Seahawks Analysis: Best Free Agents Remaining After Legal Tampering Period
With free agency officially kicking off on Wednesday after a two-day legal tampering period, the Seattle Seahawks have stuck to past trends with a quiet start to the offseason while other teams dish out big bucks for veteran talent.
Prior to the start of the new league year, Seattle watched five unrestricted free agents, including former starting linebacker Jordyn Brooks and guard Damien Lewis, depart to sign contracts with other teams. While general manager John Schneider did re-sign defensive tackle Leonard Williams and tight end Noah Fant to multi-year deals, he has been pretty quiet pursuing outside free agents thus far, agreeing to one-year deals with center Nick Harris and tight end Pharaoh Brown.
Thanks to the departure of Brooks and Lewis along with previously cutting safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, the Seahawks have no shortage of holes along their offensive line and in the back seven on defense. Some of those holes will have to be filled in free agency, leaving plenty of work for Schneider and the front office in coming days.
Which remaining free agents would be the best fits for new coach Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks? Here are 10 potential targets who should be considered, including one player already linked to the team with a previous meeting:
Julian Blackmon, FS, Colts
An immediate starter after being picked in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Blackmon instantly jumped into the lineup for the Colts at free safety, intercepting a pair of passes and producing 42 tackles in 15 games. An Achilles injury limited him to only six games in 2021, but since then, he has emerged as one of the better young free safeties in the game and stands out as one of the few true single-high safeties left on the market.
Julian Blackmon turned in a career year in Indianapolis heading towards free agency, including picking off four passes and recovering a pair of fumbles.
Breaking out with a career year in 2023, Blackmon picked off four passes, recovered two fumbles, and registered 88 combined tackles, earning an All-Pro vote in the process as the Colts managed to make the playoffs despite losing rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson early in the year to a shoulder injury. He ended the year on injured reserve with his own shoulder injury, but he should be fully healthy now and the playmaking 25-year old would be a great target to replace Quandre Diggs in center field in Seattle.
Devin White, LB, Buccaneers
A former top-five pick out of LSU, White isn't a beloved figure by PFF metrics, as the outlet never has graded him better than a 51.9 and he finished dead last out of 60 qualified linebackers last year. In particular, he has been docked heavily for his struggles in coverage, where he did allow 11 touchdowns from 2020 to 2022 and yielded a 100.0 or better pass rating each of those three seasons. But the disdain for his performance doesn't add up looking at his numbers over five NFL seasons.
Earning an All-Pro nod in 2020, he has surpassed 120 tackles three times, produced a whopping 23 sacks, and recovered nine fumbles during that span, consistently making impact, game-changing plays for Tampa Bay. Similar to Patrick Queen, he's an elite athlete for the position and uses his 4.4 speed to wreak havoc as a blitzer and blow up plays in the backfield. His aggressiveness can work against him at times, but he's the type of athlete and versatile defender Macdonald would love to have in the middle and Seattle could very much be in the mix for his services.
Kevin Zeitler, G, Ravens
Entering the latter stage of his career, Zeitler has 12 seasons and 181 starts on his resume, which could spook some teams from signing him and explain why he hasn't re-signed with the Ravens or landed elsewhere yet. But offensive linemen can play at a high level well into their 30s and the former Wisconsin standout turned in one of his best seasons in Baltimore in 2023.
Along with opening up creases for the Ravens top-ranked rushing attack, Zeitler surrendered only 19 pressures and two sacks protecting Lamar Jackson, earning an 82.5 pass blocking grade from PFF that ranked behind only Chiefs star Joe Thuney. As a reward for his efforts, he made his first Pro Bowl roster after years of being a top-10 guard. Signing him would be more of a stop-gap move for Seattle, but Macdonald knows him well from being on Baltimore's staff and his pass protection prowess would be a welcome asset for Geno Smith.
Kamren Curl, SS, Commanders
After falling to the seventh-round in the 2020 NFL Draft, Curl quickly became a full-time starter as a rookie in Washington and made an instant impact in Ron Rivera's defense, tallying 88 tackles, three interceptions, and two sacks while seeing extensive action at both safety spots and slot cornerback. Since then, the former Arkansas standout hasn't registered a pick in the last three seasons and allowed seven touchdowns in coverage, failing to replicate his rookie production.
With that said, playing on a bad defense didn't help Curl's cause at all over the past couple of years and he has been an excellent tackler in run support for most of his career. Just 24 years old, while he won't be mistaken for new Packers safety Xavier McKinney in regard to versatility, he can play multiple positions at a high level and would bring the physicality Seattle desperately needs in the wake of Jamal Adams' departure.
Jordan Whitehead, S, Jets
Though he has six years of NFL experience under his belt, Whitehead will only turn 27 years old later this month and has over 2,000 career snaps at both safety positions on his resume. Last season wasn't his finest by any measure, as Pro Football Focus charged him with seven touchdowns allowed, 17.5 yards allowed per reception in coverage, and 20 missed tackles.
But at the same time, Whitehead intercepted three passes and generated four pass breakups while producing 91 combined tackles, posting quality numbers compared to his peers. Given his relative youth and positional versatility, Whitehead could be one of the best values on the market for teams such as the Seahawks who may be looking for dual-threat defenders that can excel at both safety spots in Macdonald's scheme.
Update: Whitehead has agreed to terms with the Buccaneers on a two-year deal worth up to $9 million.
Jadeveon Clowney, EDGE, Ravens
A familiar face for Seahawks fans after spending the 2019 season in the Pacific Northwest, Clowney has been a bit of a journeyman in recent years, spending time with three other teams in a four-year span. In the past four seasons, he has had two years with two or fewer sacks, continuing a career trend of posting inconsistent pass rushing production, which has prevented him from latching on anywhere with more than a one-year deal.
But Clowney enjoyed a resurgent season in Baltimore starring in Macdonald's scheme, starting 15 games with 43 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and 19 quarterback hits. Per PFF, he also finished 11th among edge defenders with 71 pressures and tied for sixth with four swatted passes at the line of scrimmage. Still a dominant run defender off the edge and unlikely to command much money in free agency because of his age and injury history, he would be an intriguing player to bring back to Seattle alongside Boye Mafe and Uchenna Nwosu on a one or two-year deal.
Dalton Risner, G, Vikings
Despite starting at least 15 games in each of his first four seasons with the Broncos, Risner didn't find a new team until after the start of the regular season when the Vikings signed him in mid-September. He quickly jumped into the starting lineup and played in the final 15 games, allowing no sacks on 485 pass blocking snaps while receiving a solid 67.4 pass protection grade from PFF.
Throughout his career, Risner has been at his best protecting the quarterback, posting a pass blocking efficiency rate north of 97 percent in all four seasons with Denver and not giving up any sacks in 2020. On the flip side, he has never been a great run blocker, as evidenced by the fact he has only scored above a 60.0 on PFF's charting once in five seasons, including posting a poor 50.0 score last year in Minnesota. At this stage, he's likely looking at another one-year deal and after losing Damien Lewis in free agency, he would be a steady stop-gap option at worst for the Seahawks.
Rayshawn Jenkins, S, Jaguars
Recently hitting the market as a cap casualty and reportedly meeting with the Seahawks on a visit, Jenkins has evolved from a core special teams player early in his career with the Chargers into a quality starting safety who offers immense versatility. Over seven NFL seasons, he has logged more than 1,900 snaps as a free safety and strong safety in the box while also playing almost 800 snaps in the slot, illustrating his positional flexibility.
An experienced starter who has played extensive snaps at both safety spots, Seattle already has had Rayshawn Jenkins in town for a free agent visit.
In three seasons in Jacksonville, Jenkins started 48 out of 51 possible regular season games, amassing 290 combined tackles, five interceptions, three forced fumbles, and 19 pass breakups. In each of the past two seasons, while he did allow more than 11 yards per reception along the way, he eclipsed 100 tackles and surrendered only two touchdowns in coverage. Now 30 years old, he should be available on a low-cost deal and would be a strong fit in Macdonald's defense to pair with Julian Love, giving the team some interchangeability at the position without breaking the bank.
De'Vondre Campbell, LB, Packers
A newcomer to the free agent market after Green Bay released him as a cap casualty, Campbell wasn't quite as effective last season, in large part due to missing six games with injuries. As a result, he finished with just 75 combined tackles and no interceptions after averaging 121 tackles and two interceptions per year in his first two years starring in Titletown, failing to come close to replicating his breakout All-Pro season in 2021.
Set to turn 31 years old in July, Campbell may be at the point in his career where he's going to have to be willing to take one-year deals, especially coming off a somewhat down season. But he's still a solid athlete in the middle and prior to struggling mightily last season, he thrived in coverage for the Packers, the area of his game that may have been affected most by his health last year. Given his previous connection to new Seahawks inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti, who worked with him in Green Bay, coming to the Pacific Northwest could be an ideal landing spot to start and help mentor a rookie.
Tyus Bowser, EDGE, Ravens
A newcomer on the market after being released by Baltimore, Bowser missed the entire 2023 season with a knee injury and only played in nine games during the season prior, creating questions about his durability. Prospective teams will have to take a close look at his medicals to determine whether or not he's healthy enough to warrant taking a chance on.
But if Bowser has turned the corner in his recovery, hooking back up with Macdonald in Seattle would make too much sense for both parties. Set to turn 29 years old in May, he had three straight seasons with at least 25 pressures from 2019 to 2021 and has 19.5 career sacks and 48 quarterback hits to his name. At 250 pounds, he's also been a capable run defender on early downs and plays with the physicality necessary to set the edge. Without knowing whether or not Darrell Taylor will be back, the Seahawks would have nothing to lose taking a flier on him for depth purposes.
