Last offseason, the Seattle Seahawks lost star cornerback and franchise icon Richard Sherman to their NFC West rivals, the San Francisco 49ers.
Sherman has been quite vocal about his desire to reunite with safety Earl Thomas, who is a free agent in his own right and seems unlikely to return to Seattle in 2019.
NFL teams certainly don’t think in this manner, but if San Francisco is going to fill holes on their roster with former Seahawks players, there is no reason Seattle can’t do the same.
Here are three former 49ers players who Seattle could pursue this offseason and who could be good fits on their 2019 roster:
Pierre Garcon, Wide Receiver
It was reported on Thursday that the 49ers are declining the option on veteran receiver Pierre Garcon, making the 32-year-old a free agent.
The Seahawks have a long reputation of snatching up veteran receivers that are nearing the end of their career, and Garcon fits that bill perfectly. Injuries impacted Garcon’s time in San Francisco, where he only played 16 total games in each of the last two years.
Still, he managed a respectable 64 receptions for 786 yards – although his lone touchdown was a bit disappointing.
Seattle will go into 2019 with Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, Jaron Brown and David Moore all locked in to receiving roles, making Garcon a spare part at best. However – if he can be signed to an incentive-laden deal, he wouldn’t be the worst gamble for this front office to bank on.
Garry Gilliam, Tackle
Known for making perhaps the most iconic catch in Seahawks franchise history, tackle Garry Gilliam has spent the last two seasons down in the Bay as a backup tackle.
Seattle is set at the starting tackle spots with Duane Brown and Germain Ifedi, and has Jamarco Jones returning from injury as well. However, Gilliam would be worth pursuing – particularly if the Seahawks lose George Fant to free agency.
Gilliam would be a perfectly capable backup tackle, and has some experience playing that sixth lineman/tight end role as well.
Plus, he has caught the same number of passes in his career as Fant.
Robbie Gould, Kicker
Longtime Bears kicker Robbie Gould spent the last two seasons in San Francisco, converting 72-of-75 field goals – including a league leading 97.1% conversion rate last season.
At 36, he’d be a younger alternative to last year’s Sebastian Janikowski debacle, while still giving Seattle an experienced and very talented kicker.
The Seahawks brought in Sam Ficken on a reserve/future contract, but it has been expected all along that they will bring in someone else to compete with Ficken for the job.
Gould would be an outstanding edition to Seattle’s special teams unit, which could use some help.
