Marcus Smith re-signs with Seahawks, adds depth at defensive end
Marcus Smith is another member of the 2017 Seahawks that decided to stick around for another shot at the playoffs. Playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs??
Yeah, the Seahawks still have some work to do before we talk about playoffs. Signing Marcus Smith isn’t the big impact move that will put Seattle over the top. But it’s certainly a step in the right direction.
Marcus Smith appeared in 14 games for the Seahawks last year. The Philadelphia Eagles drafted him in the first round in 2014. Despite that, he was only in for 68 plays as a rookie, all at linebacker. That tends to happen when your new team has Fletcher Cox and Cedric Thornton established on the ends. The Eagles moved him to defensive end in 2016, then decided they’d seen enough. Or to be accurate, hadn’t seen as much as they expected from a first round pick.
The Seahawks saw enough to take a flyer on him last year. Brought in for depth, Marcus Smith proved his value when Cliff Avril went down for the season against the Colts in the fourth game. While Smith never got a start, he did manage 2.5 sacks in 253 snaps. For comparison, Frank Clark had 9 sacks in 740 snaps and Michael Bennett had 8.5 in 931 snaps. Not saying Marcus Smith deserved to start, but those 2.5 sacks are bigger in the context of his opportunities.
Contract details
As we’ve seen for many of the Seahawks deals, the details on the contract for Marcus Smith are sparse. We do know it’s a one year deal with a total value of $2.7 million. That makes a nice bump from the $998 thousand he played for in 2017.
National Reaction
Not a lot of buzz either way on this one. That’s what I’d expect for a player entering his fifth year with zero career starts. But there is some interest:
Likely heavy in bonuses for this 1-year deal for Marcus Smith, PHI's former 1st-round pick, based on promise. #Seahawks coaches think they can get him to be a top pass rusher again https://t.co/iT4ucbszI7 https://t.co/ZtkhKAWDAd
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) March 22, 2018
#Seahawks collecting Bust former Rd1 Picks from last 5 Yrs. Obviously these guys talented. Money Ball Move? Based on success or Seahawks program majority these guys Carroll/Schneider never had shot at draft day. Look at edge rushers...Dion Jordan. Keke Mingo & Marcus Smith..
— Chad Forbes (@NFLDraftBites) March 22, 2018
And back to Gregg Bell:
#Seahawks Insider: Marcus Smith. Dion Jordan. Barkevious Mingo. No, the names replacing Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril on Seattle's pass rush don't exactly have the same cachet https://t.co/uRiLAeEcmI … @thenewstribune
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) March 23, 2018
Grade: C
Greg Bell is right, you know. The name recognition for edge rushers Marcus Smith, Dion Jordan and Barkevious Mingo just isn’t there. Unless they’re recognized as first round picks that, shall we say, have underperformed so far. Jordan played very well in his five games last year, though. While Smith didn’t push anyone to the bench, he played well enough to nearly triple his salary. If Smith can push Jordan to the bench, then this is a B. Either that, or Jordan will have turned back into the player he was for Miami. Please, please, no.
Related Story: Seahawks sign a tasty tackle. Defensive, that is
Speaking of salary, if/when Cliff Avril gets cut, Smith will be the Seahawks highest paid defensive end. Somehow, I didn’t see that one coming.