Seahawks news for Friday: Seattle brings back Drew Lock, signs 2 others

The Seattle Seahawks made several moves in free agency on Thursday. This included bringing back backup quarterback Drew Lock (yes, I realize that was a bunch of “back”s in one sentence). But Seattle didn’t stop there. They also signed a center and a linebacker.

One thing to note is that all of the signings that reportedly occurred on Thursday were one-year deals. It is clear that general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll are building toward something long-term. While the team is chipping down the abundance of cap room they had at the beginning of free agency, they have left the proverbial door open to have a ton of cap space next year as well.

This means that the signings of center Evan Brown and linebacker Devin Bush – the other two players signed besides Drew Lock – are made for a few reasons. One is that Schneider and Carroll think there is a chance they could be good and this is why they were inked to contracts. Two is that the players have prove-it-type deals where if they are actually good the players will make even more money for themselves in 2024, whether that be with Seattle or not.

Seahawks sign three players on Thursday

Brown’s contract will pay him $2,250,000 and his dead cap is $1 million. This might mean if the Seahawks draft a top-end center in the 2023 NFL draft and the guy looks fantastic in training camp that Seattle could release Brown and not lose all that much money. But Brown was a pretty decent center for the LIons in 2021 before he was moved to right guard in 2022, so maybe he will be good for Seattle at center in 2023.

Bush is an intriguing player. He isn’t tall (he is only 5’11”) and he can’t cover receivers well, but he likes to hit and hit hard when he tackles an opponent. He also doesn’t miss many tackles as he missed just one tackle in 2022 on 82 attempts. The Seahawks needed an inside linebacker and Bush could be a decent one. The details of his contract are still to come out but the numbers likely won’t be so high that Seattle couldn’t sign linebacker Bobby Wagner if they really want to.

Drew Lock returning is important as he already knows offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s system and has a big arm. Lock didn’t have to play at all in 2022 as starter Geno Smith stayed healthy so Lock would be rusty if he does have to step in. Lock’s contract will pay him a base of $4 million with a max of $7.5 million but the true cap hit number is not yet known and is likely less than $4 million.