DT Al Woods, CB Sidney Jones returning to Seahawks, per reports
Mar 14, 2022, 11:25 AM | Updated: 11:36 am
Seahawks DT Al Woods reacts after a sack against the 49ers during a Dec. 5, 2021 game. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Seahawks appear to have gone right to work on bringing back key pieces to their defense now that NFL free agency free agency started.
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Per reports on Monday morning, defensive tackle Al Woods has agreed to return to the Hawks on a two-year deal, while cornerback Sidney Jones is also coming back to the team for 2022.
The news of Woods’ agreement broke shortly after reports that Pro Bowl safety Quandre Diggs would also re-sign with Seattle.
SportsTrust Advisors, who represent Woods, indicated on Twitter that he is returning to the Seahawks.
Al Woods 🔙 @Seahawks #LegendsLiveHere pic.twitter.com/mZBA2xia9Z
— SportsTrust Advisors (@_SportsTrust) March 14, 2022
According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Woods will sign a two-year deal with Seattle worth $9 million, including $4.75 million guaranteed.
Mike Garofolo of the NFL Network reported that Jones has agreed to a $3.6 million deal for 2022, with incentives that could push it to $4.4 million.
Woods, who will turn 35 later this month, started 16 of Seattle’s 17 games in 2021. He made 50 combined tackles, 1.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, five QB hits and three passes defensed.
A fourth-round pick by New Orleans in the 2010 NFL Draft, Woods has played for five teams in his career, including three separate stints with Seattle. He first played with the Seahawks for two games in 2011, then returned in 2019, playing 14 games and starting five. He was suspended for four games in 2019, however, for a PED violation, and sat out the 2020 season before signing back with Seattle for 2021.
Show some loves to a guy getting it done in the trenches. 💪
Every RT = 1️⃣ #ProBowlVote for #AlWoods pic.twitter.com/4TWj3K3Zt9
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) December 14, 2021
Jones, who will turn 26 in May, came to Seattle in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick shortly before the start of last season, and he went on to have his best year as a pro. He played 16 games and started 11.
The former Washington Huskies standout turned a corner down the stretch for Seattle in 2021, as Jake Heaps of Seattle Sports’ Jake and Stacy explained earlier this month.
“If you’re the Seattle Seahawks, you feel really good about what you saw from Sidney Jones as he settled down over the last six games,” Heaps, a former Seahawks quarter, told co-host Stacy Rost. “… In the last six games, he only allowed a 58.3 completion percent rate… (with) no touchdowns given up in coverage. And his 71.2 passer rating when targeting him was fourth-best amongst corners in that time span of the last six games according to Pro Football Focus.”
