Former Seahawks guard J.R. Sweezy was released Friday by Tampa Bay. It makes sense for Seattle to at least take a look at him for a return gig.
J.R. Sweezy hasn’t had the best luck since he left the Seahawks after the 2015 season. He signed a five year deal with the Bucaneers worth over $32 million, and promptly missed the entire 2016 season with a back injury. He came back in 2017 and played adequately, but broke his leg and missed the last two games of the year. By cutting him, Tampa Bay will save over $15 million. I believe 12s are familiar with the concept of cutting good players to save money.
So Sweezy is available, and it seems the Seahawks could use some depth on the line, especially at guard. D. J. Fluker was signed as an upgrade in general, but specifically to improve the Seahawks woeful running game. Seattle looks like they could use Sweezy’s help on the line. Pro Football Focus graded him at 43.9 overall in 2017. That certainly isn’t great, but it’s better than any Seahawks guard last season other than Luke Joeckel. And Joeckel barely edged out Sweezy, 44.5 to 43.9.
Sweezy played pretty well for the Seahawks in his first stint, especially in 2013. Teams tend to have a lot of guys play well in championship years. Funny how it works that way, isn’t it? Anyway, Sweezy may not be Zack Martin or Andrew Norwell, but it won’t cost Seattle $84 million to see if he can help them out, either.
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Signing J.R. Sweezy to return to the Seahawks wouldn’t exactly be a big splash. But he can address a need. Even if all he does is push Fluker and Ethan Pocic to be even better, he’s likely to be a stronger backup than Jordan Roos and Willie Beavers. Seattle absolutely has to give him a shot.