Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider has a strange way of spending money these days. He will decide wide receiver DK Metcalf and quarterback Geno Smith will be too expensive and give in (quickly) to their trade requests. But then Schneider will decide a defensive player is worth a lot of money when they are not.
Seattle is reportedly signing free-agent edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence and overpaying for him while doing so. Lawrence was once a very good player, but that was last decade.
The last time the soon-to-be 33-year-old Lawrence had more than 6.5 sacks in a season was 2018. Since then, he has had fewer than that number of sacks four times in six seasons. Yet, Schneider saw fit to sign the edge ruher to a three-year deal worth as much as $42 million. $18 million is guaranteed.
Seattle Seahawks sign over-the-hill edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence
Now, the $18 million could all be in 2025, but that is still far too much to pay for an aging edge rusher who has had diminished returns for many years now. Lawrence also only played in four games this past season, so expecting him to remain healthy moving forward at an age where many edge rushers choose to retire is expecting too much.
To be fair, Lawrence is not a terrible player. He has been good against the run in his career when he's been healthy, and while his sack numbers are not huge, he has gotten consistent pressure on quarterbacks. Still, $18 million guaranteed is a lot to spend for a potential one-year rental (depending on the terms of the contract) when Seattle had bigger needs.
The money paid for Lawrence could have gone toward potentially two decent offensive linemen. Or maybe just one. Seattle could have signed guard Will Fries if they had added two years to bring in the 26-year-old. Fries would have been 31 at the end of the deal. When Lawrence's deal is set to end, he will be 36 years old.
Bringing in the older edge rusher is just another sign that Schneider is willing to spend a lot more money in hopes that the defense is good, while not throwing cash at the greatest area of need: the offensive line. Let's hope that pays off next season, but one can rightfully have their doubts. Fries over Lawrence should have been the easy move.