Seahawks signing veteran safety Rayshawn Jenkins, OT George Fant
Mar 13, 2024, 2:32 PM | Updated: 5:20 pm
Rayshawn Jenkins of the Jacksonville Jaguars reacts after an interception on Sept. 18, 2022. (Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images)
(Courtney Culbreath/Getty Images)
A week after the Seattle Seahawks cut veteran safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, they’ve signed a different veteran to help the team’s defensive backfield.
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Tthe Seahawks announced Wednesday thay have signed Rayshawn Jenkins, a seven-year veteran who spent the first four years of his career in Los Angeles with the Chargers and the past three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jenkins, 30, was a fourth-round pick of the Chargers in 2017 and has appeared in 109 games, starting 80 of them. For his career, Jenkins has 10 interceptions, including five over the last two years, and 33 pass breakups.
MADNESS IN JACKSONVILLE. WALKOFF PICK-6 FOR THE @JAGUARS. #DALvsJAX pic.twitter.com/ZQrhOLRuIW
— NFL (@NFL) December 18, 2022
Jenkins is now a presumptive favorite to start at safety in new head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense along with Julian Love, who joined the team last offseason and made the Pro Bowl. Jenkins’ signing likely signals that neither Diggs or Adams will return to Seattle, which general manager John Schneider said was a possibility last week.
A Seattle Seahawks reunion
In addition to signing Jenkins, the Seahawks are reuniting with an old friend in 31-year-old offensive tackle George Fant.
An undrafted free agent pickup by the Seahawks in 2016, Fant spent the first four years of his career in Seattle.
Originally a tight end and basketball player in college, Fant earned Seattle’s backup left tackle job as a rookie and wound up starting 10 games. He tore his ACL and missed all of 2017, but in 2018 and 2019, he was a key part of the Seahawks’ offense as a swing tackle, entering the game as an eligible receiver and helping as a sixth offensive lineman. He even caught a pass in 2018 on Monday Night Football.
After 2019, Fant signed a lucrative three-year deal with the New York Jets. After that contract expired, Fant joined the Houston Texans, where he played 16 games with 13 starts in 2023.
The Seahawks have two assumed starters at tackle in Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas, but Lucas missed most of 2023 with a knee injury and had offseason surgery.
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