Seahawks sign former Saints G Jahri Evans to boost offensive line

The Seattle Seahawks announced the signing for six-time Pro Bowl, four-time All-Pro guard Jahri Evans on Saturday. He visited with the team on Friday while Tom Cable shifted at least three or four players at right tackle during practice. To make room, they waived offensive lineman Kona Schwenke.

After playing 10 seasons with the New Orleans Saints, Evans was released earlier this year when he refused to take a pay-cut. He was being paid a lot because Evans will arguably go down as one of the two best guards of his generation and will certainly get Hall of Fame consideration when his career is over. But will the soon-to-be-33-year-old be able to make an impact on the Seahawks this season?

He certainly gives Cable more experience and proven capability to start in the NFL than the rest of the offensive line combined.

While Cable wouldn’t completely denounce the performance of J’Marcus Webb on Saturday, this certainly would seem to indicate otherwise since rookie right guard Germain Ifedi has gotten nothing but high marks thus far during his first training camp. Seattle guaranteed Webb’s entire 2016 salary so they won’t be able to save any money by releasing him, but that doesn’t mean they’re afraid to bench him or let him go anyway. It could also just be a low-risk move by the team to give a veteran guard an opportunity to push the rest of the offensive lineman projected to start — all five of them at a new position than they were a year earlier, other than left guard Mark Glowinski, who started one game, and Webb, who switched between guard and tackle for the Oakland Raiders last season — to push them to improve and realize that no jobs are guaranteed just yet.

Center Justin Britt was quick to welcome his new teammate to the Seahawks.

And unafraid about his job as the new center being in jeopardy by the move.

Evans missed five games last year with injury, the first time in his career that he missed more than two games in a season. If healthy, there’s a good chance that the Seattle offensive line just got a whole lot better, not just if Evans starts at right guard, but if Ifedi is ready to be a starting right tackle.