It is time for Seahawks to shift to plan B for solving the pass rush
By Geoff Shull
We are into week 3 of free agency, and the Seahawks are no closer to signing Jadeveon Clowney. It’s time for the organization to shift to plan B and fill the defensive line without Clowney.
It has always been the plan for the Seahawks to retain Jadeveon Clowney. He has elected to hold out in hopes that the virus will subside. This would allow him an opportunity to get a physical and score a larger contract. By all means, he has the talent to receive the tier 1 money he is desiring. You cannot blame the player for his strategy.
The only problem is, this is keeping the Seahawks in limbo, which is a very dangerous place for a team in a Super Bowl window. To date, the only defensive line moves that have been made are to re-sign Jarran Reed to a short term, 2-year deal and bring back an aging Bruce Irvin.
Granted, Irvin is coming off a career-high 8.5 sacks with Carolina, this is not enough to fix the line. It is definitely not enough to make me feel comfortable with where the team is at. Its time to make some moves to secure the defensive line and worry about Clowney later in free agency.
The first signing would be re-uniting Everson Griffen and Pete Carroll
Griffen finds himself on the free-agent market for the first time in his career. He has been a staple of the Minnesota Vikings defensive line for 10 years. With the franchise in desperate need of salary cap and Griffen holding the least amount of dead cap, the pairing decided to go their separate ways.
This brings me to the fit, Griffen actually played under Coach Carroll at USC. There is familiarity between the star player and the coaching staff. This would make for a comfortable landing place for a player trying to find a home away from the only organization he has ever known.
When I look at Griffen, I believe he will likely value two things on his next contract: a multi-year contract to bring stability, and an opportunity to compete for a Superbowl. The Seahawks have the cap space and need, to satisfy both. As it is currently, Seattle has $12 million in cap space (before roster cuts, restructuring of contracts or the draft). Seattle could offer a 3-year deal with an opt-out in the final season. This would give Seattle some veteran presence on a young defensive line for a modest price.
Proposed deal:
Terms: 3 year, $27 million
Avg Salary: $9 million
Incentives that can bring this up to $33 million based on sack production.
Cap hits by year:
2020: $6 million
2021: $10 million
2022: $11 million