Seahawks sign Pita Taumoepenu to help with pass rush

The Seahawks are still looking for more pass rush help in 2020 and on Sunday they signed Pita Taumoepenu.

Let me be clear. I love that the Seahawks are trying to make their pass rush better in 2020 than it was in 2019. To be fair, I am not sure that even though they acquired Bruce Irvin and Benson Mayowa this offseason that Seattle is any better pressuring opposing quarterbacks. And Seattle’s Sunday announcement that they have signed Pita Taumoepenu doesn’t make things better.

Seattle needs Jadeveon Clowney. If the Seahawks want to win a Super Bowl this year – and you know that general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll do – then Seattle needs to bring back Jadeveon Clowney. But they haven’t yet and they may not. But clearly the Seattle brass thinks Pita Taumoepenu will help.

There is no proof that Pita Taumoepenu can. Maybe the Seahawks see him as a practice squad player who could help the team if they suffer injuries in 2020. But in two seasons, Taumoepenu has recorded just 3 tackles total and none since 2018.

Is Pita Taumoepenu helpful to the Seahawks in 2020?

Pita Taumoepenu did play at the University of Utah, a state and college that the Seahawks clearly like. Of the players likely to make the 2020 active roster, four of them might have played collegiate ball in Utah: Bobby Wagner (Utah State), Marquise Blair (Utah), Cody Barton (Utah) and Taumoepenu (again, Utah, seriously).

OK. So maybe Pita Taumoepenu isn’t going to make the active Seahawks roster this year. But Seattle is also really wanting to find strength in number for the pass rush and signing a million different guys who possibly could get to the opposing quarterback.

But this in a way is unsettling for 12s. The Seahawks have a talented roster, except where a lot of it matters. The offensive and defensive lines are pretty weak. This could keep Seattle from a deep run in the playoffs. The Seahawks just need to re-sign Jadeveon Clowney and get this party started.