Despite losing four key players from their Super Bowl champion squad, the Seattle Seahawks made very few changes to their roster this offseason. General manager John Schneider used the draft to add plug-and-play replacements for Kenneth Walker (Jadarian Price), Coby Bryant (Bud Clark, now on IR), and Riq Woolen (Julian Neal). He used free agency to fill in other backup roles.
Four of those free agents saw action in the season opener last week against the New England Patriots. Three had quiet evenings. One was a standout.
The fact that the number was so low is a testament to just how deep a roster Schneider has built. There’s a decent chance that two of those four players would have been inactive if Seattle entered the game completely healthy. But Zach Charbonnet, Nick Emmanwori, and Ty Okada were unavailable on Wednesday, and that opened the door for some newcomers.
Seattle Seahawks new free agents fit right into team ethos in their debut
If you watched HBO’s Hard Knocks this year, or have followed Mike Macdonald throughout his brief tenure in Seattle, you know that he preaches about the “70.” 53 players on the active roster. 17 on the practice squad. All are part of the whole unit, and all are expected to be ready when called upon.
How well did this year’s free agents live up to that standard?
Riser: Rodney Thomas II, Safety
Thomas played his first four seasons in Indianapolis and arrived in Seattle this year on a one-year, 1.4-million-dollar deal. Even with the loss of Bryant, his odds of making the roster did not seem good. Julian Love was back along with Emmanwori and Okada. Schneider drafted Clark in Round 2.
Then there were some promising young holdovers like AJ Finley, Maxen Hook, and D’Anthony Bell. The safety room looked very crowded, with Thomas lingering toward the back end.
All he did in his Seahawks' debut was play 70 defensive snaps, log four tackles, and allow two receptions for nine total yards. Oh, yeah, and his deflection of a deep pass to Romeo Doubs resulted in Nehemiah Pritchett’s interception, one of the turning points in the game.
When Okada returns, Thomas goes back to the bench. But he certainly showed that when called on, he is more than capable of living up to the “70” concept that Macdonald values.
Mr. Invisible: Dante Fowler, Jr, Edge
Fowler was signed in May to help offset the loss of edge rusher Boye Mafe. His deal, which can go up to five million if he hits incentives, is the highest-value contract Schneider gave to an incoming free agent this offseason. (The GM devoted the lion’s share of his free agent spending toward re-upping players from last year’s squad.)
Fowler didn’t do much in his debut. He played 16 defensive snaps and registered zero pressures on eight pass rushes. This isn’t really cause for concern just yet, but it does bear watching. At 32, he is coming off a season in which he had just three sacks. If he does not show better production in the coming weeks, look for second-year edge Connor O’Toole to get some reps as a pass rusher.
Incomplete: Emanuel Wilson, Running back
When Zach Charbonnet is healthy enough to play, the assumption is he will slide right into the role he filled last season. He will be the power-running complement to rookie Jadarian Price. When Wilson was signed, it appeared he was slotted to serve as a reliable stand-in while the team awaited Charbonnet’s return.
However, in preseason, George Holani moved ahead of Wilson. That seemed to be confirmed on Wednesday. Wilson was only on the field for three offensive snaps. He carried the ball twice for just three yards. Meanwhile, Holani got eight carries for 29 yards.
Most disappointingly, Wilson was stopped for no gain on a key third-and-one early in the fourth quarter. Jaxon Smith-Njigba erased that failure on the next play, so it didn’t end up costing the team.
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