Seahawks questions: What moves could they still make before Week 1?

Aug 21, 2020, 9:29 AM

Pete Carroll's Seahawks are preparing for their Week 1 meeting with Atlanta on Sept. 13. (Getty)

(Getty)

Seattle Sports

This final installment of Seahawks Training Camp Questions has less to do with position battles; rather, it aims to zero in on Seattle’s ongoing needs as it enters the final month before the start of the regular season.

O’Neil: Seahawks should shoot the moon and acquire Yannick Ngakoue

The nickel battle, wide receiver depth, finding a role for Jordyn Brooks, and the competition at LEO have been covered in four previous installments. Here, we’ll cover three potential moves the Seahawks could make this month.

Will they add an edge rusher?

The Seahawks seem satisfied with what they have now – if they weren’t, they wouldn’t have missed out on a chance to bring in a veteran free agent. That doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to make a move, though.

Heading into training camp, it seemed like a group that included Benson Mayowa, Bruce Irvin, Darrell Taylor and Alton Robinson could make for a good competition. There wasn’t a star like Jadeveon Clowney or Everson Griffin on the list, but there was at least depth with two tested veterans and two promising rookies.

Since then, however, the team has placed Taylor on the Non-Football Injury list. The second-round draft pick had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his lower leg earlier this year, so the fact that he’s on the list isn’t especially concerning. However, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll didn’t sound optimistic about his chances to return anytime soon.

“We haven’t even let him run yet,” Carroll said during a recent press conference. “We’re really taking care of him and making that sure that when he gets back, he stays back. It’s really frustrating for him. He was dying to get to camp and get rolling. But they did a couple of procedures for him to make sure that they’re doing everything they can early on so he really can come busting back. When he jumps back out there, we know he’s going to be a factor. It’s going to make a difference, too, just to see his speed out on the field, too. So, we’re really excited to see him back, but we’ve just got to wait it out and be patient. It’s going to be a bit, just to insure that.”

That’s a lot to parse through and Danny O’Neil does a great job of it here. If you’re looking for a bit more optimism, it’s worth mentioning here that Carroll said he wants to get Taylor two weeks’ worth of time in training camp, meaning he’d be expected to practice sometime at the end of August.

That delay for Taylor means Seattle could be interested in bringing in outside talent. Griffen has since signed with Dallas, but former Packers and Rams edge rusher Clay Matthews remains available.

Will they add a defensive tackle?

Seattle had a scare when defensive tackle Jarran Reed suffered an apparent leg injury Friday. According to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times, Reed was injured during a drill early in practice and did not return.

Turns out the injury was minor – Carroll called it a “sore knee” – but the scare highlighted Seattle’s lack of interior depth on the D-line. Behind Reed and Poona Ford, Seattle has Demarcus Christmas, Cedrick Lattimore, Bryan Mone, and P.J. Johnson, the latter of whom was added earlier this week.

Is former Seahawks WR Josh Gordon going to be reinstated?

The focus for now remains not just on the defense, but on the things Seattle’s front office can control. Josh Gordon’s availability isn’t one of those things, but he’s made his interest in returning to the Seahawks clear, and according to ESPN’s Brady Henderson, the feeling is mutual.

Seattle has depth at receiver, but it’s worth taking another look at Gordon should he become available soon.

“The other wild card is Josh Gordon,” 710 ESPN Seattle’s Jake Heaps said during Monday’s Tom, Jake and Stacy show. “When he becomes reinstated, do they add that player? The Seahawks are definitely not done making moves.”

Follow Stacy Rost on Twitter.