Five free agents Seahawks should sign before the 2021 season begins
By Lee Vowell
Golden Tate
Currently, there appears to be three wide receivers battling for the third receiver spot in 2021. This includes rookie D’Wayne Eskridge along with Freddie Swain and Penny Hart. But former Seahawk Golden Tate might be the better option in 2021. I do not think Seattle needs to sign the 33-year-old receiver to a long contract but a one-year deal would be excellent.
Most rookie receivers struggle at first. Eskridge may be dealing with a turf toe injury as well. Plus, Eskridge will need to come in and learn a fairly complex offense. My point isn’t that Eskridge won’t be good one day, it’ll just be tough for him to be good straight away.
Hart and Swain may be solid receivers who find a way to get open at times with Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf are covered but Tate is a smart player who knows how to find the gaps in the offense. He is also a bit more of a pure slot receiver than Swain or Hart.
Tate would be a near-perfect complement to Metcalf and Lockett. In fact, Tate would be worthy of his own targets and opposing defenses know what he is capable of and would have to plan for that. Tate isn’t going to get 1,000 yards receiving in 2021 (though he has three times in his career) but he has had teams go to the playoffs six times and won’t be intimidated when Seattle gets there.