Grading the Seahawks impending free agents through 11 games
By Lee Vowell
ERFAs and RFAs
Exclusive-rights free agents
The NFL defines ERFAs as “players with two or fewer seasons of service time and whose contracts have expired. If their team tenders a qualifying offer (a one-year contract usually at league-minimum salary) the player has no negotiating rights with other teams, and must either sign the tender with the team or sit out the season,” according to Wikipedia.
The Seahawks have seven such players on their roster currently. Some of them, like Trevone Boykin, will definitely not be returning. Others will possibly return and one will definitely come back.
Receiver David Moore is an ERFA. But after his production of the last few weeks, Moore not only will remain with the Seahawks but will be an important part of their passing game for the next few years. Moore has 22 catches this season and five touchdowns. I am not really giving grades to the ERFAs, but if I were Moore would get an A.
Austin Calitro is also an ERFA and has done decently in a lot of time in 2018, but he also has shown he isn’t really ready to be a starter in the NFL.
Restricted free agents
A restricted free agent is a player who has accrued three seasons in the league. The player can negotiate with other teams but their old team has the ability to match any offer.
Seattle has nine of the types of free agents. The list includes George Fant and Joey Hunt, both offensive linemen. Quinton Jefferson and Branden Jackson are two defensive linemen that are RFAs. And running back J.D. McKissic is an RFA too,
While it might be nice to have some of the RFAs return, the Seahawks would survive just as well if none of them came back.
And now for the fun stuff. Here are the grades for Seattle’s unrestricted free agents through 11 games of 2018.