Seahawks: Poona Ford signing is a big win for Seattle
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks made a couple of moves finally on Tuesday. One was to bring back Poona Ford and this was a very wise re-signing. Ford was set to be a restricted free agent and Seattle could have matched any offer that another team gave Ford had Ford reached free agency and if Seattle had tendered Ford. Thankfully, Ford didn’t make it to free agency.
On Tuesday Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported that the Seahawks and Ford had agreed on a two-year deal worth nearly $14 million, including incentives. This sounds like a lot but $4.4 million in 2021 is the part that seems guaranteed. And for a player of Ford’s quality that isn’t an overpay.
According to Pro Football Focus, Ford was the 15th-highest-graded interior defender in the NFL in 2020. He was in the top 25 for run defenders and this is why Ford is now getting paid almost $14 million. He doesn’t contribute a lot when it comes to quarterback pressures but he is a mountain to move for opposing offensive linemen when their teams are trying to run up the middle.
Poona Ford great re-signing for Seahawks
Ford went undrafted out of the University of Texas and even then we had a feeling Ford was going to be a good player for Seattle for a long time when they signed him as an undrafted free agent. The reason Ford was undrafted is that he is relatively short. But Ford is a bull and talent is more important than height and Ford has the talent to not only be signed by the Seahawks to a two-year deal, but Seattle should have gone five years.
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Ford is only 26 years old and plays a position where he can be very productive for lots more years. Seattle needs to find a long-term mate for him who can supply interior pressure. Jarran Reed does that but he might become too costly to keep next season. Either way, it’s good to have Ford under contract for at least two more years, I just wish the contract he will be signing was longer.