Seattle Seahawks most recent move smacks of grave desperation

Football fans have watched as numerous key players have missed time early in the 2024 season with injuries. The Seattle Seahawks are certainly not without their own share of players going down. In Week 3 alone, defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II left the game early after getting hurt and were unable to finish the game. Their status for Week 4 is yet unknown.

One spot that Seattle has not had its presumed starter for any game so far is right tackle. If Abraham Lucas can ever get healthy and stay that way, he would be the starter. George Fant was signed as a free agent this offseason to back up Lucas and take his reps if Lucas was slow to return from offseason knee surgery. Lucas was injured in Week 1 and then placed on injured reserve.

Stone Forsythe has played the majority of snaps at right tackle and he hasn't been terrible. He has allowed eight pressures and one sack in 116 pass-block snaps. According to Pro Football Focus (paywall alert!), Forsythe is graded at number 37 among all offensive tackles. Not great, but the issue could be far worse.

Seahawks hosting veteran Jason Peters on a free agent visit is extremely worrisome

Still, the Seahawks appear to be entertaining a move that would bring back 42-year-old Jason Peters. According to various media outlets, the team had Peters in for a visit on Tuesday. This implies that Seattle is not sure when Fant and Lucas will be able to return this year - if at all - and while Forsythe has been solid, he has no proven track record of success.

Adding a veteran at right tackle is not a bad move, but Peters might be. In his prime, he was among the best at his position. He hasn't been in his prime for years. He did play some for Seattle last season as Lucas also missed most of the season with his knee problem, but Peters allowed 14 total pressures in only 147 pass-block snaps. That's bad.

He also played almost exclusively at right tackle, a position he had hardly played at all since his rookie season in 2006. Yes, 18 years ago. Basically, bringing in Peters as a right tackle only had a hope of working out well in 2023 but that hope was limited by plugging Peters in at a position he was not used to playing.

Forsythe should remain the starter even if Peters signs, but Forsythe's backup is Michael Jerrell who was drafted this year and seen as a project. There would be no reason to sign Peters if the team thought Fant or Lucas had a chance of returning in a few weeks, though. In other words, right tackle might be a mess all season.

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