The Seattle Seahawks had a busy Thursday, inking defensive end Cassius Marsh and outside linebacker Nate Orchard to free agent deals.
Marsh will compete to start opposite Frank Clark on the edge, while Orchard is expected to be more of a rotational pass rusher and contributor on the special teams.
The addition of two players who are expected to be used on passing downs is not a good development for Seahawks edge defender Barkevious Mingo, who has long been considered a cut candidate following a disappointing 2018 campaign in Seattle.
Mingo, 28, had 37 solo tackles for Seattle last year, and was one of their better contributors on the special teams. He was signed specifically to get to the quarterback however, and he only managed one sack and two quarterback hits.
Cutting Mingo would give Seattle an extra $5.3 million in cap space to work with, money they could certainly use as they prepare to ink Frank Clark and Russell Wilson to contract extensions.
The additions of Marsh and Orchard give Seattle cheaper alternatives in the pass rush. Jacob Martin, who coach Carroll raved about recently, will be in that mix as well and could take over Mingo’s role as soon as 2019.
Seattle will have a handful of inexpensive players poised to get after quarterbacks in 2019 – and that’s before the upcoming NFL Draft, where they could add even more. As such, Mingo’s days with Seattle could be numbered.
