Seahawks, DT Poona Ford Agree to Two-Year Contract

The Seahawks had a relatively uneventful day yesterday, only losing a pair of mid-tier free agents and failing to secure one of the top offensive linemen on the market. Things can quickly change in the matter of hours, however, as Seattle has now had one of the most active Tuesdays around the league.

First, the news of cornerback Shaquill Griffin's apparent departure to Jacksonville came down. Then, the Seahawks were reported to have found a potential replacement for Griffin in former 49ers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon. Now, they've agreed on a new two-year contract with defensive tackle Poona Ford, first reported by ESPN's Brady Henderson.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero says Ford's deal is worth up to nearly $14 million with incentives. In 2021, he'll make an upwards of $4.4 million—a higher number than what he was set to make on the second-round tender.

The #Seahawks are re-signing NT Poona Ford to a two-year deal that can be worth close to $14 million with incentives, per source. Ford gets over $4.4M in 2021 — more than the second-round tender — with a chance for bigger money in 2022 and free agency in 2023, when he'll be 27.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 17, 2021

Ford, a restricted free agent, was expected to have a second-round tender placed on him prior to the start of the new league year tomorrow. Instead, the Seahawks have worked around that while adding an extra year of team control by signing Ford through the 2022 season.

A former undrafted free agent out of the University of Texas, Ford has gotten better in each of his first three years in the NFL. Once considered "too small" to play defensive tackle at the highest level, he's averaged a career overall grade of 81.8 from Pro Football Focus.

Earning significant snaps opposite Jarran Reed the past two seasons, Ford has logged 72 combined tackles - 13.0 of which were for a loss - and 2.5 sacks since the start of 2019. He really came on as an interior pass rusher in 2020, with PFF crediting him with 18 hurries on 28 total quarterback pressures.

Primarily lining up as a 0-tech and 3-tech defensive tackle last season, Ford became more consistent as the year went along. At times, he was an absolute game-wrecker at the line of scrimmage, further solidifying himself as a key long-term piece in Seattle's defense.

With Reed entering the final year of his contract, it's clear why the Seahawks have elected to take this route with Ford. Now, they're set to have at least one established starter at defensive tackle beyond 2021.

Joined by Bryan Mone and Cedrick Lattimore, Reed and Ford will continue to headline a young and exciting defensive tackle unit in Seattle. The team may still try to add veteran depth at the position over the course of the offseason, and there's always the possibility they could look to move Reed to free up more salary cap space. But for now, they appear good to go for 2021 with most of the heavy lifting - retaining Ford - done.

Learn more about Poona Ford in Aryanna Prasad and Hannah Hoover's interview with the fan-favorite defensive tackle for Seahawk Maven here.