Report: Seahawks tender at least one RFA

After reaching an agreement on a three year contract extension with safety Bradley McDougald Monday, the Seattle Seahawks apparently wasted no time in ensuring that a second key member of the secondary will be around in 2018. According to a report from NFL Inside Ian Rapoport, nickel cornerback Justin Coleman has received a second round tender as a restricted free agent.

The second round tender means that Coleman will be able to speak to other teams as a free agent beginning on Wednesday afternoon, but that the Seahawks will retain the right of first refusal on any offer he signs. In addition, if he does sign an offer sheet with another team that the Seahawks decline to match, then that team would give Seattle its second round pick in the 2018 draft. The odds of another team surrendering a second round pick are probably small, so this likely means that Coleman will return to the Hawks in 2018 on the tender salary contract of $2.91M.

Cole man played 59.6% of Seattle’s defensive snaps in 2017, and with the defense playing in a nickel package roughly two thirds of the time, Coleman was effectively a starter for 2017. He joined the team late after being acquired from the Patriots for a seventh round pick at the end of training camp, and filled a key role for the Seahawks over the course of the season. He may continue to fill the nickel role, but fans should not be surprised if he ends up starting at the second cornerback spot across from Shaquill Griffin.

Obviously, Coleman could still sign elsewhere, but between the draft pick compensation and the right of first refusal, the tender offer makes it highly likely that Coleman will be a Seahawk in 2018.