DANNY ONEIL

Center of attention: Seahawks show huge confidence in Justin Britt

Aug 31, 2016, 12:04 PM | Updated: 12:30 pm

Justin Britt is playing center this season after playing different positions in the previous two se...

Justin Britt is playing center this season after playing different positions in the previous two seasons. (AP)

(AP)

The release of Patrick Lewis points to progress in Seattle.

That is a cold assessment, one that seems unnecessarily cruel since the Seahawks’ decision to let him go means that the player who helped save Seattle’s playoff ambitions a year ago won’t be making the $1.6 million his one-year contract called for.

The NFL is a business, though, and it’s decisions like this one that are the reason players recite that mantra. Seattle made the unflinching calculation that it had better – and also cheaper – parts on hand to play center.

More significantly: This was a huge vote of confidence in Justin Britt’s readiness at that position.

If there was much of a question about Britt, it’s hard to imagine Seattle not holding onto Lewis given how valuable he turned out to be a year ago after Seattle’s experiment at center backfired.

Lewis began last season as Seattle’s backup, but he turned out to be more a lifesaver than an insurance policy to the Seahawks’ decision to bet on Drew Nowak and his upside at center. Nowak was a former defensive lineman, and while his rawness wasn’t the sole reason Russell Wilson was sacked 31 times in the first seven regular-season games, his lack of experience calling NFL protection schemes didn’t help. When Lewis entered the starting lineup, the communication improved and the sacks dried up.

The fact that Seattle extended a qualifying offer to Lewis – a restricted free agent – spoke to his importance and the fact the Seahawks wanted to keep their backside covered.

Well, another year, another experiment at center. This time it’s Britt, who was the starting right tackle as a rookie, the starting left guard last season and now continues his inward migration to center.

So far, so good, and considering Lewis was let go with one more exhibition game still remaining, it’s tempting to say Britt’s transition has been great. If there was even a sliver of a second thought about Britt’s readiness it’s hard to imagine the Seahawks cutting Lewis loose like this.

The presence of Joey Hunt was a factor, too. He’s the undersized center the Seahawks drafted in the sixth round out of Texas Christian, and while the release of Lewis bodes well for Hunt’s trajectory, this wasn’t a decision based on who would be the better backup.

Lewis was the guy who would be most capable of stepping in right away. He was also a guy whose salary was going to be four times as large as Hunt’s, and once Seattle was comfortable with Britt as the starter, the decision on Lewis became a foregone conclusion. Lewis is the insurance policy Seattle let lapse because it is so confident of its current protection plan while Hunt is the guy being developed for the future.

Lewis didn’t get worse in the eight months since he saved Seattle’s 2015 season. The Seahawks just believe they’ve gotten a lot better with Britt at center.

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Center of attention: Seahawks show huge confidence in Justin Britt