The Seahawks should sign Pro Bowl guard Larry Warford

Larry Warford was released today by the Saints, despite coming off 3 straight Pro Bowl appearances. The Seahawks would be wise to give the guard a call.

Larry Warford (28 years old) is a former 3rd round pick out of Kentucky. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2013. However, he signed with the New Orleans Saints in 2016 on a 4 year, $34 million contract. He has been in all regards a great player for the organization, earning 3 Pro Bowls in 3 seasons. Now he has been released and the Seahawks should sign him.

However, after the Saints elected to pay Drew Brees, Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston, there needed to be some cap relief. Warford’s release cleared $7.75 million from their books.

The Seahawks have been very aggressive this off-season in accumulating as much talent as possible on the offensive line. Post-draft, they have 18 offensive linemen on the roster. Of which, they will likely carry only 8-11 into the regular season. Many will ask, why would we spend any of our remaining cap space on an offensive lineman when we already have so many warm bodies. The answer is clear, Warford is by far a superior proven talent to any of the players that we brought in.

Seattle elected to release DJ Fluker last week after a disappointing 2019 season. This led many analysts (myself included) into believing rookie guard Damien Lewis would be the heir apparent at right guard. After all, I had him ranked in the early part of the second round, he is a phenomenal talent.

However, with so much of the off-season unknown, and the possibility of there being no rookie minicamps, no off-season training and the pre-season being cut short. It makes sense for the Seahawks to try and shore up the positions with seasoned veterans.

My proposed offer:

Terms: 1 year, $5 million

Guaranteed: $3 million

Cap hit:

• 2020: $5 million

This signing would allow Warford to sign with a contender and recoup the majority of the money he lost out on due to his departure from New Orleans. The Seahawks would get a seasoned veteran, with a floor significantly higher than any guard on the roster. This move would give the Seahawks the best chance to keep Russell Wilson protected in the 2020 season.

Seahawks true cap space:

• Cap space: $21 million
• Bruce Irvin (est): $4 million
• Practice squad: $2.2 million
• Injury reserve safety: $3 million
• True cap (w/o Warford): $11.8 million

True cap, post Warford would leave Seattle closer to $6.8 million. While this is not a significant amount of money, there are plenty of moves that could be had to increase the amount. This is especially true if Seattle were to re-sign Clowney. A few moves and how much the Seahawks would save by releasing the players:

• KJ Wright: $7.5million
• Bradley McDougald: $4 million
• Jacob Hollister, TE: $3.26 million
• Branden Jackson, DE: $2.13 million
• Joey Hunt, C: $2.13 million
• David Moore, WR: $2.13 million
• Cedric Ogbuehi: $1.75 million
• Mike Iupati: $1.5 million

I’m not advocating for any of these releases. However, would you really say that releasing our third-string tight end Jacob Hollister and third/fifth string wide receiver David Moore wouldn’t be worth adding a player coming off 3 straight Pro Bowl appearances. I for one am all for adding as much talent in from of Russell Wilson as possible.