Five edge rushers Seahawks should sign in 2021 free agency

Carl Lawson

While our friends at Stripe Hype think there is a chance that Carl Lawson could be franchise-tagged by his current team, the Cincinnati Bengals, his production over his first four seasons make potentially tagging him seem like a mistake. Lawson hasn’t yet proven he should get paid nearly $16 million as an NFL player.

Plus, like nearly every other player on this list, it would seem as if Lawson’s possible asking price would be limited by the overall reduced salary cap. I think there will be a lot of one-year deals signed this offseason and Lawson could be one of those players. That could be a win-win for player and whatever team he signs with.

Lawson had 8.5 sacks as a rookie in 2017 and hasn’t come close to really matching that. In 2020, Lawson had his second-best total of 5.5 sacks and that shouldn’t make a player worthy of a $10 million-plus a year contract. Lawson will make less than that, even though he will be just 26 years old during the 2021 season.

Lawson did have 32 quarterback hits, however, and that shows a lot of promise. My hope with Lawson coming to Seattle is that in this case, I hope the Seahawks find a way to re-sign Carlos Dunlap (even though he has now been released) while also signing Lawson. The two were teammates for four years and would know how to work well off of each other.