Re-grading the Seattle Seahawks 2021 free agent signings

The Ds

Benson Mayowa

Mayowa is going to get a grade of D because I think some of his lack of productivity was based completely on what Ken Norton, Jr. thought Mayowa should be doing in 2021. Like Carlos Dunlap, Mayowa was asked to drop a lot more into coverage than ever before. I am not sure what the plan was from Norton, Jr. – surprise the offense – but it didn’t work for much of the year and Mayowa’s down year was a by-product of that.

It is almost a bit surprising to think that Mayowa not only played in 15 games this season but he started 7 of them. Mayowa played 46 percent of Seattle’s defensive snaps in those 15 games. Yet, he finished with 1 sack (after having 6 in 2020 and 7 in 2019) and just 2 quarterback hits. Mayowa is under contract for 2022 but if I were him I’d ask to be released if Norton, Jr. is still the defensive coordinator.

Chris Carson

I don’t want to be too harsh here on Carson the player. To begin the season, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron might have still been trying to figure out what he had in the pieces given him on offense. Waldron likes a balanced offense but in the four games Carson played this year, Seattle’s offense was not balanced.

Carson averaged just 13.5 carries in his four games and averaged 4.3 yards a rush. In comparison, in the last three games of the season, Rashaad Penny averaged 21.6 carries per game. But Carson injured his neck and needed surgery and his future is somewhat in doubt, even though coach Pete Carroll is hopeful he returns in 2022.