Seahawks hosting 3 free agent visits on Thursday, all on defense
Seahawks hosting 3 free agent visits on Thursday, all on defense
Seattle's defense could have a few more new faces today: Seaside Joe 1475
Someone in the Seahawks organization must have forgotten to tell Adam Schefter to “lose my number”. ESPN’s resident “Jordan Schultz” has fired off consecutive tweets about Seattle’s free agency tour, noting that the Seahawks are meeting with three defensive players on Thursday: Linebacker Devin Bush, safety Julian Love, and cornerback Lonnie Johnson.
LB Devin Bush
UPDATE: The Seahawks signed Devin Bush as of late Thursday; read all about it here
I touched on Devin Bush when I wrote about the 2019 draft recently, specifically highlighting that Bush looked better on draft night than he has in most football games. The #10 pick out of Michigan, Bush possessed all the talent in the world to be as good as the other Devin linebacker in the 2019 draft (Devin White), but injuries have been partly responsible for his downfall.
The one Steelers fan friend that I have is always bragging about how good Pittsburgh players are, so the fact that he’s nonplussed about Bush says more than words ever could.
My feeling is that you shouldn’t be any more excited about Bush than you would be about Love or Lonnie simply because of draft status. Let’s not forget the rule of the market: If the Steelers weren’t interested in keeping the player who is their highest draft pick of the last 23 years (and they traded up for Bush) and he’s left after about a dozen other linebackers have signed, then he will have to earn a starting role out of camp. Whether that’s in Seattle or somewhere else. This could be a situation similar to Jaylon Smith, the former Notre Dame and Cowboys linebacker who has never been the same player he was prior to injury.
You will see reports maybe that Bush was an improved player in 2022. I would note this as the most important takeaway from his season: Mike Tomlin essentially benched him for the last two games because he felt the defense would be better for it. (And it was.)
CB Lonnie Johnson
If football doesn’t work out, a Flavor of Love-style reality dating show called “Love or Lonnie” could be a great alternative for Johnson.
A second round pick in the 2019 draft out of Kentucky (the picked used by the Texans was actually the one they received from Seattle for Duane Brown), Johnson was mostly relegated to a special teams role on the Titans last season. He spent three years in Houston before falling out of favor and getting traded to the Chiefs for basically nothing last May. Kansas City waived Lonnie well before the end of training camp and he was picked up by Tennessee a day later.
Seahawks sign two more players on Thursday: Get to know new center Evan Brown, and welcome back Drew Lock!
Lonnie spent four weeks of the season on IR and got in on defense for essentially six games.
It wouldn’t seem that the Seahawks are interested in anything more than a special teams body and depth at cornerback. Don’t rule out “Love or Lonnie”.
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S Julian Love
A fourth round pick in the 2019 draft out of Notre Dame, Love has worked his way up from a reserve over his first three seasons (under two different defensive coordinators and head coaches) to a full-time player in 2022 with Wink Martindale as the DC. Love played in nearly every snap in the regular season, then both Giants playoffs games.
The Athletic’s Nate Tice highlighted Love as New York’s “most improved”:
Love showed glimpses of intelligence and playmaking ability over the first three seasons of his career. An aggressive Giants defensive attack under Wink Martindale helped Love hone in on those flashes and become a more consistent player without sacrificing any of his dynamic ability.
Martindale asks his defenders to do quite a bit in his blitz scheme. Love’s versatility as an aware pass defender who’s also a willing and able tackler (six TFLs) let Martindale use him as needed as the Giants’ defensive staff attempted to get their best players on the field.
Though Love is a “safety”, Martindale calls his defensive players position-less and the Giants defense had 7 DBs on the field for more than 3-times as often as ANY OTHER DEFENSE IN THE LEAGUE.
How the Seahawks would plan to use Love, if signed, is an interesting question. Is New York comfortable with Love leaving in free agency, or did they simply run out of time and money after spending so much on making sure that Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley both stayed?
Love posted 124 tackles, two interceptions, and five passes defensed as one of the team’s captains. He could be seen by Pete Carroll as a help in run defense and leadership as a versatile safety/corner who can play all over the field. He could be the top priority out of these three Thursday visits.
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Article on Evan Brown coming soon. Seahawks get a center.
I'm a bit surprised they haven't signed a veteran center or ILB in free agency yet. I have no doubt that these will be draft targets, but I would think Pete would hedge his bets with some mid-tier vet competition at those positions where experience and communication play a more important role. More to come, I'm sure.
Love sounds like an ascending player and a good fit for our defensive scheme.