The NFL's legal tampering period gets underway on Monday at 12 pm ET. Many of the more expensive free agents will likely get attached to a team ahead of the start of the new league year which begins at 4 pm ET on Wednesday. Should the Seattle Seahawks sign a high-priced free agent, 12s will likely know about that sometime between Monday and Wednesday.
Seattle has been busy making cap space over the last week. The team has released safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, tight end Will Dissly, defensive tackle Bryan Mone, and re-worked receiver Tyler Lockett's deal. For a team that had negative cap room just a few weeks ago, Seattle will head into free agency with around $53-55 million which is in the top seven of the league.
But Seattle still has to be wise about how they spend their money. They cannot just splash down $20 million a season on two players. The team needs quality depth. These five edge rushers might supply that.
Seattle Seahawks could sign Andrew Van Ginkel
Van Ginkel only has a few seasons in the NFL when he has gotten a lot of reps. This is not because he lacks talent but he has played behind some other good edge rushers in Miami. He is a bit thin and has shorter arms, but he is also a smart player with excellent quickness, and that helps him get around would-be blockers. The 29-year-old should also have several seasons left to be productive.
2023 was likely Van Ginkel's best year overall and he was able to show off his versatility. He got 6 sacks and 19 quarterback hits, plus 8 tackles for loss. He also graded as Pro Football Focus's (subscription required) seventh-best edge rusher in the league for this past season. His pass-rush grade was elite, but he was stout everywhere including when he was asked to drop back into coverage. PFF also has him projected to get a contract at an affordable $6.5 million per season for each of the next two years.
(Update: Van Ginkel will reportedly be signing with the Minnesota Vikings for two years and $20 million.)
Seahawks could sign Kyle Van Noy
This is the first of two Baltimore Ravens edge rushers I have on this list. Why mess with a good thing and new Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald had a very good thing going as the defensive coordinator in Baltimore the last two seasons. Van Noy might not be young - he will be 33 years old during the 2024 season - but clearly, Macdonald knows the best situations to put him in to maximize his productivity but not overuse the veteran.
In his one season for the Ravens, Van Noy had 9 sacks and 9 tackles for loss while only starting three games. Seattle doesn't need starters at edge rusher; the team needs depth. Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe should start. But adding Van Noy would add a veteran presence who knows Macdonald's defense and is only projected to get a one-year deal for around $4 million, per PFF.
Seattle could sign Calais Campbell
Eventually, Campbell is going to run out of gas. He will be 38 years old to begin next season. While this is ancient for an NFL player, Campbell still produces On a mediocre Atlanta Falcons team in 2023, he had 6.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hits. Since 2009, Campbell has 5 sacks or more in every season but two. He also stays healthy and has missed just nine games since 2014.
Campbell would also know Macdonald's defense, however. He played under Seattle's coach in Baltimore in 2022. The year prior to Macdonald taking over as DC, Campbell had possibly his worst season in the league with only 1.5 sacks, but in 2022 with Macdonald, Campbell had 5.5 sacks. Again, Macdonald just knows how to use people correctly. Campbell could get a one-year deal for $7 million, per PFF, and that is easily something Seattle can afford.
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.