Potentially Looking For Safety Depth, Seahawks Still Have Some Options
Highlighted by the starting duo of Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, the safety position may be the strongest on the Seahawks' current roster. Tacking on a pair of depth pieces in Ryan Neal and Marquise Blair, who both offer a decent share of experience and upside, will only further reinforce that argument.
Despite this, however, Seattle has spent a little over a month actively tinkering with the position. It first hosted safety Damontae Kazee for a visit back in mid April, but shortly after a deal did not come together, the team proceeded to add undrafted free agent safeties Bubba Bolden, Scott Nelson, Joey Blount and Deontai Williams.
Three days later, veteran safety Josh Jones was re-signed to a one-year contract. The Seahawks also hosted George Iloka for a tryout on May 19, though he was reportedly looked at as more of a cover linebacker than a safety.
Perhaps that will be the extent of Seattle's search, but its heavy focus on the back end of its safety group is certainly intriguing. Potentially, it could signify the team is open to trading someone like Neal this summer, or that an oft-injured player like Blair doesn't have a guaranteed spot on the roster. There is, of course, the strong possibility that it means absolutely nothing and the Seahawks merely want to generate more traffic and competition for a unit that may not otherwise have much to fight for in training camp.
Nevertheless, if they are not content with the handful of safeties they currently possess, there are still some other notable options left on the table.
This includes former 49ers safety Jaquiski Tartt. The 30-year old defensive back, who's unfortunately become most recognized for dropping an interception during the final stages of the 2022 NFC championship game, remains without a new team after two-plus months of free agency. Injuries have plagued Tartt from time to time, but he's started for the majority of his seven years in the NFL and also has special teams experience. Furthermore, he may be the best alternative for the role the Seahawks were eyeing Iloka for.
Another name that could be of interest to Seattle is Marqui Christian, who played under new Seahawks associate head coach and defensive assistant Sean Desai with the Bears in 2020 and 2021. Christian is an above-average special teams player and would be the second such talent to make the jump from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest this offseason, joining linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe.
Veterans Jahleel Addae, Tashaun Gipson and Andrew Sendejo are all still available as well, but older players with middling contributions on defense and limited special teams ability are unlikely to grab the Seahawks' attention. Matthias Farley and Andrew Adams are better equipped to check those boxes.
Seattle currently has $6.3 million in effective salary cap space, per OverTheCap.com. It also has a few levers it can pull to increase that number, including cutting running back Chris Carson, whose ability to play football again after undergoing neck surgery in December is still undetermined.
Therefore, money won't be an issue if general manager John Schneider and company want to keep shuffling the deck at safety. But to reiterate: the likelihood Seattle has already satisfied this (very small) need is fairly high, and its focus on the position may not have any bearing on its eventual 53-man roster. Such is the nature of annual, summertime roster churn.
