Seahawks free agency notes: March 17th, early edition
The Seahawks have made more noise by who they lost so far, so it’s good to see a few actual signings. Even if they aren’t blockbusters.
We won’t recap all the players the Seahawks have lost here. We’ll wait until the bloodbath is over for that. For now we’ll focus on that tiny glimmer of silver shining through the terrifying cumulonimbus that has been the Seahawks off-season so far. You may be surprised, but Seattle actually has signed some free agents.
Maurice Alexander, S. Alexander is certainly familiar with the division, as he played with the Rams for his first four seasons in the league. His best year by far was 2016 when he had 14 starts, picked off two passes and defended four more. Pro Football Focus had him rated at 82.9 that year. He only played four games in 2017, as the Rams cut him after a poor start. He’s lined up at both safety spots, so provides some insurance, and a chance to get back to his 2016 form.
Jaron Brown, WR. Another former division rival, Brown last played for the Cardinals. We missed him as a possible target when we ran through free agent wide receivers earlier. Silly me, I looked at John Brown instead of Jaron. John has the better overall resume, while Jaron had the better 2017. One potential source of alarm: Pro Footabll Focus rated Brown at just 49.3 for his receiving skills.
Ed Dickson, TE. After going cheap on Austin Seferian-Jenkins (and practically everyone else), the Seahawks landed a tight end that probably fits their scheme better anyway. Dickson has been much more of a blocking tight end than a receiver throughout his career. That certainly fits Pete Carroll’s long-stated plan to get back to a solid running game. Dickson did bring in 30 catches last year for the Panthers, his most since 2011.
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We’ll have an-depth looks at all of these players over the next few days. As of now, the Seahawks have $18 million in cap space, which is $4 million more than they started with this off-season. They may pull a rabbit out of the hat yet. A big flashy rabbit that everyone knows. But, don’t hold your breath.