it even more surprising is that he will only cost about $280,000 for the rest of the season.
Over his 3 1/2 year career, Christine Michael has rushed for 966 yards on 223 carries for six touchdowns. That is an average of 4.3 yards per carry. He has also received for 124 yards and one touchdown on 24 career receptions. He has totaled 1090 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns. In 247 touches, he has fumbled on the three times.
Originally drafted by the Seahawks in 2013 in the second round with the 30th pick, Christine Michael strengths were listed as having a low center of gravity with strong legs, more speed than expected, strong cuts, good spin moves, and great in pass protection. His weaknesses were listed as injury prone, below average in change of direction, liable to trip up while changing direction, ball security, and that he was an unproven receiver. They compared him to Chris Ivory of the Jets. He is listed at 5'10" at a weight of 220 pounds.
We can all agree that this year has been much better for Melvin Gordon. He currently has 838 yards rushing on 217 attempts (3.9 ypc) and nine touchdowns. He has also accumulated 346 yards on 33 receptions and two touchdowns. Considering that Danny Woodhead, Dexter McCluster, and Branden Oliver are all out with season-ending injuries, and Kenneth Farrow is second on the depth chart behind Melvin Gordon, it makes sense to sign Christine Michael for the duration of the season. While he has never really been utilized as a receiving back, he can come into games and spell Melvin Gordon between the tackles much better than Danny Woodhead, Dexter McCluster, and Kenneth Farrow could have done/could do. Considering that Melvin Gordon and Kenneth Farrell are the only players at the halfback position who are signed through next season, and how cheap Christine Michael will come, it's a no-brainer. Let's hope Tom Telesco jumps on this.