/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46008434/GettyImages-159010961.0.jpg)
The Seahawks will host veteran free agent center Chris Myers for a visit Monday, according to multiple reports. Myers, 33, is a two-time Pro Bowl center that's played for the Broncos and Texans in his ten-year career. He's an NFL iron man -- he started all 112 games during his Houston tenure and is the NFL's current leader for active streak of consecutive games played in by an offensive lineman, with 153 straight games.
Myers was to make $6 million this year in the final season of a four-year contract, but was released by the Texans in a cap-saving move. Obviously, having played in Houston the past seven years, the zone-blocking scheme is his wheelhouse. If Myers and the Seahawks can come to an agreement, it will give them an excellent bridge type of veteran that could enter the competition for the starting center position with the trade of Max Unger. Right now, Patrick Lewis is the presumptive starter and the Seahawks have reportedly been in talks to bring Steven Schilling back, but the position is very much up for grabs.
In addition to Myers, the Seahawks have reportedly been interested in free agents Stefen Wisniewski, Dan Connolly, and Shelley Smith. Smith signed in Denver, Connolly's still a free agent, and I'd guess that Wisneiwski is still very much in play as contract negotiations continue. In fact, Myers' visit might be a little bit of leverage by the Seahawks as WIs' team looks to hold out for more money.
According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, Wisniewski had an unreported torn labrum (shoulder) last year and it required surgery. This has been the reason the second-best center on the market has seen a tepid response. Per Biggs:
The Bears were linked to center Stefen Wisniewski at the outset of free agency and he is one of the better remaining players on the market. . . Wisniewski is recovering from shoulder surgery after last season when he played with a torn labrum. The former second-round pick of the Raiders has made visits to the Seahawks and Bucs, and the Rams and Chiefs are also known to be interested. No team has been willing to meet his request of $4 million per season and it could be he winds up on a one- or two-year prove-it contract.
Stay tuned.