Seattle Seahawks are living in Stone Forsythe's world now

The Seattle Seahawks offensive line is going to seemingly be a season-long work in progress. Left tackle Charles Cross has been great so far. The rest of the line? Not so much. Even free-agent signee Connor Williams has not been as good as hoped at center so far.

Right tackle has been even more of a mess, though. Presumptive starter Abraham Lucas had offseason knee surgery and began the year on injured reserve. There is no timeline for his return. Seattle signed veteran offensive tackle George Fant this offseason to keep Lucas's proverbial seat warm until Lucas could return.

Fant, though, was injured in Week 1 and had to be replaced by third-string right tackle Stone Forsythe. Forsythe got quite a lot of playing time last season but was more of a swing tackle and split his time between the left side and the right. In 312 pass-block snaps, he allowed a relatively dismal 32 quarterback pressures, including five sacks.

Seattle Seahawks right tackle Stone Forsythe's future is now

Still, Forsythe has a lot to play for currently. He will be a free agent after this season and he is almost definitely going to be the Seahawks starter at right tackle until Fant returns from injury. On Saturday, the team placed Fant on IR because of his knee injury so the soonest he can return is Week 7. The job is Forsythe's and if he can play well, he will earn himself a nice contract somewhere in 2025.

That could even be in Seattle. Lucas has dealt with his knee problem since college and he missed most of the season in 2023. He probably will miss most of this year, too. There seems to be just as much chance that Lucas is eventually waived with a medical designation as him ever consistently playing meaningful snaps again.

Fant is in his 30s and while signed through next season, his cap hit increases from $3.43 million this year to $5.65 million next. That isn't greatly expensive in general but might be for an aging player who is already dealing with injuries since returning to the Seahawks.

In other words, should Forsythe play well enough for the foreseeable future, he might find himself with a decent chance of being Seattle's long-term right tackle. Or he could be a complete mess - in Week 2 against the New England Patriots he allowed five pressures in 52 pass-block snaps - and be out of a job next offseason. If he succeeds, however, the offensive line will be much better the rest of the year.

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