The Seahawks are running out of time to sign high-end pass rushers. But there might be a few bargain free agents Seattle could sign to one-year deals.
Let me say this first. Some of you who read this are going to think I am an idiot by the time you finish this article. And if you already think I am an idiot, then this might only reinforce your belief. But the fact is the Seahawks still need pass rushers and there are a few players Seattle should risk signing to one-year deals.
Seattle isn’t afraid to make these kinds of moves. Just last offseason they made the great signing of Ziggy Ansah. OK, so maybe that didn’t work out as Ansah had just 2.5 sacks in 11 games and was pretty much ineffective on every other play that didn’t result in a sack. Ansah’s tackles-for-loss? That would be just 3 along with just 8 quarterback hits.
Sadly, the Seahawks were so awful at getting to the quarterback, Ansah still was among the team leaders in sacks and quarterback hits. Seattle needs to overhaul its group of edge rushers, but this offseason they have not done much to do that.
Seattle still hopes Jadeveon Clowney will return. The Seahawks did bring back Bruce Irvin who had 8 sacks last year with the Carolina Panthers. And Seattle re-signed Jarran Reed who had a bad year in 2019 after having a great one in 2018.
There are still some players able to get to opposing quarterbacks on the market. Seattle should think about offering three of them one-year deals, if the money is right, in hopes Seattle can improve its pressure rate in 2020.
Michael Bennett
Bennett is 34 years old and will turn 35 during the 2020 season. In 2019, Bennett split time between the Patriots and the Cowboys and had 6.5 sacks, 15 quarterback hits and 14 tackles-for-loss. There is no doubt he is slowing down, but one thing is clear: Michael Bennett can still play football.
And according to lots of reports I am too lazy to cite here, Bennett wants to play in 2020 as well. Bennett spent 5 seasons with the Seahawks and had by far his most productive years. He would already know what the Seahawks want to do defensively with a 4-3 base, too.
Bennett might be more of a situational player now, but that is OK. Seattle would need him to do only one thing really well and help out in a couple of other areas. The part Bennett needs to be good at, of course, is taking down opposing passers. And he should be able to still do that well enough.
But if Bennett can come in and help teach second-year player L.J. Collier how to be a good pro that would be good as well. Bennett was not a problem in the locker room as he was not one of the players, no longer in Seattle, that did not like Russell Wilson. So Bennett returning to Seattle should not hurt the cohesive locker room that the Seahawks currently seem to have.
Cameron Wake
See, now here is where the hate for me might begin (or continue to grow). A lot of people might see the aging Cam Wake as just another Ziggy Ansah. But here is where I see the difference: Wake still wants to play and I don’t think Ansah really did last year.
Wake loves football. He doesn’t have many years of football left and is 38 years old, but the Seahawks do not need him to be a long-term solution, just a one-year rental. Last year in his one season with the Titans, Wake made $7.6 million, but that included a $4 million signing bonus. No team, I don’t think, is going to pay Wake that kind of money for 2020.
If Wake is willing to make about $3 million in total with the Seahawks, then Seattle should bring in the veteran for pass-rushing depth. Like Bennett, Wake is not going to be anything close to an every-down player. But situationally there is no reason Wake cannot be effective.
Wake, like Ansah, had just 2.5 sacks in 2019 and that was in 9 games. But Wake’s 11 quarterback hits would have been second on the team. Seattle needs depth at edge rusher and Wake would supply that. Heck, maybe Seattle should sign both Bennett and Wake and let the sacks fall where they may.
Markus Golden
Markus Golden is an enigma. Maybe he is holding out for a bunch more money than he has ever gotten paid and that is why he has not signed anywhere. The most Golden has ever been paid was in 2019 and that was $4.75 million in his only season with the Giants. But he had a great season.
On a bad team in 2019, linebacker Golden had 10 sacks, 13 tackles-for-loss and 27 quarterback hits. Those numbers would have obliterated anyone on the Seahawks roster last year. Based on those numbers alone, Golden might be asking for $10 million or more a season from any potential suitor.
But here is where it gets a bit weird. Golden is nothing but inconsistent. In 2016 and 2019 combined, Golden had 22.5 sacks, 29 tackles-for-loss and 49 quarterback hits in 32 games. But the other three years of his career combined? 6.5 sacks, 10 tackles-for-loss and 20 quarterback hits in 30 games. Signing Golden will be boom or bust.
But let’s assume Golden will be more like 2019 and Seattle should take a chance on him. If the Seahawks offer the 29 year-old Golden a one-year deal at $8 million and he takes it, that would leave room for Seattle to possibly sign Everson Griffen too. Don’t hate me for saying this, but the Seahawks would then be out of the running for Jadeveon Clowney, but the 2020 roster would be better at least.