Seahawks still 'kicking the tires' on DE John Abraham, per report

Several reports over the past few days have linked free agent DE John Abraham back again to the Seahawks, which is surprising news given that Seattle has already signed Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett. There had been unreliable and unsubstantiated whispers of this on Twitter back on Tuesday, but I didn't really perk up and pay attention closely until those rumors were somewhat substantiated on Wednesday by Dave "Softy" Mahler, who reported on the air that he had heard the Seahawks are still "kicking the tires" on John Abraham. According to Mahler, he wasn't told the interest level, "just that the idea is still being talked about."

Softy's information over the years has been trustworthy, so I'm inclined to believe there is something to this - the only question is: how much are the Seahawks willing to spend? At this point, it looks like Seattle is more interested in pouncing on a rare opportunity given the terrible defensive end market - the opportunity to sign a very good player for a significantly reduced price - and thus don't seem likely to spend big on the 34-year old vet. Seattle has made it their modus operandi to swoop in free agents when perceived prices drop - Matt Flynn and Jason Jones last season and Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett this year - but with Seattle's cap situation fairly tight at the moment, they can't really offer too much.

The most obvious question about Abraham would be related to his fit in the defense. I would assume that he'd become another proven pass rusher in nickel situations and could be a nice little piece of collateral to put on the right side of the line until Chris Clemons returns from his ACL injury. Abraham's presence would allow the Seahawks to implement the rumored 'Spinner' package early in the year, with Avril and Abraham on the edges, Bennett on the interior, and Bruce Irvin roaming around and attacking from different angles.

If Abraham is signed, it would also seem to strengthen the view that Cliff Avril will be indeed playing some linebacker this year in certain situations, and it would call into question whether or not Seattle plans to move Red Bryant inside at 3-tech or even take him off the field a little more often.