5 potential free agents Seattle Seahawks could sign to improve their frail defense
By Lee Vowell
Seahawks should chase defensive lineman Justin Madubuike
Madubuike is a beast against the pass and has 13 sacks this year from his defensive tackle spot. He also has a ridiculous 32 quarterback hits and a very good 12 tackles for loss. His QB hits number is 23 better than his next-best year and his number of sacks is 7.5 better than his second-best. Can Madubuike replicate his 2023 season for several years to come?
Still just 26 years old. Pro Football Focus does not expect the Baltimore Ravens to franchise tag Madubuike as they may not be able to afford that long-term. Instead, PFF thinks Madubuike will get a massive deal for four years and $92 million. That might be too rich for Seattle, but again, the Seahawks should be able to make quite a bit of room with some roster decisions this coming offseason.
Seattle needs to sign edge rusher Jonathan Greenard
Greenard chose the right time to have a career year as he is having by far the best season. He has 12.5 sacks, 48 total pressures, 15 tackles for loss and 22 quarterback hits. Those numbers are much better than every other season in Greenard's four year in the league. So the question might be is he truly as good as he has shown in 2023 or he did he simply get better because the Houston Texans hired DeMeco Ryans as head coach and Ryans knew best how to use Greenard.
But while the 26-year-old Greenard can pressure quarterbacks, he is also fantastic against the run. His 9.3 percent run-stop rate ranks eighth among all edge rushers. Even if Greenard steps back to 8 sacks next year (he had 8 in 2021 as well), he can help greatly at helping the Seahawks be better against the run moving forward. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) projects Greenard's next deal as being three years for $47.25 million with $31.75 million guaranteed.