Ahtyba Rubin re-signs with Seahawks for 3 years

The Seahawks have made their first big move of the 2016 offseason, re-signing Ahtyba Rubin to a three-year contract, per FOX's Mike Garafolo. "It was a priority" for the Seahawks, says Garafolo, and Pete Carroll had heaped praise on Rubin this season, calling him the best three-technique he's had since he's been with Seattle.

"I think he's been the most effective guy playing 3-technique that we've had," Carroll told Brock and Salk back on December 14th. "Just the most consistent. He just won't budge. The harder it gets, the tougher he gets. The more he ain't going to move anywhere. That position in our defense --€” we play a lot of over defenses -- he's on the tight end side of the lot, and there's a lot of plays that go right at him, and he gets doubled a bunch, and he's fantastic at doing that. He has been instrumental."

(In the Seahawks' "over front," as Pete Carroll mentions, he will line up between tackle and guard on the strong side -- this is the 3-technique -- and why he's getting double teamed a lot and getting run at a lot).

Update: The contract is worth $12M over three years, with Rubin receiving $6M (in salary and signing bonus) in year one, per Ian Rapoport. That's right in the range ($4M per year) that many people were projecting. He'll likely have a low first-year cap hit.

It's a nice little move for Seattle to retain a key piece of their base defense for next year. Seattle finished 3rd in the NFL in opponent yards per rush while giving up just 81.5 yards rushing per game, best in the league. That's huge for Pete Carroll, and probably impacted their urgency in making this re-signing.

The next question obviously becomes: What will happen with nose tackle Brandon Mebane, who also played a key role in Seattle's defense last year? Per ESPN's Gee Scott, Seattle has made him an offer, but he's entertaining interest from three other teams. Stand by on that front.

For more on Rubin's impact in the Seahawks' defense, check out what John Fraley wrote about him earlier this year.

Rubin's Cube - Field Gulls
Named for the six useful skills and attributes Ahtyba Rubin brings to the table.