Seahawks 2021 free agent target: Say no to A.J. Bouye

The Seattle Seahawks might need to find a less expensive option at cornerback besides re-signing Shaquill Griffin. A.J. Bouye should not be the answer. Bouye isn’t as good as Griffin and is a few years older but there is a huge difference between the two players’ quality. But if Seattle chooses price over talent they might go after Bouye and let Griffin walk.

If we were talking about the 2017 version of Bouye, great. Because that was the year that Bouye had by far his best season in the NFL when he had six interceptions and made his only Pro Bowl. After that he was solid but then earned a big payday when he signed with the Denver Broncos in 2020 and Bouye was a complete bust and was released.

He got hurt (concussion and shoulder injuries) and played in only seven games and allowed a quarterback rating against of 108.4. This sounds bad but Bouye wasn’t that much better in 2019 when he had a QBR-allowed of 101.5. And then Bouye got suspended for six games for performance-enhancing drugs at the end of 2020, two games of which he will have to serve to start 2021.

Bouye also was 45th in the NFL at allowing 8.3 yards per target against him last year. In 2019, while mostly healthy, Bouye allowed 9.5 yards per target, 65th in the league. The problem is that a lot of pundits might see Bouye being hurt and not playing that great in 2020 as a down year but it wasn’t because Bouye was bad the year before as well.

The Seahawks do need to find Shaquill Griffin’s likely successor because Griffin might want $14 million a season or more starting next year and the Seahawks probably don’t have the money to pay Griffin that much. At least, not without paying Griffin a chunk of money that could go towards signing a couple of offensive or defensive linemen.

But if Seattle wants to go with a cheaper option then one of the players they sign does not need to be A.J. Bouye. Bouye will only allow opposing teams to pick up first downs, eat clock and beat Seattle.