
The Seahawks are a younger, more inexperienced team in multiple key areas including defensive line, offensive tackle, and linebacker. According to OverTheCap.com, Seattle has a little over $16,000,000 in cap space available right now. With there still being multiple high-profile veterans on the free agent market, the Seahawks could look to use some of their remaining cap to bring in a few of those players. Who are a few of the veterans the Seahawks could look to add? Keep in mind that the Seahawks currently have two roster spots open right now.
Jason Pierre-Paul
JPP is coming off of one of the worst seasons in his NFL career. He played in 12 games, all of which were starts, totaling just 2.5 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss, 5 QB hits and 14 pressures. However, prior to the 2021 season the former Giant and Buccaneer had four straight years with 8.5 or more sacks which shows there very well may be more left in the tank despite his down 2021 season. Pierre-Paul would bring some veteran leadership to a position group that is overall very inexperienced. It features two rookies second round pick Boye Mafe and fifth round pick Tyreke Smith, in addition to third-year (only second getting NFL playing time) Darrell Taylor and Uchenna Nwosu, who has never been the lead dog before. Whilst it is important for Mafe, Smith, and Taylor to receive as much playing time as possible for their development, having a veteran leader who is a two-time Super Bowl champ in the room is a major positive. Not only would he be able to impart some of his knowledge onto them, but he would also be able to take some of the pressure off of them.
If Mafe or Smith were to get out of the gates slow to start the season rather than continuing to thrust them out there, Pierre-Paul could be used more often to take some of the load off of them. An additional benefit to bringing in the former All-Pro is that he brings some versatility with him having played a right and left edge in a three-point stance as well as an outside linebacker in a two-point stance.
Daryl Williams
As a seven-year veteran who has played both guard and tackle at the NFL level, Williams brings a great deal of versatility and experience with him. The offensive line is arguably the rawest spot on the roster, as it features the team’s respective first- and third-round picks in Charles Cross and Abe Lucas. Outside of Cross and Lucas the only other offensive tackles on the roster are Jake Curhan, Greg Eiland, and Stone Forsythe. The five of them combined have 25 career NFL games under their belt, all of which came from Curhan and Forsythe last season. Simply put, this is a group that needs a veteran to not only show them the ropes but also ease some of the pressure off of them. If whoever the Day 1 starters are out of that group were to get off to a slow start, Pete Carroll would not be forced to keep them out there and have their confidence take a hit like so many young players experience. He instead could pull them from the game and have Williams step in and become a capable tackle for this offensive line.
Veteran leadership and versatility aside, the former All Pro has been a very productive player over the course of his seven seasons in the NFL. He has only allowed 23 sacks over the course of his career, 12 of which came in 2019 (a year removed from multiple knee injuries). Additionally, he only has taken 15 penalties over the course of his career which includes three seasons with zero penalties against. Williams is not what he was in 2017 which was one of the better tackles in the league, although there is no debating that he can still be a more than serviceable starting tackle for an NFL team. If Seattle was to sign Williams there is a strong possibility that the former Panther and Bill could become the teams Week 1 starting right tackle.
Joe Schobert
Schobert has quietly been a tackling machine in the NFL, registering five consecutive seasons with at least 100 or more combined tackles. He has bounced around a bit over his career, having played for three teams over the last three seasons and will likely be four in four in this upcoming season. When looking past that there is little question to whether or not Schobert could become a great asset for the Seahawks.
The former Brown, Jaguar and Steeler is a player with a nose for the football, registering 10 interceptions and 10 forced fumbles over the past five seasons. He also brings some pass rushing acumen with his 11 sacks from 2017-2020. The Seahawks notably released Bobby Wagner, who signed with the division rival Los Angeles Rams. His departure puts a significant amount of pressure on the likes of Jordyn Brooks and Cody Barton, the expected starting tandem at that position. Bringing in a veteran like Schobert would take some of that pressure off of them by placing an experienced player in the linebacker room.