Seahawks Re-Sign Damarious Randall, List Him as Cornerback
After spending the majority of the 2020 season with the Seahawks, Damarious Randall has elected to stay put in the Pacific Northwest. The team officially announced their agreement with the Arizona State product on Friday morning, three days after he hinted at the news himself on social media. Contract details are unknown at this time.
Something interesting to note in the Seahawks' announcement is that Randall, 28, is listed as a cornerback rather than a safety. As Seahawks.com reporter John Boyle points out in the official news release, this is not an oversight—Seattle intends to move Randall back to the position he began his NFL career at.
Despite his 5-foot-10 frame and 31 and 1/4-inch arms, Randall primarily played as an outside corner for the Packers from 2015-2017. In that time, he started on the outside in 30 games for a whopping total of 1,733 snaps. He had some success there too, registering 10 interceptions and 32 pass deflections while allowing an opponent passer rating average of 94.7. Pro Football Focus, however, credited him with 18 touchdowns given up over the course of those three seasons.
Randall moved to safety in 2018 after being traded from Green Bay to Cleveland for quarterback DeShone Kizer and a swap of fourth and fifth-round selections. There, he put up arguably the best season of his career, recording 73 tackles and four interceptions to the tune of an overall grade of 72.8 from PFF. But his play diminished the year after, particularly in pass coverage, and his usage from that point forward has been limited.
Having lost two starting corners from 2020 to free agency, with Shaquill Griffin off to Jacksonville and Quinton Dunbar recently signing with the Lions, the Seahawks have remained involved in the position's market. Although they quickly responded to Griffin's departure by adding former 49ers corner Ahkello Witherspoon, it's clear they want to add more competition near the top of the depth chart. They've been linked to a familiar name in Richard Sherman - arguably the best available corner remaining - and were one of the teams keeping in touch with Dunbar before he opted for Detroit.
Even though Randall reverting back to corner gives Seattle more depth at the position, he's likely not the answer to its interest in the likes of Sherman and Dunbar. While he has the experience on the outside, Randall's measurements don't align with the Seahawks' preferences—especially not at left cornerback. Of course, they've already broken tradition on the right side with apparent 2021 starter D.J. Reed, who comes in at 5-foot-9, but would they do that at both spots? On paper, it seems unlikely.
Assuming this is indeed the case, then instead of competing with Witherspoon and Tre Flowers for a job on the outside, Randall is set to battle it out with Ugo Amadi and safety Marquise Blair for playing time in nickel and dime packages this season. Playing inside at the line of scrimmage isn't something he's done a lot of in his NFL career, but Randall's build indicates a better fit there with the Seahawks.
Also expected to be heavily involved in Seattle's special teams unit, Randall is an interesting acquisition at this stage in the offseason. His time as a corner has been very up-and-down, but there may be some upside for the Seahawks to uncover as they continue to build depth at a position that's suffered significant loss over the past month.
