Former Seahawks TE Will Dissly Signs Three-Year Deal With Chargers
While the Seattle Seahawks wait to make their first move in free agency, a tight end has bolted for new surroundings for the second time on the first day of the NFL's legal tampering period.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Chargers have agreed to terms with former Seahawks tight end Will Dissly on a three-year contract worth $14 million and the deal includes $10 million in guaranteed money. The seven-year veteran became a free agent last week when Seattle cut him to save more than $7 million against the salary cap and joins Colby Parkinson as the latest tight end to flee the Pacific Northwest.
One of Seattle's longest-tenured players, Will Dissly will take his talents to Los Angeles after being released in a cap cutting move last week.
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A fan favorite coming out of Washington, Dissly made an immediate impact after being selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, catching eight passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns in his first four games as a rookie. Unfortunately, while productive when healthy, his first two seasons were derailed by a patellar tendon injury and a torn Achilles tendon, causing him to miss all but 10 regular season games.
Rebounding from those injuries, Dissly has been relatively healthy over the past four years, playing in at least 15 games in each of those seasons. Regarded as one of the best run blocking tight ends in the sport, he helped Rashaad Penny explode for a league-high 6.3 yards per carry in 2021 and Ken Walker III rush for over 1,000 yards as a rookie in 2022.
However, in part due to the talent at receiver around him and limited opportunities in an offense that inconsistently made use of tight ends in the passing game, Dissly never reemerged as a consistent weapon for Seattle. In his final four seasons with the team, he only eclipsed 30 receptions once and scored seven combined touchdowns, often going long stretches without recording any catches.
Moving to a new team for the first time in his NFL career, Dissly will join a Chargers squad now coached by Jim Harbaugh, who will want to install a physical, balanced offensive attack. As far as fit is concerned, this should be an ideal match for both the team and player with his extensive experience as an inline blocker and ability to move the chains as a possession receiving tight end.
As for the Seahawks, with Dissly and Parkinson now relocating to southern California and Noah Fant set to be an unrestricted free agent himself, the team doesn't have a tight end on the roster with previous starting experience. Currently, only Tyler Mabry and Brady Russell are under contract, with the two players having 43 combined offensive snaps between them.
Depending on what happens with Fant, who may have a strong market being a former first-round pick with great athletic traits, the Seahawks realistically could go into the 2024 season with a completely different tight end group. If he ends up leaving too, the team will have to find at least one replacement in free agency before April's draft.
