'Excited About His Future': Seahawks Developing John Rhys Plumlee at New Position

Formerly a quarterback at Ole Miss and UCF, John Rhys Plumlee has made great progress as a receiver, earning a late season call up to the 53-man roster.

Dec 22, 2023; Tampa, FL, USA; UCF Knights quarterback John Rhys Plumlee (10) scrambles with the ball during the first half of the Gasparilla Bowl against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

With the playoffs out of the picture, the Seattle Seahawks made a flurry of roster moves this week, signing three players to the active roster prior to their season finale against the Los Angeles Rams.

Among those players called up from the practice squad, the Seahawks made a surprising move to call up a fourth quarterback to the roster, only for former UCF star John Rhys Plumlee to be listed as a receiver instead. Behind the scenes, as confirmed by coach Mike Macdonald on Friday, the team has transitioned him from playing under center to wideout, demonstrating positive progress on the practice field since signing with the practice squad in November.

"We're excited about his future," Macdonald told reporters. "He's done some good things since he showed up, so we wanted to keep him around."

A two-sport standout at Ole Miss and UCF, Plumlee passed for 5,838 yards and 38 touchdowns in his collegiate career, but he did much of his damage as a dual threat weapon who ran the ball like a running back. As a freshman for the Rebels in 2019, he rushed for 1,023 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 6.6 yards per carry to go with four touchdown passes in nine games against top competition in the SEC.

After two seasons where he only saw the field sparingly, including catching 19 passes for 201 yards as a reserve receiver in 2021, Plumlee transferred to UCF, which provided the opportunity for him to continue to play football and baseball. He took over as the program's new quarterback in 2022, rushing for 1,367 yards and 16 touchdowns in two seasons leading their offense.

Despite his impressive production as a passer and runner and playing in the East-West Shrine Bowl, Plumlee didn't receive an invite to the 2024 NFL combine. But he garnered attention from NFL scouts after an impressive workout at the Big 12 Pro Day, running the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds and a sub-7.00 second 3-cone drill along with a 36 1/2-inch vertical jump.

Among several teams that expressed interest in him during the pre-draft process, the Seahawks brought Plumlee in to the VMAC for one of their top-30 visits. Ultimately, after going undrafted, he signed with the Steelers and spent training camp with the team before being waived in final roster cuts, opting to sign with the Jaguars practice squad three days later.

Cut by Jacksonville in November, Seattle promptly brought him on board, listing him as a quarterback at the time. But as Ole Miss did with him four years ago, he has been working full-time as a receiver, performing well enough in the eyes of Macdonald and the coaching staff to earn a shot at making his NFL debut on Sunday in Los Angeles.

It remains to be seen whether Plumlee will see any action at SoFi Stadium or even dress for the Seahawks, as Jake Bobo, Dareke Young, and Cody White also are on the 53-man roster behind DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba at the receiver position.

But if Plumlee does play, he provides a unique skill set compared to the rest of Seattle's receiving corps given his prior background playing quarterback and running back. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb could hand it off to him on jet sweeps, deploy him out of the backfield, or even run a trick play to utilize his passing ability, while he could be a playmaker after the catch as well after rushing for 266 yards after contact in his final college season.

Either way, as evidenced by the decision to sign him to the roster for the season finale, Seattle views the multi-talented Plumlee as a potential contributor on offense down the road. Whether he ends up playing or not this weekend, after being rewarded for his efforts on the practice field, Macdonald looks forward to continuing to work with him next spring with visions of him being a player to watch when training camp opens in late July.

"We're excited about that and his growth, but yeah, he'll be fun to work with this offseason."

More Seahawks News

Seahawks Sign CB Artie Burns, NT Brandon Pili From Practice Squad

Report: Seahawks, Ernest Jones IV Pause Contract Talks

Seahawks' Geno Smith Previews Rams Finale

Seattle Seahawks Draft Position All But Decided Due To Winning Too Much

NFL Power Rankings: Where Are Seahawks Going Into Week 18?