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Over the weekend the Seattle Seahawks lost a key member of their starting secondary when cornerback Richard Sherman opted to sign a three year contract with the San Francisco 49ers. On Monday, however, just before the start of the legal tampering period, word leaked out the Seahawks would be retaining one member of the defnsive backfield, safety Bradley McDougald.
The Seahawks will keep one of their own free agents. They’ve agreed to terms on a three-year, $13.95 million deal with S Bradley McDougald, source says. He stepped into a starting role last year when Kam Chancellor went down. Chancellor’s future remains murky.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 12, 2018
McDougald is a versatile member of the team's secondary, having filled in for both free safety Earl Thomas and strong safety Kam Chancellor over the course of the 2017 season.
Keeping McDougald should help bring some stability to the position group, as in addition to Sherman's departure, the team has also released Jeremy Lane, who began the 2017 campaign as a starter and is expected to release DeShawn Shead later today. With Kam Chancellor's status uncertain following a potentially career ending neck injury, McDougald's retention makes sense.
I'll work to update readers with a breakdown on the specifics of the contract as they become available, but this resolves at least one of the many question marks the Hawks face heading into free agency.