Seahawks need to sign former-Husky defensive tackle Danny Shelton
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks need to get better at defensive tackle in 2020. One way of doing that is to sign former Washington Husky Danny Shelton.
The Seahawks need to replace their entire defensive line from 2019. OK. Maybe it isn’t that bad, but it is close. Seattle’s free agents on the unit include Jadeveon Clowney, Al Woods, Quinton Jefferson, Jarran Reed and Joe Nash. (Yes, I realize Joe Nash hasn’t played since 1996, but he would still, I believe, qualify as a free agent.) Seattle needs reinforcements for 2020 and one player they should sign is Danny Shelton.
It seems like every season I write that the Seahawks need to target Shelton in free agent. Last year I waited until the end of March to write this same kind of article! But 2020 is different. Seattle’s defensive line was bad last season and Shelton can help fix that.
Oddly, Shelton was actually better on pass snaps last year than run snaps. He has mostly been known as a good player against the run and just meh against the pass. But with the Patriots in 2019, Shelton had 3 sacks from his defensive tackle position. That doesn’t sound like a ton of sacks until you remember that Seattle’s leading sacker last year, Rasheem Green, had only 4 sacks.
The best thing about Shelton, though, is that he is normally better at stopping the run and the Seahawks gave up 22 rushing touchdowns in 2019 (19 of them to Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson! – Don’t actually look that up.) Seattle’s defensive line needs help stopping the run and the pass, so a player who can do a bit of both is definitely worth signing.
Plus, Shelton is no stranger to Seattle. He grew up in Auburn, Washington and played his college ball at the University of Washington. (Go Huskies!) I doubt that Shelton simply gives the Seahawks a discount because he presumably has family in the area, but it is worth a shot for John Schneider to ask.
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That is the other bit, though. Seattle might be able to sign Shelton to contract worth $3 to 4 million per season. In 2019, Shelton skimmed by with just a base salary of $805,000. Seattle has around $55 million in cap space now after signing Greg Olsen. They can afford Shelton and need a player like him and need to make every effort to sign him.