Grading Seahawks free agent signings so far in 2019
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks have mostly waited until Phase 3 of free agency to make big moves. Here are the grades for each Seattle free agent signing so far in 2019.
Seattle had some large needs in free agency in 2019. They had to find an edge rusher to fill the void left after the Seahawks traded Frank Clark before the 2019 NFL Draft. Seattle needed some help along the interior of the defensive line too. And Seattle not signing a kicker would have been a travesty.
Seattle is never a team under general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll to make splash day one of free agency signings. The Seahawks like to wait until other teams have probably overpaid for a free agent or two before doing their business. 2019 was no different. As our own Colby Patnode rightfully pointed out, Seattle can dominate Phase 3 of free agency. While Seattle hasn’t truly dominated phase 3, they have signed some key players for next season.
What I am going to do with these grades isn’t simply give you a reactionary grade for the signing. I am going to give you two grades. One will be the reaction of Seattle signing the player and the second will be to give a guess as to what grade the signing might turn into. On some of these, I hope I am wrong, but more on that when you see the grades.
Seattle has so far signed 14 free agents that were with other teams in 2018, four of these players were signed to futures contracts. The Seahawks have re-signed 17 of their own free agents, too. 10 of these players, however, were exclusive rights free agents so Seattle was the only team that they could have signed with if Seattle chose to keep them.
So, without further ado, here are the grades for the Seahawks free agent signings so far in 2019. (And no, there are no F grades. For me to judge something that Schneider has done as an F before it has time to play out would be arrogant and stupid.)