Clayton: 2 free-agent DTs the Seahawks could potentially have interest in
Apr 17, 2021, 1:34 PM
Former Seahawks DT Sheldon Richardson is back on the free agent market. (AP)
(AP)
The Seahawks have gone all out in addressing the defensive end spot this offseason, but the defensive line’s interior has some depth issues.
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After releasing Jarran Reed as a cap casualty a few weeks ago, the Seahawks now have Poona Ford, Al Woods and Bryan Mone as the three lone defensive tackles on the main roster while 2020 undrafted rookie free agent Cedrick Lattimore signed a futures contract after the season concluded. He spent all of 2020 on Seattle’s practice squad.
The draft is just a few weeks away, but rather than using one of their three picks on a defensive tackle, there are two defensive tackles now on the open market who the Seahawks could potentially target. “The Professor” John Clayton shared those two names during his daily visit with 710 ESPN Seattle’s Wyman and Bob on Friday.
The first name is Sheldon Richardson, who played for the Seahawks in 2017 after being traded by the New York Jets. Richardson is a one-time Pro Bowler and was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2013.
Ahead of the 2017 season, Seattle sent a second-round pick and receiver Jermaine Kearse to New York for Richardson, who played for the Seahawks for just that season. Since then, he has played for the Minnesota Vikings and, most recently, the Cleveland Browns.
Richardson, 30, signed a three-year deal for up to $36 million ahead of the 2019 season, but the Browns cut him this week to save roughly $12 million in 2021.
“It’s another example of a guy in his 30s making over $10 million a year and what happens?” Clayton said. “They get the (former Seahawks defensive end Jadeveon) Clowney deal done (for $8 million) and they (ask Richardson to take a pay cut and he says no).”
Richardson has 31 career sacks and 58 tackles for loss in 121 games since 2013. He played in all 16 games last year and had 4.5 sacks, 10 quarterback hits and five tackles for loss for the Browns in 2020.
Clayton was surprised by Richardson’s release, and thinks Seattle should reach out.
“I don’t know what his monetary interest is going to be, but I’d have to think if I’m Seattle, I’d make a call,” he said. ” … You think about how thin they are right now. You’ve got Poona Ford, you’ve got Bryan Mone and not too much more. I think they can use one more tackle if they get him at the right price.”
But Richardson isn’t the only defensive tackle Clayton thinks the Seahawks could be interested in.
“I’ll tell you another one that intrigues me, too,” Clayton told Wyman and Bob. “He just got cut by the Las Vegas Raiders — Maurice Hurst.”
Hurst, 25, was the Raiders’ fifth-round pick in 2018. He was initially seen as an early-round pick, but he was diagnosed with a heart condition that caused many teams to pass on him. He has eight sacks and eight tackles for loss in 40 career games.
“I’d have to think you can get him pretty close to the minimum after he got cut,” Clayton said. ” … He’s got the ability to get some pressure. And again, it’s not necessarily (the case that if the Seahawks signed him) he would be a starter, but I think he could help them out.”
Listen to the full segment at this link or in the player below.
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