5 notable former Seahawks starters who are currently free agents

Training camp is just around the corner, and there are a lot of high-profile names still unsigned, including Ezekiel Elliott, Dalvin Cook, Jarvis Landry, Marcus Peters, and a few former Seattle Seahawks starters. Don’t be surprised if we see a spate of free agent signings around the league by the end of the month, but I’m sure you’re wondering first and foremost who those ex-Seahawks are! Let’s get to it!

DL Shelby Harris

The Seahawks defensive line was much maligned in 2022, but Shelby Harris was one of the few bright spots. A popular player with the Denver Broncos, Harris was one of the players brought over in the Russell Wilson trade, and was an effective interior player. PFF logged him for 25 quarterback hurries in addition to 2 sacks and 4 passes defensed. With a year left on his contract and the Seahawks both saving up cap space and taking a hard look at the DL, the 31-year-old Harris was let go.

For now, Harris is a former Seahawk, but don’t rule out a reunion just yet on a cheaper deal. It would be nice to see him reunited with Dre’Mont Jones, the big free agent acquisition for Seattle this offseason.

G Gabe Jackson

The Seahawks traded for Jackson in 2021 with the hope that his peak form with the Raiders would continue in Seattle. Unfortunately, that definitely didn’t happen in 2022 and he was a cap casualty this offseason. Jackson is 31 years old which is hardly ancient, but concerns about how healthy he is to continue playing as an NFL starter are more than valid at this point.

DE Jadeveon Clowney

Ever since his trade from the Houston Texans to the Seahawks in 2019, Clowney has been a bit of a nomad. There was a lot of hope that Clowney could be a long-term pass rushing/run stopping two-way solution for Seattle, but that didn’t truly materialize outside of a few games. Clowney went to the Tennessee Titans in 2020 and ended the year on IR with no sacks recorded. His career took a positive turnaround with the Cleveland Browns in 2021, recording 9 sacks playing alongside Myles Garrett. A lackluster 2022 ensued, the production cratered, and the relationship with Cleveland ended sourly. Injuries continue to plague the former number one overall pick’s career, and I think the idea of Clowney is far better than what Clowney’s actual career has been.

DE Carlos Dunlap

It’s occurred to me that four of the five players listed on here made it to Seattle via trade. You may recall when John Schneider somehow was able to offload B.J. Finney and a 2021 seventh-round draft pick to get the former Cincinnati Bengals star. He made an instant impact on a struggling Seahawks pass rushing unit in the middle of 2020, but was let go in the ensuing offseason. Seattle brought him back on a cheaper deal, and after a slow start (and playing a hell of a lot out of position) he closed with 8.5 sacks. After getting released again, Dunlap signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in late July, and while his role diminished he played in every game on his way to not just his first playoff win in his 13-year NFL career, but eventually a Super Bowl.

Dunlap is 34 so finding work even on a rotational basis may be difficult. If Dunlap never plays another down in the NFL he will have gone out as a champion, which is awesome and I’m happy for him. He’s also just opened up a restaurant back in Cincinnati.

OL George Fant

We touched upon this briefly when PFF suggested the Seahawks should reunite with Fant as tackle depth. Fant was set to be the starting left tackle entering 2017, then the ACL tear in preseason directly resulted in the Duane Brown trade. He finally got to be a full-time starter with the New York Jets, but 2022 was a rough one for him as injuries negatively affected his performance.

Honorable mentions

RB JD McKissic. McKissic only had one career start in Seattle, but he certainly got significant run in 2017. He did carve out a nice role with the Washington Commanders as a 3rd down/receiving back, including 80 catches (admittedly for not a lot of yards) in 2020. His role in Washington’s offense was limited in 2022 primarily due to a neck injury and he was subsequently released.

WR Marcus Johnson. Acquired in the Michael Bennett trade in 2018, but never played a game for the Seahawks. Last played for the New York Giants.

G Oday Aboushi. A starting guard for the Seahawks in 2017, Aboushi played for the Los Angeles Rams in 2022.

Do any of these former Seahawks interest you as far as a reunion for depth purposes? Let us know in the comments!