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The Seattle Seahawks have filled out their 90 man roster, just as most teams across the NFL have done. With the contracts of the undrafted free agents the team has formally signed officially done, it will not be a surprise to see announcements for the 2020 draftees in the coming months. Under Pete Carroll and John Schneider the team is seemingly never done with its work to improve the roster, so it will not be a surprise if the team looks to make moves at various spots in the coming months with remaining free agents.
Last week, Field Yates of ESPN tweeted out the all free agent offense and defense teams that remain unsigned across the NFL.
Free agent "all-offense" team:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 6, 2020
QB: Cam Newton
RB: Devonta Freeman, Lamar Miller
WR: Taylor Gabriel, Paul Richardson
TE: Delanie Walker
OT: Jason Peters, Cordy Glenn
G: Ronald Leary, Josh Kline
C: Justin Britt
Free agent “all-defense” team:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 7, 2020
DE: Jadeveon Clowney, Everson Griffen
DT: Snacks Harrison, Mike Daniels
OLB: Markus Golden, Clay Matthews
ILB: Nigel Bradham, Alec Ogletree
CB: Logan Ryan, Prince Amukamara
S: Eric Reid, Tony Jefferson
There are multiple Seahawks on those teams, including Jadeveon Clowney on defense and both Seattle 2014 second round picks Justin Britt and Paul Richardson on the offensive side of the ball. Somehow, 2013 first round picks Eric Reid and Alec Ogletree remain unsigned and have never been on the Seahawks roster, so I’m wondering if John Schneider’s free agent screener that filters for 2013 first round picks has somehow broken down. That would seem to be the only reasonable explanation for why those two have failed to make it onto the Seahawks roster since entering the league.
In any case, taking the idea of the best available free agents and applying it to former Seahawks, here’s an entire squad of currently available free agents who were lucky enough to have been on the Seattle roster at some point during their NFL career.
QB Geno Smith
RB Spencer Ware
TE Ed Dickson
WR Paul Richardson
WR Jermaine Kearse
WR Malik Turner
LT Bradley Sowell
LG T.J. Lang
C Justin Britt
RG J’Marcus Webb
RT Garry Gilliam
DE Jadeveon Clowney
DT Brandon Mebane
DT Michael Bennett
DE Ziggy Ansah
LB Mychal Kendricks
LB Malcolm Smith
CB Jamar Taylor
CB Akeem King
CB Tramaine Brock
S DeShawn Shead
S Maurice Alexander
K Blair Walsh
While the defensive linemen in that group are certain to turn some heads for the quality of play that could be added, the offensive line is likely to turn heads for exactly the opposite reason. T.J. Lang, obviously, never actually played for the Seahawks, so for the purists who don’t get the joke, no offense will be taken if Marcus Martin or Kristjan Sokoli are inserted at center in order to bump Britt over to left guard.
It would have been possible to put together a full 4-3 defensive alignment dropping Taylor and putting in any of a number of linebackers, including D.J. Alexander or Steve Longa. However, the pain factor that could be inflicted by choosing to go nickel and keep Taylor on the field was simply too great to pass up. At long snapper both Clint Gresham and Nolan Frese remain unsigned, and at just 27 years of age Frese could be an attractive option.
Lastly, punter was an issue simply because of the fact that Jon Ryan and Michael Dickson have held on to that position for so long. To find a punter for the Seahawks besides Ryan or Dickson requires going all the way back to Ryan Plackemeier in the 2007 season. Plackemeier remains just 36 years old, but since he’s been out of the NFL since 2009, there’s no telling whether he would still be able to get into game shape.
In any case, feel free to propose any alternatives at any of the positions who may have been overlooked.