Seahawks: Which impending free agents 12s should watch Sunday

San Francisco 49ers

Defensive tackle D.J. Jones

D.J. Jones isn’t likely to supply the interior pass rush that Seattle still needs from its defensive line but he could replace Al Woods. Woods was fantastic in 2021 but he exceeded expectations so expecting him to come back if re-signed (Woods is free agent) and be just as good next year might be asking too much. Woods will also be 35 years old in 2022.

Jones, though, is 27 years old and has been very healthy over the last couple of years. He started all 17 games for the 49ers this season and had 10 tackles for loss. Jones played 51 percent of the defensive snaps this year for the 49ers and would join a rotation of Poona Ford and Bryan Mone and help keep the staunch Seattle rush defense a key part of what Seattle does.

Defensive end Arden Key

Seattle needs pass rushers. Or maybe they had them in 2021 and Ken Norton, Jr. just found a way to misuse them, but I digress. Key is basically a pure edge rusher who isn’t that good against the run. But at this point, Seattle has to fix its feeble pass rush and Key could help with that.

This year, Key had 6.5 sacks (which would have ranked second on the Seahawks) and 17 quarterback hits (which would have ranked first). Key also had 36 pressures on the season, 11 of which came in the final two games when he earned more playing time.