Seahawks' offseason addition is NFL Comeback Player of the Year candidate

In 2022, in his first season as the team’s fulltime starting quarterback, Geno Smith put up career numbers. The team finished with a 9-8 record, and Pete Carroll’s Seattle Seahawks were playoff bound.

The well-traveled signal-caller would earn a Pro Bowl invitation and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. In 2025, Smith won’t be coming back to the Seahawks after being traded to the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason, reuniting him with Carroll.

Recently, Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus amassed an interesting list of players—one for each team—looking to rebound from a less-than-scintillating 2024, be it a disappointing showing or a year shortened by injury. In some instances, there are performers here with new teams. Such is the case with the Seahawks and one of their veteran free-agent additions this offseason.

“Now 33 years old,” explained Wasserman. “DeMarcus Lawrence should fit comfortably into a Seattle edge defender rotation that includes Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu and Derick Hall. Just two seasons ago, Lawrence ranked second in the NFL with a 92.2 run-defense grade while also contributing 48 pressures to Dallas’ pass rush. “His 2024 season was cut short after just 167 snaps due to a fractured foot. Even if Lawrence now profiles primarily as a run-stopping specialist, he’ll be a valuable addition to a Seahawks defense that ranked 19th in run-defense grade last season.”

Lawrence missed the Cowboys’ final 13 games in 2024. In Dallas’ first four outings, he totaled 14 tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble. Back in March on The John Schneider Show, Seahawks’ head coach Mike Macdonald about the 11-year veteran and four-time Pro Bowler.

“How can you watch DeMarcus Lawrence tape and not just get fired up? It doesn’t take a football expert to (see Lawrence’s impact when you) watch this guy play. He plays incredibly violent.”

A change of scenery has done many a player in any sport a world of good. The Seattle Seahawks are no doubt hoping that’s the case with an experienced defender with 61.5 sacks and 21 forced fumbles on his NFL resume. However, let’s take it one bigger step forward.

Should Lawrence finish 2025 with double-digit sacks—something he hasn’t done since 2018 while with Dallas (10.5)—could he be in the running for NFL Comeback Player of the Year? Of course, that would also depend on numerous other player’s performances. It’s also worth noting that the last time a defensive player captured this honor was back in 2015 when Kansas City Chiefs’ safety Eric Berry took home the award after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma late in the 2014 season.

More Seahawks on SI stories