In Pursuit of Roster Spot, Cody Thompson Hopeful Third Time's a Charm
RENTON, WA - In the early stages of his second NFL training camp, and his first one as a member of the Seahawks, Cody Thompson quickly surfaced as one of the team's most pleasant surprises last summer.
After spending most of the 2019 season on Seattle's practice squad, Thompson turned in an impressive opening week of camp, reeling in several receptions during scrimmage play and receiving snaps with the first-team offense. Cut by Kansas City as a rookie one year earlier, the former Toledo star had emerged as the latest receiver to come out of nowhere and flourish in training camp, positioning himself to make a strong push for a roster spot.
However, Thompson's rapid ascent up the depth chart would soon hit a snag. An undisclosed injury brought a promising camp to a halt, keeping him out of Seattle's first two mock scrimmage games and causing him to miss two critical weeks of training camp. While sidelined, teammate Penny Hart seized his opportunity and wound up making the initial 53-man roster instead.
“I try not to look into the past or worry about things like that. I kind of try to control what I can control," Thompson said prior to Seattle's practice on Wednesday. "And in the moment, it was unfortunate, but I did what I could with the opportunities that I had. But I'm just glad I'm healthy right now and I'm just doing everything I can to earn a spot.”
A man of his word, Thompson hasn't dwelled on what transpired last August and jumped right into preparation for his second training camp with the Seahawks looking to take care of unfinished business. The savvy wideout indicated he didn't make any drastic changes to his offseason program and stayed true to what he knows, but he was able to resume working out with former college and NFL teammates and has remained on the lookout for ways to refine his game.
"I'm never a complete player," Thompson said. "I'm always learning from guys and from coaches and stuff like that. So I just try to take in as much as I can and try to implement that into my game any way I can."
Now in his third NFL season, Thompson has grown in a myriad of ways since first breaking into the league with the Chiefs. Specifically, he has developed a stronger rapport with Russell Wilson and the Seahawks other quarterbacks and indicated he's understanding the game at a more mature level, which has helped make the process of transitioning into new offense coordinator Shane Waldron's system a breeze and allowed him to "play instead of thinking too much."
Much as he did a year ago, with a firm grasp of a new scheme, Thompson has slowly climbed his way up the depth chart and recently has received consistent reps with the first team, impressing Waldron with his effort, versatility, and attention to detail.
“He just continues to improve all of the time," Waldron remarked. "He’s a great route runner, he’s done a really good job of picking up the system right away, he’s been out there all of the time, and is able to play multiple spots. He’s done a great job in his one-on-ones and does a great job in the run game. He’s someone that shows up and you know he’s going to put in a great days work every day and continue to grow.”
On the practice field, Thompson's development has been aided by battling against a diverse, quality group of cornerbacks. With many of these players such as Ahkello Witherspoon and rookie Tre Brown being newcomers he hadn't faced before, the former high school quarterback spent the early stages of camp meticulously analyzing each player's strengths, weaknesses, and how they operate from a technique standpoint.
As the old adage goes, iron sharpens iron and Thompson says being able to go up against a "special" group of corners day in and day out during 1-on-1, 7-on-7, and team periods has brought out the best in him.
"They all bring something kind of different," Thompson explained. "Everybody kind of plays a little bit different. Coming into camp, you're just kind of learning how each guy plays. Some guys might do some things better than others or just have different techniques or ways they've kind of played. Every time you're up there, you might get a different look. It could be the same coverage, but they'll have a different approach at the line of scrimmage or they're playing off."
Ironically, in a bit of a flip of the script, Thompson has capitalized on opportunities afforded to him by the absence of Hart, who missed two weeks of camp with a high ankle sprain. This opened the door for him to start Seattle's first two preseason games, a sign of where he currently stands in the competition vying for snaps against the likes of Aaron Fuller and undrafted rookie Cade Johnson.
Through the first two exhibition contests, the Seahawks have been outscored 50-10 by the Raiders and Broncos, struggling to score points with the vast majority of their starters wearing caps on the sideline. Like the rest of the team's receivers, Thompson's production has been impacted by playing with backup quarterbacks Alex McGough and Sean Mannion and he has caught only one pass for 15 yards on three targets in those two games.
But it's also worth noting Thompson hauled in a first down reception from Geno Smith early in the first preseason game that would have put Seattle in field goal range, only for the play to be wiped out by a holding penalty called on rookie tackle Stone Forsythe. Smith checked out of the game moments later with a concussion and Thompson himself only played a total of 12 offensive snaps before resting most of the second half, making it tougher to evaluate him given circumstances.
"This year, the outcomes haven't been the best," Thompson reflected. "But I think have just gone out there and kind of tried to showcase my abilities, showcase my talent on offense and special teams to the best of that can with the opportunities that I'm given."
After not being afforded the chance to play in preseason games last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, even if the results haven't been quite what he hoped for so far, Thompson couldn't be more grateful for the chance to prove his worth on offense and special teams.
"I definitely think preseason is important for those fringe guys that - you can always see so much in practice and there's only so many live periods - you're really not bringing guys to the ground or it's not always a true representation," Thompson said. "Once you go out there, you're playing against other guys that are trying to make the squad and everybody's out there fighting, clawing, doing anything they can to kind of prove that. And so I think it's pretty important for those guys, and guys like me."
Though he's only 25 years old, Thompson understands he's at a critical point in his career. Perennially living on the roster bubble, the dominos haven't fallen his way during his first two opportunities to make an NFL roster and if he isn't able to break through this time around, it's worth wondering how many more chances he will have to fulfill his dream. This may truly be his best shot.
But while the stakes remain high, Thompson isn't over-analyzing things or letting the pressure of the moment consume him. No matter how things unfold, there won't be any regrets. Whether the third time proves to be the charm or not, he intends to leave it all between the lines in Saturday's preseason finale against the Chargers with hopes of turning in a performance that leaves the Seahawks no choice but to include him on the Week 1 roster.
"Not doing anything different. Just going out there, it's still the game of football. I still love doing it. Having fun, making plays, doing what I've done my whole life, just go out there and make plays on offense and special teams and leave everything out there. Don't leave any what ifs or don't leave anything out in the field that I could have said maybe, shoulda, coulda, woulda, that kind of thing. So just leave it all out there."
