Rookie Tory Horton starring at Seahawks camp coming at Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s expense
A Seahawks rookie’s rapid rise has veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s roster spot in question.
If not jeopardy.
The former top deep threat for Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay has gone from Seattle’s starting offense to begin training camp with fellow wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to demoted. Emerging, 22-year-old Tory Horton, the Seahawks’ 5th-round draft choice this spring, has taken Valdes-Scantling’s job catching passes from new starting quarterback Sam Darnold 12 practices into camp.
Horton’s speed and sharp route running is proving he’s all the way back from knee surgery in October that ended his college career at Colorado State. He has become a star of Seattle’s training camp.
At Valdes-Scantling’s expense.
The 30-year-old wide receiver is on his fourth team in two years. He has for the past week been on the second offense with Jake Bobo, catching passes from backup quarterback Drew Lock.
Tuesday in practice, Valdes-Scantling did not react to Lock’s pass to him outside right on a intermediate out route to the sideline. The ball whizzed past the unsuspecting wide receiver’s helmet. Damarion Williams was so surprised Valdes-Scantling made no effort on the pass, the cornerback who was behind the receiver on the play had the untouched ball clang off his face mask. It fell to the ground incomplete.
Valdes-Scantling then walked most of the way back to the huddle. On the next snap, he caught Lock’s short pass over the middle then showed the speed that had him leading the NFL at 20.9 yards per catch with Rodgers’ Packers five years ago. Valdes-Scantling zoomed past three defenders upon the ball. He ran free through the middle of the field for a long gain.
The News Tribune asked coach Mike Macdonald following practice Tuesday how he believes Valdes-Scantling is taking being supplanted by a rookie eight years his junior.
“Well, he knows he’s in a battle. And I think he respects Tory, what he’s doing,” Macdonald said. “And he’s had a great attitude. He’s had a tremendous attitude.
“He’s a competitor at heart. I mean, he’s had a great career. But there’s also a lot of great competition, too. That’s what you want from vets that you bring in. Come on and bring it, but if doesn’t go your way initially, (not) the way exactly you want it, that’s OK. We’re still halfway through.
“Let’s rock and roll. Start stacking some more plays. And it’s a fun competition to watch.”
Valdes-Scantling’s changed situation
The Seahawks signed Valdes-Scantling to a one-year free-agent contract in March. That was days after they traded DK Metcalf to Pittsburgh. That was also after Seattle released 10-year veteran wide receiver Tyler Lockett.
Valdes-Scantling played in 2024 for Buffalo and New Orleans. He played the final eight games of last season for then-Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Kubiak is beginning his first season as the Seahawks play caller and offensive coordinator.
Upon signing, Valdes-Scantling talked about his familiarity with Kubiak and the coach’s system as reasons he chose Seattle. He said Kubiak’s scheme was a lot like the system he ran with Rodgers in Green Bay to begin his career, from 2018-21.
Those remain his most productive, consistent years in the league.
“I think it was a great fit,” he said of the Seahawks in March. “Obviously, they lost some really good receivers. That kind of opened up the door for me to come in, kind of step in to help where they lost those two helluva players.
“I’m very excited. ...I’m grateful for this opportunity.”
Then the Seahawks drafted Horton, in May.
In August, Horton is becoming what the 6-foot-4 Valdes-Scantling thought he was going to be in Seattle’s offense.
The 6-2 Horton is the one running deep patterns as an outside, “X” receiver. Horton is the one taking and making the deep shots from Darnold in Kubiak’s long passing game off play-action passes and running the ball. Horton is running the slants, under routes and out routes Valdes-Scantling was expecting to run with Darnold, not Lock, in this camp and season.
The rookie’s emergence through the first dozen practices of training camp has Valdes-Scantling likely needing to play, and perform well, far more than he expected to in Seattle’s three preseason games. Those begin Thursday night at Lumen Field against Pete Carroll’s Las Vegas Raiders.
Macdonald is still thinking about the January 2024 AFC championship game Valdes-Scantling, then with Kansas City, played against him. Macdonald was the defensive coordinator for Baltimore. The Chiefs were leading the Ravens by seven points with just over 2 minutes remaining. Patrick Mahomes completed a third-down pass to Valdes-Scantling while the receiver was back-pedaling and falling down, for a long first down. That clinched the Chiefs’, and not Macdonald’s Ravens’, trip to the Super Bowl.
“I got a bad memory of ‘Quez, just the last play of the AFC Championship,” Macdonald said Tuesday. “Stuck a dagger in our heart.
“That’s on my mind a lot.”
Could Seattle release Valdes-Scantling
If Horton doesn’t yield what he’s seized these last two weeks, could the Seahawks release Valdes-Scantling before he plays a real game for them?
Not only is Horton performing better with the starting offense, the rookie also plays special teams. He has been practicing as Seattle’s primary punt returner, which he was at Colorado State. Horton is likely to get punt returns in preseason games. He also has been fielding kickoffs, though he hasn’t done that in a game before.
Bobo has played extensively on special teams in his first two NFL seasons for Seattle. That includes his 67% of teams snaps last season.
Dareke Young, a fifth wide receiver candidate to make the 53-man roster for the regular season, has also played the majority of his NFL snaps through three seasons on special teams.
In the last five NFL seasons, Valdes-Scantling has had a grand total of one special-teams snap. That was for Green Bay in 2021. He’s not playing on any of the kicking teams for the Seahawks.
So the Seahawks have a 30-year-old on a one-year, veteran contract who doesn’t play special teams and is the fourth or fifth wide receiver on the roster right now.
Valdes-Scantling’s contract guarantees him $3 million for 2025. In normal summer into fall, that’s a cost that’s a little steep to cut without getting a game out of a veteran.
Yet this summer the Seahawks have an unusually large amount of salary-cap space, $34.68 million per overthecap.com.
Plus, Kubiak’s offense promises to use two tight ends and a fullback on far more plays than Seattle’s had in a generation this season. That means one fewer wide receiver than usual will often be on the field for these Seahawks. That, in turn, means the team may keep only five wide receivers when it sets its initial 53-man roster for the regular season Aug. 27, instead of the usual six wide receivers.
If there was ever a preseason Seattle general manager John Schneider could absorb a $3 million sunk cost on a second-string wide receiver who doesn’t play on special teams, this may be the one.
Macdonald is leaving room for Valdes-Scantling to win back his job with the first-team offense before the Seahawks’ season begins Sept. 7 against San Francisco.
“The things that he does, I think are going to show up more when we’re more alive, being able to separate the defense and get into that third level to open up some of those intermediate routes,” Macdonald said. “And if they don’t respect what he can do, we saw last year (with New Orleans) what he’s done.”
This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
