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Seahawks Free Agency News and Rumors 8/5 (Open Thread)

RB Thomas Clayton is now a Seahawk. He bounced between the Pats and Browns a lot in his young career, and the 27-year old has only seen the field in one game, carrying the ball 6 times for 17 yards with the Patriots in W17 last year.

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--UPDATE: Per his agent, former NE Patriot RB Thomas Clayton has signed with the Seahawks. No official word yet from the team. He looks to be another Training Camp body, but maybe the Seahawks see something in him that they like. 

--It looks like Kevin Boss has signed with the Raiders, which means the Giants now have a need at tight end. Naturally, everyone on Twitter assumes that the Seahawks will now trade John Carlson to the Giants. This rumor was started by John Clayton a few days ago, who has a source that tells him Osi Umenyiora wants to be a Seahawk. 

I am not in favor of trading for a soon-to-be 30 year old DE that is claiming to have a knee injury (though it seems likely he's just being a petulant child -- but either way, no thanks). I'd rather continue on, save our 2nd round draft pick and John Carlson, and look to draft or develop a good pass rushing defensive end that will be around in 3-5 years when we're making our Super Bowl run. That's just the fan in me talking. 

Incidentally, someone named Osi Umenyiora followed me on Twitter yesterday with claims of being the official account but I really don't think it's true, considering he has about 100 followers. 

--Mike Karney is playing the wait-and-see game right now. According to this article from the Kent Reporter, Karney came to Seattle, passed his physical, and expected that he'd get signed. 

Per that article:

"I was hoping it was going to happen. I got a call early in the morning Tuesday by my agent, who told me that a situation came up (in Seattle) where I could go there, take a physical and sign. I was told to pack for training camp and head up. I took the first flight out (Tuesday) and thought that as long as I passed my physical that a deal was going to get done."

Karney explained why he hadn't yet been offered a deal:

"They just converted a couple tight ends to fullback and want to see if they can give them more time. My meeting went extremely well. My physical went well. I think they just want to see if these guys can get it done. If they can't, I think I will be the first guy they call."

Personally, I love the idea of bringing Karney in. He's a former Pro-Bowl, All-Pro fullback, a local guy that only wants a one-year deal, and would be that massive, technical lead blocking fullback that I've been advocating for. On the other hand though, he's looking for a one-year deal. That means he's not part of the future, and he's not going to factor much down the road. The Hawks might be better served developing one of their young guys and hoping to find lightning in a bottle.

One possible candidate is TE/FB Ryan Travis. Travis, if you remember, is a West Liberty State (D-2) product, AP Little All-American that had 126 catches last season. 126 catches. Do you realize how many catches that is? That's the second highest total in Division-II history. That's 12.6 catches a game. Even at a lower level, that's ridiculous. Anyway, if he can put on some weight (he's currently 6'2, 242) and prove he's effective in the blocking game he could be a real dual-threat weapon. He was running with the ones yesterday for part of the time at least, so I get the feeling that the Seahawks are feeling it out.

Dorson Broyce, Dominique Byrd, possibly Cameron Morrah and Jameson Konz are all candidates for this as well.  

Anyway, talk, discuss, converse, have fun.


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