Seahawks should let these three players walk in free agency
The Seahawks now look to 2019. The first order of business is which of their own players to re-sign. These three will leave for less green pastures.
The Seahawks 2018 season was better than almost anyone expected, but it’s time to build on that success. With 13 unrestricted free agents, Seattle has a lot of tough decisions ahead. Two of those decisions are simple, so we’ll hit those first.
The easiest decision is on defensive end Frank Clark. He had a terrific, Pro Bowl worthy season in 2018. The fact he hasn’t been re-signed already may have some 12s a bit anxious, but there is no way the Seahawks will let him walk. A big fat four year contract will take him up to age 30, when Seattle would have to make a tough decision.
More from Seattle Seahawks News
- 4 prospects Seahawks could reach for at No. 20 in 2023 NFL Draft
- Seattle Seahawks Mock Draft: Post-first wave of free agency
- Seahawks podcast: A review of the first week of free agency
- 4 experiments the Seattle Seahawks could cut short in 2023
- 3 pros and cons of Seattle Seahawks drafting Anthony Richardson
Speaking of age 30, that’s how old Earl Thomas will be at the start of the 2019 season. This is the other easy decision for the Seahawks. Namely because Thomas has made it for them.
Or to be more accurate, Seattle made their choice before the 2018 season when they chose not to extend his contract. At this point, the All World safety would almost certainly take a pay cut to play anywhere other than Seattle.
I’m not counting Thomas as one of the five that will likely be heading out of Seattle; he’s too obvious. Then again, he could be back. Stranger things have happened, I suppose. For the life of me, I can’t think of anything that would be as strange as Earl Thomas sting with the Seahawks, though.
These three Seahawks played well, but it’s time to say adios
On to the three players I believe will be playing somewhere other than CenturyLink Field in 2019. First, defensive tackle Shamar Stephen. It isn’t that he played badly, but that rookie Poona Ford played so well. Ford came on strong as the season progressed. Over the last three games, Ford was in for 84 snaps, while Stephen played 79. Pro Football Focus rated Ford at 89.5, and Stephen at 60.4. Stephen made $2.1 million for 2018 and made 14 starts for a playoff team. He’s likely to get a similar deal as a free agent. Ford is under contract through 2020 at $570 thousand. Ford will be an upgrade, and cheaper. Stephen is gone.
Sebastian Janikowski won’t be back. Seabass was definitely an upgrade over Blair Walsh, even if he isn’t the greatest tackler Seattle has ever seen. The 40-year-old had a fine season, especially as he kicked three game-winning field goals. But pulling a hamstring on his last kick for Seattle was almost certainly his last kick for Seattle.
Dion Jordan is another player who performed well, but is a bit too expensive for his production. He was a bargain in 2017 when the Seahawks gave him a chance to get back into the game. Despite playing in just five games, Jordan had four sacks, five quarterback hits, and 18 combined tackles. Seattle got all that for a mere $366 thousand. In 2018 he got a nice pay bump, to $1.9 million. Jordan played in 12 games last year and jumped from 135 defensive snaps to 295 in 2018.
Even though he had more than twice the opportunities, his sack count dropped from 4.0 to 1.5. Jordan didn’t improve much elsewhere to make up for that, either. His quarterback hits only improved by one, from five to six, and his total tackles climbed from 18 to 22. He went from being a bargain to being a decent player. I’m thrilled that he got his act together, but unless he’ll take a pay cut or at least agree to an incentive-laden contract, Jordan will be playing elsewhere.
dark. Next. Seahawks should target these free agents
As for K.J. Wright, I haven’t quite figured out which way the wind is blowing there. The Seahawks don’t have a handle on this question either. Co-conspirator Lee Vowell already opined on this question, but as for a final answer, I’ll just have to leave that for another day. Until then, go Hawks!