5 realistic edge rushers the Seahawks could sign in 2024 free agency

Seahawks could bring back Jadeveon Clowney

Clowney must love to bounce around the NFL checking out different cities and playing for different teams. Since Clowney was traded to the Seahawks before the 2019 season, the edge rusher/defensive end has been on four different teams with only a two-year stop with the Cleveland Browns breaking up the string on one-year stops. But Clowney has consistently been a versatile player who excels against the run and is capable of near double-digit sacks.

Clowney played for the Ravens in 2023 and for the first time since 2017, he did not miss a game. This means that Mike Macdonald not only knew how to get the best use out of Clowney, but he appears to have known how to keep him healthy as well. This past season, Clowney had 9.5 sacks, the most total pressures in his career, and 9 tackles for loss while grading, according to PFF, as the 18th-best edge rusher in the league. A one-year deal for $8-9 million would be a wise move for Seattle.

Seattle could sign Derek Barnett

Barnett might be a boom or bust prospect, but he appeared to be on the upswing at the end of 2023 after he left the Philadelphia Eagles and joined the Houston Texans. The former 2017 first-round pick has never produced the sack totals that the Eagles likely wanted, but he did have at least 32 total pressures in four of his first five seasons. He has also been consistently good at stopping the run.

He fell out of favor with the Eagles last season (while the rest of the Philadelphia defense was struggling as well) and was picked up by the Houston Texans before Week 13. In six games with Houston, Barnett had 18 total pressures and 13 run stuffs. A projected one-year contract for around $5 million could get Barnett to Seattle and he would be a good rotational three-down player.

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