Seahawks Free Agency Rumor Mill, Irvin to Cards?

The NFL free agency rumor mill is now in full swing! Who might be coming and going for the Seahawks? Keep checking 12thmanrising.com for all the latest!

Here at 12th Man Rising, we scour the internet and keep our ears to the ground, so you don’t have to!

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Even though free agents can’t officially sign with teams until 1:oopm PST Wednesday (except those who were released prior to the end of the league year), today marked the beginning of the two day “legal tampering period” where agents are allowed to talk contract details with prospective employers. Which prompted my co-editor Keith Myers to offer up this assessment:

Well whatever it’s called, it helps generate a lot of buzz. Some of it is legit, while some of it (maybe even most of it) is leaked by agents themselves as they try to create an advantageous market for their clients. Either way, take most rumors the next few days with a grain of salt, and as you’re perusing Twitter, always check to see that the accounts you’re seeing news re-tweeted from are legit. This is the time of year you’ll see the most fake Twitter accounts. I’ve been burned. You’ve been warned.

And now for today’s biggest Seahawks related reports, er……. rumors:

J.R. SWEEZY IS IN DEMAND!

Keith did a great job covering this in depth earlier today, but this is one of those instances where the agent is certainly behind the reports that up to TEN teams have genuine interest in the right guard. How else would a reporter get that info? Did all ten of those teams share that info with reporters? Highly doubtful.

My take? Sweezy is expendable. He’s come a long way from being a late round draftee and positional convert, but the Hawks have a ready-made in house replacement in Mark Glowinski, who will come much cheaper. This should allow the Hawks to spread some money around the rest of the O-line as they seek to upgrade the weakest position group on the roster.

BRUCE IRVIN TO ARIZONA? 

The usual suspects are reportedly in line to take a shot at the Seahawks athletic OLB, as former Seattle defensive coordinators Gus Bradley in Jacksonville and Dan Quinn in Atlanta are among the teams talking to the Irvin camp. But this surprising bit of news came out earlier today….

Which prompted my Twitter timeline to fill up with Seahawks fans wringing their hands about having to face Irvin twice a year within the division. I find that odd, given that the predominant sentiment this off season has seemed to be that Irvin was semi-expendable, and his salary spot could better be used elsewhere. I still say Atlanta makes the most sense for Irvin. It’s close to home and Quinn played a big part in his conversion to LB. Stay tuned.

SEAHAWKS INTERESTED IN BRANDON MARSHALL?

No, not the Jets WR (although that would be kind of awesome) but rather the Denver Broncos linebacker. The Super Bowl champs are feeling a salary crunch with the impending mega-deal for Von Miller. They face the prospect of losing stud DE Malik Jackson over it, and Marshall may be on the move as well.

The 6’1″ 242 pound Marshall was drafted by Jacksonville in the 5th round of the vaunted 2012 draft. The last two years in Denver he’s been a full time starter, racking up 171 tackles, 49 assists, 13 passes defensed and 4 forced fumbles. He played inside linebacker in Wade Phillips 3-4 defense but is more naturally an OLB. If the Seahawks interest is legitimate, it would seem this news is tied to Irvin’s impending departure. Marshall is considered one of the fastest linebackers in the league and would be a logical fit at Irvin’s old spot.

Marshall is a restricted free agent, and the Broncos placed a second round tender on him. What this means is Denver could match any offer sheet Marshal were to sign with the Hawks. If they chose to let him go, Seattle would have to surrender their 2nd round pick in exchange.

Is Marshall good enough to warrant such a cost? And at what type of annual salary? Surely he would cost less than Irvin is going to make on the open market. This is interesting chatter. If true, it would seem to indicate the Seahawks don’t like how their second round player grades match up with their needs. If it happens, Marshall would be an intriguing addition to the Hawks front seven.

OTHER ODDS AND ENDS:

• Russell Okung has reiterated that he’s going to test the market, despite the Seahawks interest in retaining the oft-injured left tackle. I still expect him to sign elsewhere, and the Seahawks will get a solid mid-round comp pick next year in return.
• Seattle has reportedly made veteran DT Brandon Mebane an offer to return for his 10th season with the Hawks, but he’s testing the market and apparently has interest from multiple teams as well. He’s been down this road before, when he was much younger and higher paid, and ultimately chose to remain in the Northwest. We will see what happens this time around.

Next: 10 free agents that make sense for the Seahawks

• Seattle currently has about $17 million in salary cap space, according to overthecap.com. Barring any other releases or restructures, that enough to get a few things done but don’t look for any big splash signings.