The Seahawks have a pass rush problem.
Uchenna Nwosu is now on injured reserve and will miss at least the next four games. Boye Mafe missed the last two games and isn’t a sure-thing to feature against the 49ers. Derick Hall picked up an injury against the Giants. After trading away Darrell Taylor, Trevis Gipson’s impact has been minimal to put it mildly. Meanwhile, interior threats Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy are carrying injuries (Williams didn’t look healthy on Sunday).
Per PFF, the Seahawks are the 19th best pass rushing team. This is despite having the fifth most sacks (17), the second most pressures (60) and fifth most QB hits (37). Despite the numbers, they just aren’t testing opponents. They seem to lack that one player who can impact and wreck a game. Minus their key players, this is especially true.
There’s not a lot they can do mid-season. None of the options are ideal. They’re not likely to bring in Haason Reddick and pay him a fortune. Anyone they add is going to come with question marks and compromises.
I mentioned this name on my stream with Jeff Simmons yesterday and it might not be ideal but is it worth considering?
Jadeveon Clowney.
Working with Mike Macdonald in Baltimore last year, he had the most sacks (9.5) in his career. He had an 85.7 PFF grade, putting him among the top D-line performers.
Could they rekindle that relationship?
He signed with the Panthers on a two-year deal. He might want to stay in Carolina, given he attended South Carolina. This might be about more than a competitive opportunity for the player. Yet does he want to play out his career slogging through two seasons on a team being battered every week? Would he prefer an opportunity to go and play for a more competitive franchise?
He also knows Seattle well from his one season there in 2019. I’m not sure if there’s bad blood between the parties after they failed to reunite for the 2020 season and beyond. It’s possible neither the Seahawks nor Clowney want to work together again.
Yet in this situation, with injuries stacking up, is it worth a call? Dan Morgan the Panthers’ GM knows John Schneider well. It wouldn’t break the bank in terms of compensation. A late round flier? Are the Panthers now in a position where they’d consider being sellers?
He did leave Carolina’s last game with a shoulder injury. That would need to be assessed. He has said since the weekend that he hopes to play against the Falcons in week six so it doesn’t sound too serious.
Per Curtis Allen, Clowney would only cost the Seahawks $1.27m in cap space and that will reduce by $106k with every passing week of the season.
They would inherit his $10m salary for 2025 but they can cut him and save $8m.
We all know he’s an inconsistent player. Yet he does provide the ability to wreck the odd game. Adding him to the rotation, with a coach he’s had success with, could offer a boost. He’s also consistently graded well for run defense, including an 80.8 grade when he was last in Seattle in that category.
The Seahawks’ defensive performance was so bad in the last two games, it’s hard to see how they rectify things without getting healthy or adding impact. Jadeveon Clowney isn’t a cure-all problem and you’d have to accept that he isn’t a fire and brimstone player, to say the least. He’s an athletic freak who does things at his own pace. Yet he’s shown he can be disruptive, particularly in big games.
He knows the scheme, the terminology, the language, the Head Coach, the city, the franchise. They could do a lot worse.
