Could the Seahawks bring Bruce Irvin back for their sack race?

The Seahawks need another player on the edge, that’s no secret. Could they look to their past and find their future with Bruce Irvin?

The Seahawks need another pass rusher. That isn’t exactly a revelation, as we’ve discussed who they could pursue among free agents before. We’ve also checked off a few sack artists they could find in the upcoming draft. As of yet, we haven’t looked to their past for one very good candidate. It’s high time to take a look at Bruce Irvin.

Irvin is one of those Seahawks rarities: a first-round draft pick. He proved to be worth it as a rookie, notching eight sacks and another 19 hits on the quarterback. Both of those numbers were second on the team, behind speedy edge rusher Chris Clemons. That’s despite Irvin only playing on 43 percent of the defense’s snaps as a rookie.

Seattle Seahawks

He didn’t gain any ground in 2013, though. No doubt the arrivals of Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril had a lot to do with that. Irvin missed four games that year, too. But he bounced back in 2014 as his snap counts rose above 70 percent and he saw more time behind the line of scrimmage. He closed out his Hawks career – at least, to this date – after the 2015 season with 22 sacks and 49 quarterback hits. Now those averages – 5.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hits – aren’t exactly Hall of Fame standards, but they’re certainly more productive than what the Seahawks have at the position now.

So why would he choose the Seahawks this time around? The Falcons experience wasn’t quite what he expected, for one. He knew Atlanta wasn’t exactly a top playoff contender, as they were already 4-4. But there’s quite an allure to going home, so it’s easy to see why he made that decision in 2018.

Seahawks Frank Clark wants Irvin back

But it’s 2019, and the Hawks have a couple of playmates eager to see him come back. One in particular is Frank Clark, also known as the beast of Twitter. He can be pretty persuasive. Check out his plea for Irvin to come to his football home here:

https://twitter.com/TheRealFrankC_/status/1099839066739109889

From Clark’s emoji, I assume that he’s the alien, Jarran Reed the skull and crossbones, which makes Irvin the ogre/demon. Those would make some pretty sweet shirts in College Navy and Action Green, right?

Could it happen? As far as play on the field is concerned, sure it could. Irvin credits current Hawks defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr with saving his career by moving him to outside linebacker. He’s profited by moving back to the edge more often, as he apparently would rather just chase quarterbacks than tight ends. That’s fine with me, he’s good at it. The Falcons did move him around the field, and we know how much Pete Carroll values flexibility.

As for contracts, that’s a decent possibility too. He signed with Atlanta for just $1.5 million last year. Of course, that was for half a season, and the Raiders still had to pay Irvin the balance of his $8 million contract. He won’t be signing for $1.5 million in 2019, that’s for certain. Would he take $3 or $4 million? Perhaps; he certainly won’t get $7.75 million, which was the amount Seattle would have paid to keep him in his option year of 2016.

I’d love to see the Seahawks make this work. It’s a longshot, though. Irvin has made it clear that he loves being back in Atlanta and playing for his city. As Pete Carroll said when Irvin was released by the Raiders, he couldn’t make Seattle Atlanta. Thank goodness for that; it’s a great city, but the traffic is beyond horrendous.

Here’s the thing. With K.J. Wright and his free agency still in play, I can’t see the Hawks shelling out enough to pull Irvin away from the Falcons. If Wright leaves, Irvin isn’t his replacement, either. Sadly, I only see about a 20 percent chance of Irvin coming back. But I’m really pulling for those odds to pay off.