8 defensive free agents who fit in the Seahawks budget

Pete Carroll doesn't love to spend money, but he often finds players who outplay their contracts: Seaside Joe 1468

Cyndi Lauper once said that “money changes everything”.

We think we know what we're doin'
That don't mean a thing
It's all in the past now
Money changes everything

They shake your hand and they smile
And they buy you a drink
They say, we'll be your friends
We'll stick with you till the end
Ah, but everybody's only looking out for themselves
And you say, well, who can you trust
I'll tell you, it's just nobody else's money

Sounds like Cyndi could have co-written that song with Bobby Wagner. Or at least, gotten a job in the Saints front office.

It’s quite true, not only that money changes everything but teams always think they know what they’re doing and baby, that don’t mean a thing. Steve Hutchinson’s contract wasn’t the only one with a “poison pill”—VIRTUALLY ALL of FREE AGENCY is a RED HERRING in my book. “Oh that problem? Don’t worry, we’re fixing it! We’re fixing it in free agency!”

Go back just a year, to when the top free agents included J.C. Jackson, Allen Robinson, and Wagner. Oh sure, Bobby played great…for a team that went from the Super Bowl to the bottom of the standings. This isn’t to dismiss that good players can’t be acquired in free agency—Haason Reddick helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl, no question—but just like the draft and trades and hiring/firing coaches, free agency is full of misfires and misleading acquisitions that didn’t fix anything or didn’t do enough.

The Dolphins upgraded their offensive line by signing Terron Armstead. How does Tua feel? No seriously, how does Tua feel?

The Bills signed Von Miller for his playoff experience to help them push through the AFC gauntlet. Miller didn’t come close to being healthy enough for the playoffs. The Bengals signed La’El Collins to help combat the number of times that Von Miller sacked Joe Burrow in the Super Bowl…and they’ll be releasing La’El Collins this year to make him a free agent again.

I’m sure that’s why Pete Carroll and John Schneider have always ascribed more to the Sia school of song lyrics…

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight (I love cheap thrills!)

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight (I love cheap thrills!)

I don't need no money

I’m long past the days of misleading Seahawks fans into dreams of Daron Payne and similar first-wave free agency targets. (Payne got franchise tagged anyway.) Or even second-wave targets. In those rare moments when Seattle even flirts with a notable free agent (like T.J. Lang, and we saw how that ended) or signs a fringe second tier player like Uchenna Nwosu, it’s quite notable.

We know that Pete and John want to improve the Seahawks defense in free agency. And who knows, maybe 2023 bucks all the trends at a time when Seattle might actually pick a first round quarterback for the first time in 30 years. But I’ll go with their track record and say that they’re more likely to sing a different Cyndi Lauper tune this month.

What's good enough for you
Is good enough for me
It's good enough
It's good enough for me

And as Cyndi says in the beginning of “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough”…

Hanging on the strings of “green and blues”

Let’s see if any of these players put on greens and blues next season. They could or should fit into Seattle’s probable budget and be good enough.

ILB Lavonte David, Bucs

I’m going to pull names directly off of the CBS Top-100 free agents list and only there, so keep that in mind—there will be other names that make sense for the Seahawks but today I’m just using this one list. It doesn’t mean that this is the end of the list. Lavonte David being 24th on the list is truly an outlier, much higher than the other names I’m going to mention, but here’s why it could happen:

David is 33. He’s probably not going to return to the Bucs for a 12th season. I’m going to make an assumption and say that similar to Von and Bobby, he’s going to pick a team that he thinks could make a playoff run with his help and eschew higher guarantees. If Pete ever goes out on a limb for a “name” in free agency—similar to Jahri Evans in 2017—it’s probably because of his age and availability. If the Seahawks really want a veteran linebacker to pick up their defense next season, David might make more sense now than Bobby.

PFF expects David to play at a high-level past his expiration date because of his football intelligence:

"One of the best off-ball linebackers of his generation, David is still playing at an extremely high level and may benefit from New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis and Los Angeles Rams linebacker Bobby Wagner playing very good football well into their 30s on recently signed contracts of their own. Potentially losing a step or two with age can be negated by elite play recognition and instincts, both of which David has in spades."

I would not put a high probability on David, but maybe at this stage of his career it’s not out of the question.

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CB Rock Ya-Sin, Raiders

In the mold of Sidney Jones and Artie Burns, I could see Ya-Sin fitting Pete’s budget because of a long-running injury history with the upside to be a late-career breakout candidate. He turns 27 in May.

Ya-Sin checks in with the 32” arms, he’s 5’11, 192 lbs, ran a 4.51 at his 2019 combine and just missed cracking the first round of the 2019 draft. He played in 89% of the snaps last season with the Raiders when he was healthy, but missed six games when he, uh, wasn’t healthy. In his first season with Las Vegas, after three in Indianapolis, Ya-Sin had seven passes defensed and 45 tackles. He only has two career interceptions in 52 games, but his coverage numbers over the past two years aren’t bad at all.

Former Huskies cornerback Byron Murphy is certainly a consideration, his eight games missed in 2022 could make him more affordable than if he was coming off of his four-interception season in 2021, but I wonder if Ya-Sin might actually be better—in addition to being cheaper.

DE/OLB Arden Key, Jaguars

In the Uchenna Nwosu mold, it’s all a matter of whether or not Key slips past the first wave of free agency and is only getting one-to-two year offers. He’s firmly established at this point as a rotational edge rusher, playing in roughly 40% of the snaps over the last three seasons with the Raiders, 49ers, and Jaguars. He’s moving around a lot, obviously, but he makes the most of his opportunities by pressuring the quarterback at a high rate when he’s out there in obvious passing situations.

Key had 4.5 sacks in part-time play last season (PFF says 44 pressures, but there is absolutely no consistency analytics site-to-analytics site on “what is a pressure?”) but was also playing with Josh Allen and Travon Walker.

I could see Key being the type of buy-low opportunity that Pete covets, but only if Key actually is a “buy-low” player. He turns 27 in May with plenty of tread left on the tires.

DE Brandon Graham, Eagles

I’ll put it this way: Brandon Graham is about to turn 35, he tore his Achilles in 2021, he finished three spots behind Geno in the Comeback Player of the Year voting, and the Eagles might not be able to keep him. If enough teams are scared off by his age, there’s a chance that he falls into Seattle’s lap at their comfort level, 13 years after the Seahawks were linked to him in the first round of the 2010 draft.

I could see Pete coveting the leadership, experience, chip-on-shoulder mentality of Graham and thinking that even if it’s only for one season that he could be of great use in Seattle’s 2023 defense.

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DT Chris Wormley, Steelers

Another journeyman defensive tackle who once played for the Steelers who is doing quite well with the Seahawks would be Al Woods. Could Wormley qualify as the next? A third round pick of the Ravens in 2017—having played part of his career at Michigan alongside Frank Clark and then later, Bryan Mone—Wormley’s a versatile 3-4 defensive lineman who might best served as a rotational piece than the 7-sack 2021 season that jumps off his resume. That according to Behind the Steel Curtain blog:

Notable stats: Wormley had 29 tackles, three of which were for loss, and 0.5 sacks as well as a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Notes: Although the numbers didn’t jump off the page, I believe Chris Wormley played much better in 2022 in a reserve role than what he did having to shoulder the load as a starter the previous year. 

Working against the 29-year-old Wormley right now is that he tore his ACL in December. But that could also make him an easier signing for the Seahawks.

LB Alex Singleton, Broncos

A name you will not see on the CBS Top-100 list is Cody Barton. That doesn’t mean that the list can see into the future, free agency “grades” are often just as wrong as draft grades, but it is notable to how others perceive Barton because it’s hard to make a list of even 30 great free agents—let alone 100.

I mean, OBJ didn’t play last year and he’s 63rd.

A name that you do see on the list and who should get signed somewhere as a starting inside linebacker is Alex Singleton. Given that the Broncos have a new head coach and defensive coordinator, it is possible that Singleton won’t be in their plans and is moving onto the next stop, with Seattle making some sense given Barton’s free agency and Jordyn Brooks’ ACL tear…plus the fact that it was Pete Carroll who signed him after going undrafted in 2015.

Broncos Wire @TheBroncosWire

“We’d love to have Alex [Singleton] back,” Broncos GM George Paton said.

broncoswire.usatoday.comBroncos want to re-sign free agent LB Alex Singleton“We’d love to have Alex [Singleton] back,” Broncos GM George Paton said.

Singleton didn’t make the final cut or practice squad in 2015, went to the Patriots practice squad, then the Vikings, then the CFL. He worked his way back into the league with the Eagles in 2019, eventually getting a ton of play in 2020 and 2021, before signing a one-year deal with the Broncos in 2022. He was only expected to be a special teamer, but injuries opened the door for Singleton to start and he was named PFF’s most improved player on Denver’s entire roster:

One of the best run-defending linebackers in the NFL in 2022, Singleton produced the eighth-highest run-defense grade at the position over the course of the season. His 62 tackles resulting in a defensive stop were tied for sixth among all linebackers, and he missed just 6.5% of the tackles he attempted.

Praised for run defense, he could fit Pete’s woes, now eight years past the time that Pete cut him. When we talk about bringing back a former Seahawks linebacker to bring the defense back to 2015 levels, we may be talking about the wrong linebacker.

DL Matthew Ioannidis, Panthers

Mentioned in my “1 Seahawks free agent fit from every team” article a couple of months ago, Ioannidis should still stand out as the right type of veteran fit to help eat space on the defensive line. He still missed four games last season, missed virtually all of 2020, but maybe a reduction in playing time can help keep him fresh for a full year.

CB Isiaah Oliver, Falcons

One other name from that list that’s still worth mention is Oliver. Once a Dan Quinn pick for the Atlanta Falcons, Oliver’s price should be manageable given his injury history (torn ACL in 2021) and limited capacity as more of a nickel/jack of all trades than a true outside option.

Oliver played in 12 games after returning from his ACL recovery, getting in on 45-percent of the snaps in those contests. QBs were reportedly 29-of-42 for only 6.4 yards per target and no touchdowns allowed, with a season-best game coming against the Cardinals in Week 17—however, that was with David Bough at quarterback.

Still, head coach Arthur Smith is a fan of what Oliver brings to a defense:

"The game plan," Smith said. "Who the quarterback was going to be (David Blough) kind of told you what mode they were going to go in and it proved right as they started the game. They play a lot of that spread out, 11 personnel, they've got a lot of wideouts they like to roll in there, they've got a pass-catching tight end in Trey McBride, so a lot of it was game plan."

Thus, Oliver's increased snap share makes sense - but where did his production come from? Per Smith, it's due to a collection of traits that the 6-0, 210-pounder possesses, along with improved health.

"You have a guy that can move around, that can play multiple spots, got the pressure, got the sack on the second play of the game," Smith began. "When you have a smart player that's versatile, that understands the scheme and angles, that certainly helps.”

Seattle had issues at nickel last year, experimenting with Coby Bryant at the position and I think ultimately not falling in love with the results.

For a million or two bucks, I think Oliver is a sensible target given Pete’s typical frugality in free agency. Despite all that experience, Oliver is still only 26.