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The big news for the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday evening was the report that the team was set to fly defensive end Ziggy Ansah to the northwest in order to sign a one year contract. Thus, it was no surprise when the Seahawks put out a press release on Thursday afternoon announcing the signings of three players. However, Ansah was not one of the three.
Seahawks have signed cornerback Jamar Taylor, fullback Nick Bellore and guard Marcus Martin.
— Curtis Crabtree (@Curtis_Crabtree) May 9, 2019
Earlier Thursday we noted that reports had linked the Seahawks to slot cornerback Jamar Taylor, and his signing is now official. However, the signings of fullback Nick Bellore and guard Marcus Martin come as somewhat of a surprise.
Bellore gives the team a true fullback on the roster for the first time since Tre Madden was non-tendered as a restricted free agent. He played linebacker for the first seven years of his career for the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions before moving to fullback in 2017. In addition, as was the case with Madden, Bellore has been a key special teams contributor, playing well over 2,000 special teams snaps during his career.
As for Martin, he was a third round pick of the 49ers in 2014, when Mike Solari was still the offensive line coach. Thus, he should have familiarity with what is asked of the Seahawks offensive linemen. He played primarily at center during his time with the 49ers, with 1,342 of the 1,441 offensive snaps he’s played during his career coming at center. Thus, it appears as though the competition may be on, not just on the defensive side of the ball, but across the entire interior of the Seahawks offensive line. Despite not having appeared in an NFL game in either of the prior two seasons, Martin remains very young and will turn just 26 at the end of November.
No news yet on who the team released in order to make room for these three, as the Hawks were at 89 players on the roster prior to these three signings. Kam Chancellor seems one of the likely candidates to be cut, and will make note once the players who were let go in order to make room for these signings are known.