Seahawks' latest move signals commitment to cornerback room

At their greatest these Seattle Seahawks had the best secondary in the history of the NFL. Heading into the 2025 offseason, this group looks as good as it has at any time since the breakup of the Legion of Boom. Starters on the back end include Julian Love and Coby Bryant at safety, plus Devon Withersoon, Riq Woolen and Josh Jobe at cornerback.

While those five are locked in as starters for Week 1, there's far less certainty about who will be backing them up. We know Nehemiah Pritchett will be part of the corner rotation, but with Rayshawn Jenkins out of the picture that's about all we know regarding the depth situation.

Enter ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, who reported last night that the Seahawks are signing free agent corner Shemar Jean-Charles, formerly of the New Orleans Saints.

The #Seahawks are signing free-agent cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles, per source.

Jean-Charles had 14 tackles, one interception and two passes defended in nine games for New Orleans last year.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 16, 2025

Originally a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft by Green Bay, Jean-Charles played his college ball at Appalachian State, where he posted two picks and an outstanding 25 pass breakups over his last two seasons.

However, at this level Jean-Charles has been almost exclusively relegated to backup duty. He appeared in 20 games with the Packers his first two years in the league, then moved on to play just five games for the 49ers before he was waived and landed with the Saints. Jean-Charles finally earned his first two career starts for New Orleans in 2024, totaling 14 tackles and an "interception."

Absolutely insane interception by Shemar Jean-Charles pic.twitter.com/GjUmMws1Fx
— Saints Film Room (@SaintsFilmRoom) November 3, 2024

For what it's worth, Pro Football Focus gave Jean-Charles a pretty mediocre 53.4 overall grade last season, brought down by a 45.6 grade against the run. He can line up at multiple spots but for the most part he's played boundary cornerback.

It's still early in the offseason so it's difficult to say where any non-starter might fit in the rotation. Our best guess is that he will compete for the right to be the top backup behind Josh Jobe at the left boundary spot.

You can never have too many quality cornerbacks, so any reasonably-priced depth move is good by Seattle. Let's hope they don't trade him for a seventh-round draft pick who they cut before Week 1 like they did last year with Mike Jackson, who went on to ball out for the Carolina Panthers and signed a strong two-year deal to stay.

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