Grading the Seahawks bringing back Bruce Irvin

The Seahawks are hoping to fix some of their pass-rushing issues by bringing back old friend Bruce Irvin. Was this deal worthy of making?

Bruce Irvin was a first-round draft pick for the Seahawks in 2012. In a lot of ways, it doesn’t seem like that long. And if you just woke up from a four-year slumber (and well done for you if you did!), then you might not realize Irvin ever left Seattle. But he did and he has been pretty good. On Wednesday, Seattle re-signed Irvin and that is a good thing.

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that Irvin is going to return to the Seahawks and instantly take a pass rush that was terrible in 2019 and make it top-ten in 2020. Nor do I expect Irvin to play a ton of snaps and make the run defense better. Irvin is going to be a fairly situational player but should be a productive one.

The Seahawks were 29th in the NFL in sacks last year. That is terrible and has to be fixed. One way of doing that is to bring in good pass rushers and also get depth for doing so. Enter Irvin. Since he left Seattle in 2015, Irvin has gotten 30 sacks. That is in four seasons, so an average of a bit over 7 a year. Or 3 more sacks than any Seahawk had in 2019.

Irvin has also had 66 quarterback hits and missed just three games. My point is that Irvin was a good guy to bring back to the Seahawks. If he can get even 6 sacks in 2020 that means Seattle’s pass rush is better. Plus, adding Irvin should add depth to the defensive line unit.

Of course, if the Seahawks fail to re-sign Jadeveon Clowney, even after re-signing Jarran Reed, then Irvin’s signing won’t be huge. Irvin is a good play but situational. With help, he can be disruptive but by himself not so much. Let’s hope the Seahawks get him some help.

Grade: B