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NFL Free Agency: Henry Melton was still in Seattle as of this morning, situation fluid

By Danny Kelly
Ronald Martinez

UPDATE:

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As Josina Anderson reports, free agent DT Henry Melton was still in Seattle as of this morning, perhaps pending some negotiation with the Seahawks. Per Anderson, Melton's plan is still to head to Dallas to visit with the Cowboys, but as we've seen countless times in free agency, teams find a way to close deals without 'letting them leave the building', so to speak. It's tough to know, but using the mere threat of a Dallas trip could put a little pressure on Seattle to offer a bit more to Melton, who isn't likely to get a ton of money from the cap-strapped Cowboys. That said, his former coach with the Bears in 2012, Rod Marinelli, is now in Dallas, so that's certainly a draw.

Melton is on the top of my free agency wish-list despite the fact that he tore his ACL last season playing on a franchise tag in Chicago. If I'm Seattle, I'd be giving him the 'hey, look at Michael Bennett, he got a ring and a big new deal' sales pitch in the hopes they can get him here on a short-term deal at a discount, with the thought he can rehabilitate his value this season playing on a very solid defensive line rotation. Melton would probably be best served to play in a heavy rotation as it is, while his knee slowly returns to full strength.

If signed, the Seahawks would be getting a very good player, on paper. Melton was PFF's #1 defensive tackle in run stop percentage in 2012, and finished fifth in their pass pressure percentage. He's a former college running back and is a highly athletic, disruptive at force 6'3, 295. There's obviously no guarantee that we'd see the 2012 version of Melton in 2014, but he's still young (27).

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