None of these three players deserved to come back to the Seattle Seahawks, even though one has to return. That might not make a lot of sense now, but it will soon enough.
Like every team in the league, the Seahawks will take a flyer or two on a free agent for a one-year prove-it deal. Sometimes those deals work out pretty well. Geno Smith came to Seattle on a one-year deal in 2019 for just $895,000. He was guaranteed a "massive" $25,000. He did alright, despite a minority of detractors. He parlayed that into two winning seasons, a Comeback Player of the Year Award, and two Pro Bowl appearances.
Sadly, not every signee is a Geno Smith. Sometimes the Hawks would strike gold with a player like Jadeveon Clowney. Yes, I know Seattle traded for Clowney, but we're talking about players who spent one season in Seattle, no matter how they arrived. The only issue with Clowney was that he was so good, his price tag was simply too high to keep him, Ziggy Ansah also arrived in 2019. He's definitely in the category of players that didn't earn a second season with the team. As for last year's nominees, let's get to it.
The Seattle Seahawks saw enough of these three players in 2023
I suppose the point is that the Hawks didn't see enough of them, actually. At least not enough production to warrant bringing them back for another season. In the first case, the player wasn't just bad, he actually had a negative overall effect on the team. The second started out with some promise but grew worse as the season progressed. The last was as close to an empty roster spot as you could ever have. But as you'll see, the Seahawks will be keeping him around for a while.
Linebacker Devin Bush
When I wrote "warrant" above, I immediately thought of the former Steelers linebacker. No, he didn't actually commit a crime, but he came close enough in football terms. We'll get to that in a bit. He didn't give Seattle any reason to bring him back based on his overall performance. He got three starts and accounted for 37 combined tackles, five for a loss. He had zero QB hurries and broke up zero passes. He wasn't terrible, but he wasn't exactly good, either.
The biggest problem with Bush was one bush-league play (sorry, I couldn't resist) he made in the last game of the season. As recounted here, Bush dove for Kyler Murray after the Cards QB started his slide. The play was so egregious that Bobby Wagner pulled him aside and had a few choice words for him. Only the gross incompetence of NFL officiating saved him from a penalty and an Arizona first down in a one-score game. Good riddance to a cheap-shot player.
Center Evan Brown
The Seahawks brought Brown in from Detroit to compete for the starting center gig last season. Brown had played fairly well in two seasons as a starter for the Lions, although Pro Football Focus (subscription required) graded him demonstrably better as a center in 2021. Detroit didn't need him at center in 2022 as they had Pro Bowler Frank Ragnow returning from injury.
Brown's pass-blocking grade sank from a fine 72.4 at center in 2021 to an abysmal 45.5 at right guard the following season. His pressures increased from just eight at center to 22 at guard in virtually the same number of snaps.
The Seahawks coaching staff, being a fairly intelligent group, saw this and said, we'll just play him at center. They had drafted the nation's best collegiate center in Olu Oluwatimi, but considering Brown's experience in the NFL it wasn't too surprising that the veteran won out. What was surprising is that after a few weeks of solid play, Brown's game began a serious drop.
Some weeks he couldn't pass block, others he couldn't open as much as a crack for the running game. What was stunning is that Seattle never really gave Oluwatimi a chance to step in to show what he could do. He has that chance now as Brown joined Arizona, where former Seahawks go to see their careers die. We see you, L.J. Collier.
Edge rusher Derick Hall
Now we come to the problem child of the group. Yes, it's a bit unfair to judge any rookie on their first season, I get it. Not everyone is going to explode out of the gate like Devon Witherspoon. Then again, Spoon was the fifth overall pick. He pretty much had to produce. Hall was the third player drafted by Seattle, with the 37th overall pick. Happily, we have a much fairer comparison in Boye Mafe.
Like Hall, Mafe was a second-round pick, the 40th overall. Both were targeted as edge rushers for a that needed a serious boost in that department. Mafe got into all 17 games as a rookie and made three starts. He tallied three sacks with 10 pressures in all, and added 41 total tackles, three for a loss. That wasn't exactly a spectacular debut season, but we all know what he did last year.
Thankfully, Mafe's sophomore breakthrough season gives us hope for a similar leap for Hall. Although in Hall's case, it would be the equivalent of moving from jumping a Lego to clearing the high jump at the Olympics. Yes, that's how inconsequential Hall was as a rookie. While he did manage to record 10 pressures, he had zero sacks, and was just as bad at stopping the run as Darrell Taylor.
The good news is that the Seahawks have to give him another shot. It would cost Seattle almost $1.7 million to cut him at this point. Frankly, they'd be idiots to cut him, even if it saved them $1.7 million. He did make 38 tackles and only whiffed on three. Considering how awful the Hawks tackling was last year, that was one of the better performances by far. With Coach Macdonald's new defensive scheme, Hall could make that big leap forward this season. I'm not saying he shouldn't get the chance, simply that he didn't come close to earning it.