Seattle Seahawks face dilemma with three centers

The Seattle Seahawks are faced with an interesting an uncommon roster problem. With Patrick Lewis back from his ankle injury, the team now has three healthy centers on the roster. They only need two, but will they cut one loose and risk losing them?

Given that Lewis was the starter when he was injured, it makes sense for him to return to the starting lineup. At the same time, he only started one game, and wasn’t significantly better than the guy he replaced in that one start.

Nowak started the season as the starter. He’s the most athletic of the trio and has the highest upside. If the Seahawks are looking to have the best possible unit for the playoffs, he should continue to get a chance to work though his learning curve.

Of course, if the team is looking to have the best possible offensive line for this one game, then Lemuel Jeanpierre should start. He’s the veteran. He’s better at making the necessary line calls than the two younger players. He makes less mistakes, but he has virtually no upside to develop into a Pro Bowl-level player.

Once the team decides on a starter, there is still the question of what to do with the other guys. They don’t need three centers. If one is going to be shown the door to bring in help elsewhere on the roster, who will it be?

Ideally, it would be nice to see Drew Nowak moved to left guard. Justin Britt has been awful in that spot, and Nowak would benefit the most by continuing to play. Doing that would allow the team to play Jeanpierre at center, without sacrificing the long-term development of the line overall.

Then again, benching Britt means giving up on a former top pick who showed promise as a rookie. That doesn’t feel like something the Seahawks are prepared to do.

No matter what happens, this is an interesting situation for the Seahawks.

Next: Paul Richardson back from ACL injury

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