Ex-Cal OT Jake Curhan Says Reported Heart Issue Is Not a Concern

Jake Curhan sees an opportunity with the Seattle Seahawks, who signed him to a free-agent contract.

Former Cal offensive tackle Jake Curhan said the heart concerns that were reported just before the draft are not an issue.

Apparently the Seattle Seahawks had no reservations about Curhan's health because Curhan reached an agreement with the Seahawks the same day the NFL draft ended, and he officially signed a free-agent contract with Seattle a few days later.

The medical issue arose on the first day of the NFL draft, when NFL.com's Ian Rapoport tweeted that a medical issue was affecting Curhan's draft status

#Cal OT Jake Curhan, who likely would have been a 6th or 7th rounder, is off several boards after medical tests revealed a heart issue, per source. An inconsistent EKG led to more tests, though Curhan has played with it and has no symptoms. Still should be a priority free agent.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 29, 2021

Curhan said Sunday it is not a concern.

"It's something I've known about for some time," he said in the video above without specifying the condition, "and it's not something that has ever caused me to have any issues working out or playing.

"Kind of unfortunate that it got tweeted out like that and ended up working out that way, but it's not something I'm too concerned about. It's something we've known about for some time."

That information might have hurt Curhan's draft status, though.

"I'm sure it did somewhat," he said, "and I'm sure some other things did also. Going into the draft because of that and some other stuff, I had a pretty good idea that that outcome was going to be what happened. It's unfortunate, but I'd rather have that be the outcome because of things I can't control than things that I could."

Despite the report, Curhan said he drew interest from a number of NFL teams after he went undrafted.  He ended up choosing the Seahawks, but it had more to do with the opportunity he saw for himself in Seattle rather than the fact that he and Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll went to the same high school (Redwood High School in Larkspur, Calif.).

"There was definitely a good amount of interest," Curhan said. "At the end of the day I picked the Seahawks because I thought there was a really good opportunity up here. There weren't a lot of draft picks, and offensive line was an area of need, so I felt like it was a good opportunity for me to go show how can help the team."

The Seahawks selected just three players in this year's draft, and only one was an offensive lineman -- sixth-round pick Stone Forsythe of Florida.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson said in February that he was tired of getting hit so much, as the Seahawks allowed 3.1 sacks per game in 2020, which ranked 29th-worst among the 32 NFL teams. 

Since being drafted in the third round in 2012, Wilson has been sacked 394 times, much more than any other quarterback.

Corbin Smith of Seahawks Maven analyzed each offensive line position for Seattle.

The Seahawks typically have relied on a strong running game, but they ranked only 17th in rushing attempts in 2020.

Curhan said the schemes are more detailed than they were at Cal, but the playbook is much the same as the pro-style offense offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave had installed at Cal.

Curhan just completed a three-day rookie mini-camp over the weekend.

At Cal, the 6-foot-6, 330-pound Curhan started 40 of 42 possible games all at right tackle, including all 13 in both 2018 and 2019 as a sophomore and junior. He earned his Cal degree in December.

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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