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D’Anthony Smith and Ahtyba Rubin Sign with Seahawks

By Paul Novak

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The blockbusters are behind us and barring quite the surprise, NFL teams are now focusing more on filling their areas of need with role players rather than adding a star difference maker.

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Seattle’s general manager, John Schneider, has already made the splash of the offseason when he traded one Pro Bowler, Max Unger, to the New Orleans Saints for another, tight end Jimmy Graham.

Today the defense added a few pieces on the line with the signing of former Cleveland Brown Ahtyba Rubin and re-signing D’Anthony Smith to a new one-year $2.5 million deal. Rubin’s terms have not been revealed but it will also be a one-year contract.

Ahtyba is an interesting piece for Seattle. At just 28-years old, the 6-foot-2 325 pound interior lineman has been in the NFL for eight seasons. Every report I’ve found thus far has commented on his “upside” and “potential.”

Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

With Kevin Williams currently a free agent, it appears that Rubin may be filling a potential vacancy left by Williams if the front office decides to not bring him back.

In a slightly less likely scenario, Brandon Mebane, who finished last season on the disabled list could be another cap casualty. He’s going to cost the Seahawks $5.7 million in cap space in 2015. The run-stuffing defensive tackle underwent hamstring surgery and could also be asked to restructure his deal.

Rubin’s 28 tackles and one sack last season with the Browns is not very impressive, however the Browns use a 3-4 base defense and his numbers are likely to improve if he sees the amount of playing time as Williams did last season.

NFL.com had Rubin listed as their 83rd best free agent on their Top 101 Free Agents list.

Next: Updated Draft Needs for the Seahawks

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