Seahawks free-agency roundup: Brock Coyle, Damontre Moore sign elsewhere
Mar 10, 2017, 6:18 PM
(AP)
Brock Coyle, a backup linebacker and special-teams contributor for the Seahawks the last three seasons, has signed with San Francisco as a free agent. His agency, Reign Sports, announced the deal Friday.
Additionally, defensive end Damontre Moore has reportedly signed with Dallas. They become the second and third players the Seahawks have lost in free agency, joining kicker Stephen Hauschka, who signed with Buffalo on Thursday.
Seahawks 2017 free-agency tracker: Keep track of Seattle’s moves
Coyle was a restricted free agent, having spent his first three NFL seasons with the Seahawks after signing with them as an undrafted rookie out of Montana in 2014. But he became unrestricted when Seattle declined to tender him as an RFA, no surprise given that it would have cost almost $1.8 million, too steep for a backup linebacker.
Coyle started five games during his three seasons in Seattle, two for Bobby Wagner at middle linebacker as a rookie and three last year while strong-side linebacker Mike Morgan was on Injured Reserve. Coyle’s 261 snaps on special teams last season were fifth-most for Seattle.
Coach Pete Carroll mentioned at the end of the season that upgrading Seattle’s depth at linebacker would be on the team’s offseason to-do list, which may have been an indication that the Seahawks were prepared to lose Coyle in free agency.
Seattle signed Moore midway through last season, while Michael Bennett was sidelined by a knee injury. He played well in four games but then suffered a foot injury that later landed him on IR, a few days after he was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license.
Other Seahawks free-agency notes:
• Guard T.J. Lang is reportedly visiting the Seahawks on Friday. Here’s a look at the possibility of Seattle signing him.
• The NFL’s transaction wire did not list any moves by the Seahawks on Friday, so their reported deal with offensive lineman Luke Joeckel is not yet official. That could be a matter of Joeckel having yet to make it to team headquarters to take a physical, which teams require before signing free agents.
• Of the Seahawks five restricted free agents, right tackle Garry Gilliam was the only one who was tendered by the team before the deadline Thursday. The other four became unrestricted once they were non-tendered: Coyle, cornerbacks DeShawn Shead and Mohammed Seisay and safety Steven Terrell.
• Seattle had six exclusive-rights free agents become UFAs when they weren’t tendered on Thursday, according to the league’s transaction wire: defensive end Tavaris Barnes, cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste, fullback Brandon Cottom, tight ends Ronnie Shields and Joe Sommers and wide receiver Tyler Slavin. Running back Troymaine Pope was not on that list, which indicates that he was among the ERFAs Seattle tendered. That means the Seahawks control his rights for the 2017 season on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal that’s presumably for the league minimum.