Bruce Irvin signs elsewhere but Seahawks sign a fan favorite

The Seahawks failed to re-sign linebacker on Wednesday. But Seattle did bring back a fan favorite, at least as part of the practice squad.

Bruce Irvin will not be coming back to play with the Seahawks. At least, he won’t be coming back in 2018. On Wednesday, Irvin decided to take his talents to the Atlanta Falcons. After being released by the Oakland Raiders, Irvin was weighing whether to come back to play in Seattle.

Irvin appears to have made his decision based on the fact that he is from Atlanta and simply wanted to play in front of family. One shouldn’t really blame him. Plus, the way Seattle played against the Chargers this past Sunday, Irvin might rightfully feel that the Falcons have a better shot at the playoffs than does Seattle.

What Seattle loses in not getting Irvin to return, though, is a player who has been a consistent pass rushing threat nearly his entire career. The Seahawks have two guys who can get to the opposing quarterback currently: Frank Clark and Jarran Reed. Seattle needs more.

And Seattle has any real shot at getting to the playoffs, other players are going to have to help Clark and Reed. Irvin would have done that.

Seattle did re-sign Troymaine Pope to the practice squad, however. This is a much less splashy and important move than an Irvin signing would have been. But Pope was a fan favorite in preseason of 2016 and seems to be a good guy.

And who knows? The way the season is playing out and Chris Carson being banged up often enough, maybe Seattle will need to call on Pope. And if Pope plays it may be in less important games but could also supply 12s with a little excitement later in the year when the season might seem lost.