Clayton: Seahawks set now at kicker, but expect more to come at backup QB

Friday might not have cleared up a lot of issues for this crazy Seahawks offseason.

The Seahawks added a kicker and a third or fourth quarterback, and we started to figure out where things might be heading as far as the backup quarterback job.

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Let’s break it down.

Sebastian Janikowski’s signing was reasonably predictable. He made a visit to the Seahawks and was the best kicker on the street. Even though he is 40 years old, he still has a strong leg.

The most important thing is that Janikowski adds stability and competition at kicker. Last year, the Seahawks gambled on economics and brought in Blair Walsh. He probably needed competition but the Seahawks gambled on his powerful right leg.

In the end, Walsh missed five key field goals in three home losses that cost them a chance to get over nine wins and back to the playoffs.

Now Janikowski will compete against young Jason Myers. It’s not out of the question for the Seahawks to take a seventh-round chance on a kicker, but that is something that would have to transpire during the draft.

Big news also happened Friday at the backup quarterback position. It’s been a little puzzling why the Seahawks hadn’t made a quick move on veteran backup Mark Sanchez. Sanchez would have been a nice fit in Seattle because he played for Pete Carroll at USC and did well for Brian Schottenheimer when he was offensive coordinator with the New York Jets.

Sanchez tweeted out why there has been a holdout in his status. He admitted to having a positive test for a PED and is suspended for the first four games of the 2018 season. That takes him out of the mix.

That could put Kellen Clemens, who also played for Schottenheimer in New York, toward the top of the list. Matt Moore and Derek Anderson are also older, veteran options.

The Seahawks signed Stephen Morris, who was just cut by the Washington Redskins, but he is more of a developmental, practice squad option. Despite having spent time with four teams, Morris has never thrown a pass in an NFL regular season game.

What became somewhat of a controversial story was that the Seahawks reached out to Colin Kaepernick but opted to postpone a visit until Kaepernick comes up with a plan for what he might want to do involving the national anthem and social issues.

By reaching out, the Seahawks should curry favor with Kaepernick. They had him in for a visit last year but felt he wanted to be more of a starting quarterback. They didn’t sign him.

This most recent incident should give the team the idea he might not be worth the trouble of signing him even though there is no quarterback on the market that is close to him as far as talent. Clearly, the Seahawks wouldn’t have leaked out the initial story. More than likely it came more from Kaepernick’s camp.

Regardless, look at the firestorm it created. NFL veteran Chris Long criticized the team for not bringing him in for a visit. I’m sure fans around the area had varied reactions, particularly those in the military.

It is my opinion it might cause more unnecessary problems signing him but that’s ultimately going to be up to Seahawks management.

The kicking issues have been resolved but more is to come on the quarterback front.

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