Seahawks Decline DE L.J. Collier's Fifth-Year Option
As anticipated, the Seahawks chose not to opt in on defensive end L.J. Collier's fifth-year option before the April 30 deadline, guaranteeing he will become an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of the 2022 season.
With the decision, general manager John Schneider has yet to pick up a fifth-year option on any of Seattle's first-round picks he has selected since 2011. The team did recently pick up tight end Noah Fant's fifth-year option after acquiring him from Denver as part of the Russell Wilson trade.
If Collier would have had his option picked up by the Seahawks, the team would have owed him $11.5 million in fully guaranteed salary for the 2023 season. Based on his production in his first three seasons, that simply wasn't going to happen.
Collier, who will turn 27 in September, endured a brutal third season a year ago after falling out of the Seahawks' defensive line rotation in training camp and the preseason. Despite not being injured, he only dressed for three of the team's first 10 games and was held out as an inactive healthy scratch seven times. During that stretch, he never played more than 21 defensive snaps in a game and produced four tackles and two quarterback hits.
When injuries hit Seattle's defense in the second half, Collier received more consistent playing time and dressed for each of the final seven games, producing four tackles, two quarterback hits, and a tackle for loss. He finished the season without a sack, marking the second time in three NFL seasons he failed to post any stats in that category.
Since being drafted in the first round out of TCU in 2019, Collier's time with the Seahawks has been a roller coaster. He suffered a sprained ankle early in his first training camp and missed the entire preseason, setting him back tremendously as he registered only three tackles while dressing for 11 games.
But Collier rebounded nicely in his sophomore season and came through with some clutch plays as Seattle finished 12-4 and won the NFC West division title. Starting all 16 games at base defensive end, he amassed 22 tackles, 3.0 sacks, and four tackles for loss, including a game-ending tackle on Patriots quarterback Cam Newton to secure a Week 2 win.
Unfortunately, Collier couldn't build off of a solid season in 2021. When camp opened last July, he received extensive reps with the first-team defense, only to see Kerry Hyder and Robert Nkemdiche eventually vault over him on the depth chart. After a disappointing preseason, he didn't play in three of the first four games and rumors began to circulate that the Seahawks were trying to trade him.
Nothing ever came to fruition before the deadline, however, and Collier remains under contract with one year left to prove his worth. With Seattle expected to deploy a scheme with more 3-4 fronts under defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt, he could see action as a 3-tech defensive tackle or as a standup edge defender, which he did often for the Horned Frogs in college.
Regardless of where he plays, the clock is officially ticking for Collier to turn things around and if he can't, this will undoubtedly be his last season with the Seahawks. But if he can replicate what fellow first rounder Rashaad Penny did in a breakout 2021 season, it's not out of the question he could play himself back into the franchise's plans beyond next season.
