The Seattle Seahawks might be regretting letting cornerback Riq Woolen leave in free agency. The team has made several recent moves in hopes of improving what might be a weakness in 2026, and the latest includes trading for Avery Smith.
Smith was an undrafted free agent this year out of Toledo, and he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers. He spent training camp and the preseason with head coach John Harbaugh's squad, but will now be part of head coach Mike Macdonald's squad. The connection there is important.
Macdonald coached for a season at Michigan under Harbaugh, so clearly there is trust between them. If Harbaugh says Avery Smith is a solid player, then Macdonald and, more importantly, general manager John Schneider are apt to believe him. Schneider is in charge of the roster overall.
Seattle Seahawks trade for cornerback Avery Smith
Smith can play in the slot as needed, and his size implies that is where he should stay. He is 5'10" and 185 pounds, so not big enough to play outside corner in Macdonald's system, one would assume. He was good in his first preseason game against the Houston Texans, but then not as good in the last two games.
He saw 141 defensive reps in the preseason, was targeted eight times by opposing quarterbacks, and allowed six completions. That only resulted in 47 yards, though, and he did give up a touchdown. His quarterback rating was a poor 128.6, and he was called for two penalties.
The issue with all of that is that it implies the Seattle Seahawks are desperate to fix a problem. In the last couple of weeks, the team has signed cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Trevon Diggs. Smith's addition makes three new corners.
Arnold cannot play even though he is now officially signed on a one-year deal. He is on the NFL's exempt list while facing eight felony charges from an offseason incident. Even when he is allowed to practice and play, he hasn't been good enough in his first two seasons to clearly indicate he will be very good with the Seahawks.
Diggs has been mostly injured since 2022. He was a First-Team All-Pro in 2021, but that was five years and several knee surgeries ago. No guarantee exists that he will be good again, and, after getting an interception in preseason Week 3, Diggs might be expected to be the third cornerback in the rotation after Josh Jobe and Devon Witherspoon.
As for Avery Smith, he isn't going to see reps in the slot over Witherspoon or Nick Emmanwori. Maybe the team hopes he can be great on special teams. He didn't offer much production there in the preseason, however.
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