Seahawks not trading for Calais Campbell should give 12s pause

The Seahawks need good defensive lineman. Calais Campbell is good. Campbell was traded on Sunday but not to Seattle and that could be a bad sign.

Let me clear here. I do not want to start this article by implying Calais Campbell is the greatest defensive end in today’s NFL. But I will say is that Calais Campbell is better than anyone currently on the 2020 Seahawks roster and that is fact. Campbell was traded by the Jaguars to the Ravens on Sunday for a, wait for it…fifth-round pick. The question that 12s might be asking is, why couldn’t the Seahawks have made this trade?

And there is nothing that could really be argued against that happening. Seattle could have traded a fifth-round pick or a fourth-round pick to the Jaguars and gotten Calais Campbell. This would be the same Campbell that hasn’t missed a game since 2014 and has had 31.5 sacks combined in the last three years.

Sure, Calais Campbell is going to be 34 years old when the 2020 season starts and he wants an extension on his current deal. His sack numbers were down in 2019 (6.5, but still better than any Seahawks player) and his tackles for loss were down (10, still better than any Seahawk) but his quarterback hits were up (25, 12 more than Jadeveon Clowney who led the Seahawks with 12).

But the Seahawks need good defensive linemen and even though Calais Campbell is going to be 34 he is still a good defensive lineman. And for the Ravens to only give up a fifth-round pick for him might mean that the Seahawks didn’t even try to get Campbell. And this means Seattle might be thinking more about money than quality and this means a patch-work line. That means Seattle might not make the playoffs in 2020.

12s want the Seahawks to make good and important moves to get good and important defensive linemen, especially edge rushers, for next season and beyond. No one currently on the Seattle roster has proven to be truly good.

So for Seattle to seemingly pass on trying to get Campbell with a mid-round draft choice might make some 12s question where the direction of the defensive line is heading in 2020. And they wouldn’t be wrong to question that.