Seahawks Free Agent Primer: Austin Blythe Still Long-Term Answer at Center?
On the heels of a surprising 9-8 season that culminated in an unexpected playoff berth, the Seattle Seahawks have plenty of roster questions to address heading into another important offseason as they continue their quest back to Super Bowl contention.
When the new league year opens on March 15, Seattle will have 23 players scheduled to hit the market as unrestricted free agents. Three players will be restricted free agents and five will be exclusive rights free agents, while several other key veterans such as linebacker Uchenna Nwosu will be entering the final season of their respective deals ready to negotiate extensions.
Over the next several weeks, I will break down each and every one of the Seahawks' unrestricted free agents by revisiting their 2022 seasons, assessing why they should or should not be re-signed, breaking down an ideal contract, and making an early prediction on whether or not the player will return in 2023.
Up next in the series, Austin Blythe brought short-term stability to Seattle's new-look offensive line on a one-year contract. Did he do enough to justify re-signing him and does he remain a possible long-term option at center for the franchise?
Season In Review
Reunited with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and offensive line coach Andy Dickerson, who previously coached him with the Rams, Blythe immediately was inserted into the starting lineup as a replacement for Ethan Pocic. While he exited a pair of games with minor injuries, he started all 17 regular season games as well as the Seahawks wild card loss to the 49ers, playing more than 95 percent of their offensive snaps for the season. Logging 1,044 snaps, his third highest total in seven NFL seasons, he allowed three sacks in pass protection and recovered a fumble.
Why Seattle Should Re-Sign Him
A superb communicator who knew Waldron's offense inside and out upon his arrival to Seattle, Blythe's ability to call out blitzes and and help relay assignments to his line mates proved to be invaluable with a pair of rookie tackles in Abraham Lucas and Charles Cross starting on day one. Along with providing a much-needed veteran leadership presence, he performed fairly well protecting Geno Smith, surrendering 23 pressures on 704 pass blocking snaps for a respectable 98 percent efficiency rate. Per Pro Football Focus, he ranked 16th among 31 qualified centers with a 66.2 pass blocking grade, finishing ahead of standout veterans such as Patriots center David Andrews and Colts center Ryan Kelly.
Why Seattle Should Let Him Walk
Lacking size at under 300 pounds, Blythe struggled mightily as a run blocker in all facets, consistently failing to win off the snap and create push at the line of scrimmage. Bigger, stronger defensive tackles bullied him in the trenches, often knocking him backwards into the backfield to blow up plays before they could even get started. Physically overmatched more times than not, the former high school wrestling state champion received a dismal 51.1 grade from PFF, ranking 28th overall out of 30 centers. More specifically, he finished in the bottom third of the league for grades on both zone and gap blocking concepts.
Ideal Contract
One year, $3.5 million
Prediction
Due to his familiarity with Waldron's offense and ability to make teammates around him better as an outstanding communicator, the Seahawks could do worse than re-signing Blythe at the pivot position. He developed a strong rapport with Smith in his breakout Pro Bowl season, proved to be reliable in pass protection, and improved as a run blocker in the final month of the season with a heavier emphasis on zone schemes that played to his athletic strengths and negated his obvious physical limitations.
With that said, while there's a decent chance Blythe will return for a second season with the coaching staff holding him in high regard, he likely won't be re-signed without legitimate competition to battle for his starting job this summer. Holding 10 draft picks, including four in the first 52 selections, Seattle will have a prime opportunity to land a center of the future early who at minimum offers far more upside as a run blocker. Assuming they pick one in April from a deep center class, the veteran will have to scrap to retain his job at the pivot position with no guarantees of being a starter moving forward.
Previous Seahawks Free Agent Primers
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