JOHN CLAYTON

Clayton on Seahawks free agency: What’s left for OL options, players who could re-sign

Mar 17, 2021, 3:55 PM | Updated: 6:14 pm

Seahawks Pete Carroll...

Pete Carroll's Seahawks have holes to fill on the offensive line. (Getty)

(Getty)

The NFC West had a good day in adding to the offensive line, but the Seahawks weren’t involved.

Heaps: Why Seahawks get ‘great fit’ at CB with Ahkello Witherspoon

The Arizona Cardinals traded a third-round pick to Las Vegas Raiders to pick up three-time Pro Bowler Rodney Hudson, one of the better centers in the league. The Raiders suggested Tuesday he was going to be released, but what that means nowadays if that the Raiders were looking to dump his salary and would be willing to trade him for a low draft choice. They did something similar with guard Gabe Jackson. (Editor’s note: Jackson was reportedly traded to Seattle after this story was published.)

Trai Turner would be a good option for Seattle at guard. He was cut by the Los Angeles Chargers and is a five-time Pro Bowler.

The San Francisco 49ers also had a big day. First, they were able to re-sign left tackle Trent Williams for a little over $21 million a year. They fixed their center position by reaching an agreement with former Atlanta Falcon Alex Mack. Mack reunites with San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was offensive coordinator in Atlanta before getting the 49ers job.

Seahawks general manager John Schneider will be looking to add a center and one or two guards. The Seahawks didn’t tender guard Jordan Simmons, who was scheduled to be a restricted free agent, so he became an unrestricted free agent at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

One interesting thought is you are hearing very little about center Ethan Pocic. That could lead to his possible re-signing with Seattle at a fair price.

You also aren’t hearing a lot about halfback Chris Carson, who is considered the best back available at the moment. Aaron Jones was the top back, but he got a four-year, $48 million deal to stay with the Green Bay Packers. If you look closely at the deal, though, he is being paid $20 million over the first two years of the contract, so the Packers could get out of the contract in 2023 and make it more of a two-year deal at $10 million a year.

The Seahawks’ first move in free agency was getting 49ers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon. He agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract that is reportedly guaranteed. He’s a tall, long-armed corner who fits the type of coverage player head coach Pete Carroll likes. He struggled the past two years and was benched by San Francisco, however. The Seahawks will have to use their kick-step program and try to coach him up to see if he can start on the outside after the loss of Shaquill Griffin to Jacksonville.

You have to figure the Seahawks will re-sign cornerback Quinton Dunbar, and the chances of getting Carlos Dunlap back are better after the Raiders, Browns and other teams that use a 4-3 defense made moves on pass-rushing defensive ends. Also, by not paying $13 million a year for Griffin, it could leave the option of bringing back K.J. Wright back at outside linebacker.

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