As many expected they would, the Seattle Seahawks waited until the compensatory-pick deadline passed to sign four free agents without the risk of losing a selection in the 2020 NFL draft.
Now that defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, nickel cornerback Jamar Taylor, fullback Nick Bellore and guard Marcus Martin are in the mix, what is next for Seattle before the preseason begins?
With 11 new draft picks and 12 undrafted free agents in the fold, Seattle already has a lot of names Pete Carroll will have to sort through in order to find the ideal 53-man roster.
While that is a daunting task in itself, here are three other tasks Carroll, general manager John Schneider and company will want to take care of over the summer.
Extend Bobby Wagner
Now that quarterback Russell Wilson’s extension has been taken care of, and edge rusher Frank Clark shipped to the Chiefs, the Seahawks have two more long-term extensions to work out over the summer.
The first is with Bobby Wagner. Wagner, who is representing himself, has made it clear he does not intend to take a hometown discount to remain with Seattle. He wants the full asking price for middle linebackers, which could be upward of $17 million annually.
Seattle has the money to get a deal done with the star linebacker, although the Seahawks are rarely in the business of paying a premium price for a veteran free agent (Wilson’s contract notwithstanding).
Regardless, Wagner is one of the core pieces of Seattle’s defense and is future Ring of Honor member. The Seahawks know how much he means to the franchise and may need to pay a slight premium to keep him around for the next handful of years.
The start of training camp is when this kind of deals typically gets done in Seattle, and you can bet Schneider will be sitting down with Wagner to get a deal hammered out.
Sign an interior defensive tackle
The Seahawks were always expected to be involved in the veteran free agent market. Even after signing two defensive players within 48 hours of the comp-pick deadline’s passing, they aren’t expected to be done.
With Shamar Stephen’s departure in free agency, Seattle has a hole on the interior defensive line. Presently, Jarran Reed and Poona Ford are joined by Jamie Meder and draft pick DeMarcus Christmas in the middle, now that Nazair Jones has transitioned to five-technique.
With Ndamukong Suh and Danny Shelton both available in free agency, not to mention Caraun Reid and Corey Liuget, the Seahawks have a handful of options they could sign to cheap, incentive-laden contracts with the hope that one of them will help shore up their run defense up the middle.
Find a third quarterback
This isn’t going to be Seattle’s highest priority, but Carroll loves bringing in competition everywhere on the field, and it is clear the team won’t let Paxton Lynch walk away with the backup quarterback job.
However, the three quarterbacks the Seahawks brought with them to rookie minicamp were disappointing, which likely leaves the team looking elsewhere to give Lynch some competition.
“I thought the quarterbacks had a hard time,” Carroll said at the conclusion of rookie minicamp on Sunday. “I thought they struggled with the system and the play calling. A lot of guys calling plays for the first time, in the huddles for the first time, under center for the first time, so there were some brand-new experiences and so they were competing on many levels just to get going. So we’ll take a look at the film now that we get out of camp, and see where it all fits.”
The only one of the three who was signed was undrafted free agent Taryn Christion, who may have the best chance of making it to training camp.
Of course, quarterbacks get cut all the time over the summer, so the Seahawks should not have too much trouble finding someone to bring in and push Lynch in camp if they aren’t satisfied with Christion.
