Seahawks sign Demitrius Bronson, cut Keith Price, Kenneth Boatright http://t.co/8Yl1EEDF4O
— NationalFootballPost (@FootballPost) June 16, 2014
The addition of Kevin Williams is becoming more intriguing by the minute.
There were hopes for Kenneth Boatwright heading into the off-season. He’d gained weight and figured to be competing with a young group of defensive linemen trying to fill the gaps left by Red Bryant, Chris Clemons and others.
Instead the Seahawks have turned to a seasoned veteran and Boatwright is left without a job.
It’s a cautionary reminder that we know so little about these possible diamonds in the rough. None of us really know what Boatwright is capable of. His most redeming quality was the fact he’d been given a chance by this front office. That reputation could get him a gig elsewhere (Welcome to Jacksonville).
Yet ultimately we knew nothing of his actual talent. Even less than a guy like Greg Scruggs, who at least had some playing time as a rookie.
Williams is a proven commodity in the twilight days of his career. Having lost so much in terms of experience up front, that could be valuable. It’ll be up to the other young players to make sure they remain part of the rotation moving forward.
The interior defensive line looks solid on paper. Brandon Mebane, Tony McDaniel and Kevin Williams is a nice rotation at tackle. McDaniel is also capable of playing the five technique — and the likes of Jordan Hill and Scruggs will get a chance to earn playing time inside. It’ll be interesting to see if Cassius Marsh can have an early impact as an inside-and-out rusher. And what does the future hold for Jesse Williams? Michael Bennett also stands to play in multiple spots and increase his snap count in 2014.
Kenneth Price was also released in favour of another running back — Demitrius Bronson. It was a nice story for Price — given a shot by his local NFL team as an UDFA. His friendship with Russell Wilson added a dynamic. Even so, he had limited upside as a pro-passer and never seemed likely to usurp a Terrelle Pryor or B.J. Daniels.
Bronson spent two years at Washington before switching to Eastern Washington. He tried out for the Seahawks last month.
The other big story at the start of minicamp is the appearance of Marshawn Lynch. There was a lot of talk last week about a potential contract dispute and maybe even retirement. Although he didn’t work out today (and there’s no reason why he would) — he did at least turn up. Which is a positive sign for his future with the Seahawks.
You need to have some defensive tackles who combine athleticism and size to make the Seahawk defensive scheme work. Kevin Williams will do that if he can play on the same level he did last year.
In addition to his veteran leadership, Williams will allow the Hawks to show both 4-man and 3-man fronts and create offensive indecision from a base package. He has the stoutness to hold up against the run in a 3-man front but still has the athleticism to create blocking challenges against the pass in a 4-man front.
Hopefully Williams has gas left in the tank and can contributed to the D-line rotation. Last season I was excited about Winfield too, but in the end, well, you know what I mean…
Great news that the Beast is in the building. IMHO the Hawks cant redo his deal with 2 years left on it for fear of Chancellor etc expecting the same thing DTR. The will probably find a way so appease the Beast, move money from next year, increase incentive based on performance, or something similar?
Rob-please keep up posted during this week’s activity. Then you can take the next month off from football entirely. 🙂
…and PC/JS do it again. We lose pieces, sign our best, and then add someone none of us were thinking about!
Kevin Williams appears to be a perfect fit. Our D-line will be better this year than last, especially from game one ~ where we will all ready understand how to use our guys better after last year!
As far as for BeastMode, glad he showed up, and also glad he is resting. The other guys need ‘that action’ boss in camp. They are newbies, he 4sure isn’t. The best I see Seattle doing is taking a bit of next years salary and giving it to him this year, all guaranteed ~ as a sign of good faith. But no NEW money…
Christine Michael I feel will be great!
If you took money from next year and gave it to Marshawn as guaranteed money, wouldn’t it actually be “new money” since the Seahawks would be likely to release Marshawn next year and not pay him the majority of next year’s salary?
Moving some money from next year to this year wouldn’t increase the overall size of the 4-year deal so it wouldn’t be quite as bad a precedent.
And, if Beast Mode has another big year and doesn’t retire, then lowering his cap number for next year might mean he doesn’t get released.
!!! You’re good you.
I believe Marshawn has a $500,000 incentive bonus if he hits 1,500 yds. If we work in Michael more I don’t see Lynch getting close to that yard total – I’d be fine if the Hawks changed it to 1,000 yards for that 1/2 mil….that’s totally doable for the Beasr if he doesn’t get hurt
Rob,
I’m going to go a tad off-topic here, but I mentioned a couple posts ago that the one player I am looking forward to watching in CFB is Rice DT Christian Covington. I’m not going to an essay about him, but here is a short feature on him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhxVPKBqxZw
Of course what counts is game tape, but the only one I can find at the moment is Johnny Manziel highlights from A&M vs. Rice, so you have to keep an eye on #56, and i wanted to get your impression.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEZf9EMShmg
I just have a feeling about this guy. There are a lot of things that are just “Seahawky”
When talking about Williams after practice today Carrol seems to focus on his exemplary technique to supplement that size , and to handle what they want done inside and also mentioned tha monsta, J. Williams as looking great noting his massive size.
Mebane,Bennet, avril, McDaniel, K. Williams,………….Scruggs.J. Williams.Hill.Mayowa, ?,…?
Kevin Williams is a perfect win win option.
He is a known quality addition that should usefull within a rotation keeping him fresh.
If he is there when the 53 cut is done – we have a big man to provide experiance and leadership with quality of play. If he isn’t there – we know that what we have already with the young red shirts is just as good or better then KW.
That’s a win win.
Somehow I don’t think there is any way KW is not with the 53 after final cuts.
I think you’re right, but I’d have said the same of Winfield, who was a very good corner the year before he (briefly) joined the team.
We had much better depth at CB to cut Winfield than we do at DT to cut KW. I doubt we cut him.
I doubt it too, but after listening to an interview with him I think him getting cut is a possibility. It’s hard to be sure how much he has left in the tank, he’s got a real laid back personality. He mentioned how after 3 days of running around in camp he was ready to get back to relaxing on break. I know after 5 All-Pros and a storied career now 33 he’s earned that right, I’m not knocking his pedigree. But I think if one of the young guys shows a real high motor along the hunger of youth and he’s close to what Williams can provide today, he’ll get the nod. I don’t see Williams as necessarily a lock anymore.
PC/JS… The Dynamic Duo strikes again!
This is an excellent signing, as we have basically improved at the 3T, as Kevin Williams > Tony McDaniel.
And then moving McDaniel out to the 5T, makes the loss of Red Bryant, as far as being stout on running downs, minimal. McDaniel is also a little quicker for pass rush on first downs, and gets his hands up better to bat the ball down.
Overall,
M.Bennett, B.Mebane, K.Williams, C.Avril
T.McDaniel, J.Williams, J.Hill, C.Marsh
G.Scruggs, B. Mayowa
That’s how I see it.
I like to put Keith Price on the practice squad and I think that will happen. Kevin Williams is a DT doesn’t matter right or left. He will play in middle of a rotation on 1st and 2nd downs. He will be rejuvenated going from 700 to 400 snaps and his efficiency will go up. What I do know is he’s going to take a spot from a young guy.
Last article I told Rob there’s a lull right now until July 24th but we don’t really need the continuous article from him to keep this going until then. I’m going to post my 53 man roster for the start of the season. I do reserve the right to change anything after that date.
Steve Hauschka
John Ryan
Clint Gresham
Russel Wilson
Travaris Jackson
Marshawyn Lynch
Christine Michael
Robert Turbin
Kiero Small
Derrick Coleman
Zack Miller
Luke Willson
Anthony McCoy
Percy Harvin
Doug Baldwin
Jermaine Kearse
Paul Richardson
Kevin Norwwod
Ricardo Lockette
Russel Okung
James Carpenter
Max Unger
J.R. Sweenzy
Justin Britt
Michael Bowie
Alvin Bailey
Lemuel Jeanpierre
Garry Gilliam
Thats the offense and special teams at 28,
Kam Chancellor
Earl Thomas
Richard Sherman
Byron Maxwell
Tharold Simon
Jeron Johnson
Eric Pinkins
Jeremy Lane
Bobbyy Wagner
K.J. Wright
Malcolm Smith
Korey Toomer
Bruce Irvin
Kevin Pierre-Louis
Health Farewell
Cliff Avril
Brandon Mebane
Michael Bennet
Tony McDaniels
Kevin Williams
Jesse Williams
Gregg Scruggs
Jackson Jeffcoat
Cassius Marsh
Benson Mayowa
Tell what ya think I dying to know how the true 12th man feels.
I think ware will make it over Colman and I’m pretty sure they will keep 3 qbs, mainly because tj won’t be around much longer imo. Lockett is a major bubble player to me and if he makes it it will be because his st play and rice not recovering in time. I think Farwell will be a cap casualty this year. And as of right now I think bailey from usc is ahead of pinkins. Good list! Although both are opinions will change after pre season of course lol. I’m really pulling for Jeffcoat too, I see him as a Avril type player and chances are we won’t be able to resign him.
I like Coleman over Ware. He was the more promising of the two last year and I haven’t read anything so far about Ware’s off season that makes him stand out. He had well documented motivational/maturity issues at LSU being why he dropped to round 6. I haven’t read anything yet to make me think he had overcome those so I’d give the nod to Kiero Small making it over him though Small could be a PS candidate.
You left out Jordan Hill, who I think will probably make the roster. From what I gathered about the OTAs, Hill was the 1-tech, replacing Mebane, whenever they practice the nickel or passing-down situations.
Good point! But who would you take out for them?
I didn’t forget Jordan Hill. I just think Kevin Williams is better and takes his place at the 3 tech.
I think Bailey and Pinkins both make the team. Pinkins they want to work in at corner. I agree with Farwell being let go. They have been working Jeffcoat at LB and DE. So I think he fills the last LB spot.
WR is going to be an interesting battle. I think there may be a surprise at WR in store. A lot depends on injuries in preseason of course.
But Pinkins coverage skills at corner were so poor in OTAs that during minicamp he was strictly used at safety, both slots. I like Bailey to make it over Pinkins at this point but Pinkins can still make a statement playing special teams like he did at SDSU. If he’s as great a gunner as he was in college he could be used in the way Maragos was last year.
Rob, this is off topic, but really sorry about England’s World Cup performance. I certainly was pulling for them.
I have been thinking about some possible trades that could happen this year in order to control our roster the best we can.
KJ Wright/Malcolm Smith (UFA 2015 are in the last year of their contracts. We have Toomer, KPL, Irvin, Wagner. We could trade Smith (for a 4th or 5th round pick) and I don’t think we miss a beat (this depends on KPL and Toomer’s development). Re-sign Wright or just move on next year and we would end up with a comp selection the following year (I see OLB as a plug and play position on this team because of the ridiculous coaching staff).
Pryor/Jackson could be in a trade situation. If Pryor shows enough, and we can get something for Jackson I don’t see both being on the roster. If Pryor does not show enough then he is not worth keeping around for us on a 1 year contract and essentially forcing us to loose a promising young player that is still under contract for 3-4 years. could we get a 7th rounder for one of these two. I think so
J. Johnson (UFA 2015) (for a 5th or 6th?) is a player that if Chancellor is Healthy come camp, may be worth trading dependent on Bailey.
With these things in view I could see a roster like this
Offense
QB
1. Russel Wilson
2. Pryor or Jackson (UFA 2015 either way)
RB/FB
1. Lynch
2. Michael
3. Turbin
4. Ware
5. Small/Coleman (have not heard much about this competition
WR
1. Harvin
2. Baldwin
3. Kearse (RFA 2015)
4. Richardson
5. Norwood
TE
1. Miller
2. Willson
3. Mccoy (UFA 2015)
OL
1. Okung
2. Carpenter (UFA 2015)
3. Unger
4. Sweezey
5. Britt
6. Gilliam
7. Bowie
8. Bailey
9. Jeanpierre (UFA 2015)
OFF 24 Total (Rice UFA 2015 starts on PUP)
Defense
MLB
1.Wagner
2. Coyle (Special Teams in Farewells spot)
OLB
1. Wright (Backup MLB) (UFA 2015)
2. Irvin
3. KPL
4. Toomer
LEO
1. Avril (UFA 2015)
2. Mayowa
3. Jeffcoat
DL
1. Bennet
2. K Williams (UFA 2015)
3. Mebane
4. McDaniel
5. Hill
6. Marsh
CB
1. Sherman
2. Maxwell (UFA 2015)
3. Simon
4. Lane
5. Auguste
FS
1. Thomas
2. Pinkins
SS
1. Chancellor
2. Bailey (see above for Johnson)
DEF 24 total
Hausch K
Ryan P
Gresham LS
SP Teams 3 total
A few more notes
51 roster spots have been taken in this projection
2 open spots between DL J. Williams, DL Scruggs, WR Lockette, WR Matthews, (next OL player?), (next DB?), (Next DL?)
With Rice on PUP I think we may have only 24 OFF players to start the year and 26 on D.
Also is it possible that we could only have 9 UFA in 2015 (includes Rice) and one RFA (Kearse) two if Lockette makes the team.
I could see Kearse as trade bait depending on how the rookies continue to perform in camp.
Having said that, something tells me that Richardson will ‘red shirt’ this year. Needs to bulk up. He may have a similar role to Lockette in his earlier days – a deep threat to stretch the field maybe 2-3 plays a game.
Assuming I’m wrong about that (pretty safe bet usually), and Richardson can contribute early on, I would not be opposed to trading Kearse for the right offer, and having either Lockette or Matthews get some snaps early until Rice gets back into game shape.
Kearse could likely be a 60+ catch WR on a team that throws more and needs someone else as a top 3 target.. Problem is that this year may not be the time to move away from Kearse. Next year maybe we could trade him after an RFA tag. I just don’t want to trust Richardson and Norwood untill they are wearing pads to take the role of Kearse. They may be able to but I want to see them be able to learn through their Rookie season without the pressures. Maybe if Rice does start on PUP then you trade Kearse in week five or six after teams loose players to injury (when trade value will be at its peak), and activate Rice. Then you still have Harvin, Baldwin, and Rice as the big 3 while still bringing along the Rookies slowly.
On the same wavelength as you Jon, though if Kearse gets traded it will not be during the season. Very few trades occur during the season. In all probability it would be before the preseason.
Nice to see the Hawks have lots of options at WR though.
Wheres Malcom Smith?
The Seahawks had 16 players on the 90-man roster last year that ended up on the roster of another team. I think we will top that this year.
Here are some of my takeaways from minicamp:
Terrelle Pryor has a chance to be the #2 QB;
Tharold Simon is a legit #3 CB;
The DL rotation will be better than last year;
The OL starters will be better than last year;
Russell Wilson will be better next year; and,
The six receivers will be faster and more versatile than last year.
I think that the defense could be better this year if everyone stays healthy; especially if opponents are playing from behind more than last year. That is scary to imagine.
Improved offensive line play, improved QB play and explosive WR play creates the potential for a much-improved offense if Lynch and the running game can hold up.
I agree with all of this. My one big question is the pass rush. When Clemons finally got 100% toward the end of the regular season was when our pass rush really started clicking consistently. Now that we are without Clemons, I see us in a similar position to how we started 2013, with no healthy Clemons to look forward to going forward. I’m honestly not expecting much out of Mayowa or Jeffcoat so the edge opposite Avril may be an issue this season, especially against the run where Clemons really excelled. Hopefully our secondary can pick up some of that slack and buy us some ‘coverage pressure’, but I’d feel more comfortable if there were not an obvious hole like this that opponents can potentially exploit.
True, We are not proven at LEO besides Avril. But I think we sometimes overstate the value of Clemons last year, even late as he was getting back to his quality level. Avril and Bennet are the ones that made the Pass Rush happen, and it was nice to have a vet you could trust, but this is not at all the same team that lost Clemons in the Playoffs and the pass rush fell apart. Avril and Bennet are still hear, Bruce Irvin (8 sacks as a rookie) is expected to be in the Rotation on Nickle Downs, and LB on Base downs. Schofield is a quality player that will remain with the team if the young guys are not able to be trusted, though if they show enough in camp he is a cut that will be made for roster control purposes. Or place him on PUP with the failed physical from NY as an excuse. This gives us 6 weeks of real game action to evaluate (Mayowa and Jeffcoat) and gives us reinforcements for a IR situation along the LEO/OLB position. It is not as bad as it may seem. This DL/LEO group are not a single injury away from destruction as it was in 2012 playoffs.
I share your anxiety Big D. I felt like Clemons had his best game of the year in the Super Bowl.
Trusting young guys to step up when they have the opportunity is part of the Win Forever plan though so we had better get used to it! This year it is RT and LEO. Next year it may be RB, OLB and CB.
Some of these guys are so difficult to project until we see them in preseason: Benson Mayowa, Korey Toomer, Jesse Williams, Jordan Hill, Tharold Simon, etc, not to mention the later-round rookies. Based on coaches comments, all these guys are very promising and should make the team if they can stay healthy, something a number of them have been unable to do to this point. A few other FAs are in the mix: AJ Jefferson, Chris Matthews, Greg Van Roten, Terrance Parks….any one of whom could outperform one of the “redshirts” and take the roster spot.
I expect the Seahawks to keep 10 DLs and 6 WRs (even with Rice on the PUP), so something has to give somewhere else. They might have to go with 8 OLs and 4 RBs to reach the 53 man limit, especially if they carry Pryor as the 3d QB. The ability of Bowie, Bailey and Jean Peirre to play multiple positions makes 8 OLs possible (hints are that Britt is well on his way to winning RT). I think the 4 RBs will be Lynch, Michael, Turbin and Coleman. I believe both Ware and Small will clear waivers (very little market for FBs) and can be stashed on the practice squad. Likewise with Gilliam, who is too raw to make another team’s 53 man roster, though he has loads of potential and might be claimed. Also, Staten and Pinkins should clear waivers to the practice squad, unless they play lights-out in the preseason.
The players who will not clear waivers are Jackson Jeffcoat and Dion Bailey, based on their play thus far….they will have to be carried on the 53 or lost. ….having too many good players is a good problem to have, but it sure is tough to watch guys who could be starters in a couple of years get cut and go to other teams.
It’s getting pretty quiet here. Fieldgulls has a video of Marshawn Lynch’s greatest runs of 2013. It is great to see him in action. Not only is he a powerful runner that is hard to tackle, but he also has good lateral mobility. He often bursts through the defensive line and then move sideways till he finds the seam in the secondary. I think he has two more years in those legs!!!
I agree with James that they will keep 6 wide receivers. I see them as Harvin, Baldwin, Kearse, Richardson, Norwook, and either Lockette or Mathews. Rice will be on injured reserve till latter part of the season.
Offensive line, eight players with Britt winning the right tackle spot. Bowie and Bailey will be kept to fill in for injured players. Maybe they should both be trained to snap the ball too. It would be a useful skill for them.
The quarterback reserve battle. Tevaris will be our second choice till someone knocks him out of the position. Will that be Pryor??? I am doubtful, he seems more useful on the practice squad mimicking Kaepernick for defensive drills. The forgotten man is BJ Daniels. Will he step up this year? We won’t carry three QBs – no reason to. Someone will be stashed on the practice squad.
Who else do we need when other teams start cutting the roster? Maybe another left tackle just in case Okung goes down again.
Pryor can’t go on the Practice squad as he as started in a NFL game.
But the last few days of mini camp, he really picked things up. Would it be more beneficial to keep him, even though he is not as good of a passer (yet) at T JACK, so that way you can have him in practice to represent mobile QBs, and he will constantly be getting better I would hope, following behind Russell.
Secondly, Russell is pretty darn good at getting out if trouble, IE taking a hard hit.
The 53-Man Roster Part 1: the QBs
Number of Roster Spots: 2
Locks: Russell Wilson
In the Mix: Tarvaris Jackson, Terrelle Pryor
Others: BJ Daniels
Russell Wilson looks poised for a breakout in his third season. He has the maturity of a champion but continues to push himself and his teammates for improvement. He and offensive coordinator Darrell.Bevel have some exciting new weapons to incorporate into the passing game. The Seahawks offensive identity will remain the running game but they look poised to add some explosion to the passing game.
T-Jack and Pryor are battling for the #2 spot. Jackson is the veteran and is loved in the locker room for his toughness but his skills may be diminishing. He did not perform up to expectations when he played last year. The Hawks traded a 7th round pick for Pryor to create competition in camp. Pryor is an avid student; often working with Russell Wilson for more than ten hours a day. He has learned a lot and has exciting athletic skills but he has a reputation as an erratic passer and he hasn’t improved in that area thus far. He can’t be considered a turnover risk as the backup QB.
There was some fan speculation following the Pryor trade that the Hawks might carry three QBs and use Pryor as a receiver or wildcat QB. But, both Pryor and the Hawks are clear that he makes the roster or not based solely on his performance at QB. Jackson and Pryor are both unrestricted free agents next year so the question for the Hawks is clear: who gives us a better chance in 2014? There is no clear answer to that question right now so I expect this to be a fun battle to watch all summer.
BJ Daniels is still an interesting project. He could stick again on the practice squad.
If Pryor (very unexpectedly) beats out T-Jack, I wonder if John would try to sign Pryor to an extension before they commit to him? I don’t like the idea of our #2 QB being a free agent after this year, and having to go back to square one this time next year to find another #2. T-Jack is probably here for as long as they want him, if they commit to him as the #2, but with Pryor, I would not commit to him without a corresponding commitment in return from him.
Didn’t Jackson have like a 150+ QB rating when he was called on last year. Man to bad our back up QB can only have a perfect rating when we want him to. Why cant we have a guy that really shines like Blaine Gabbert as our backup QB? 🙂
T-Jack’s passer rating was 140.2 for the 13 times he threw the ball in the 3 games he played. He did have one TD. But, he wasn’t able to sustain drives.
My reply should have been more thorough. T-Jack looked great in preseason last year. During, the regular season he got most of his stats in the week 3 Jacksonville blowout including his TD pass and his TD run. His body of work after that was limited to the Vikings game and the Giants game where he was 3-5 for 22 yards.
T-Jack is a 31-year old veteran with a career QB rating of 78.5. He is not a lock to make the team. The trade for Pryor was clearly motivated by a desire to provide competition at the position -that is the Win Forever way. Pryor also has his weaknesses. His career QB rating is 69.3. He has flashed exciting, but erratic, athletic skills. My personal feeling is that the Hawks are more willing to put up with a low-scoring inconsistent offense with no turnovers than a potentially higher-scoring offense that has an increased turnover risk. If I am right about that, then Pryor will have to improve his passing accuracy in order to win a spot on the team.
But in the same manner, they love that big play making ability, and they believe they can coach him to be better passer and decision maker? We’ll find out
Shouldn’t be a problem for Pryor as he really is superior to TJack in every way. If you look at the context of last season you’d understand the circumstances behind Pryor’s “inaccuracy”.
Pryor’s season was much like a tale of two quartets. He played consistently well the first four games, and played consistently terrible the next four even though he still managed to run his team to victory in week 6 against the Steelers. Then he was injured and Allen decided to take an extended look at McGloin even when he got back to health, so for most intents and purposes his season was over but he did start the final game of the season and played well that game even if it came against a loss against Denver.
I’m convinced drop off was primarily due to the flotsam of his offensive line. In game 5 in KC already working with a line with only two of the five projected original starters, his line suffered two more injuries and 3rd string journeyman and inexperienced scrubs had to be shuffled in and play out of position. He’s a mobile QB yet got hammered for 10 sacks that game. He had been really smart managing the ball up till then, only throwing one pick in the first week but threw 3 that game. And he had to continue working with that pathetic line until he got injured at the end of game 8 when he aggravated an MCL sprain from a hit he took the previous week. I’ve no doubt that the state of the offensive line greatly contributed to that horrible four game stretch and I’m sure that’s how JSPC saw it too. They discarded that 4 game stretch as an aberration. In his season finale start some of those injuries that went out in game 5 had returned and there was more cohesiveness in that line, his play rebounded back to his pre-game 5 state.
IMO the backup we’d be see would the the pre-game 5 Pryor who was composed, diligent, and threw for a high completion percentage while protecting the ball. Not the one who seemed to be dealing with downs like 3rd and 36 more often than any QB should ever have to because his linemen would get steamrolled at the snap. The pre-game 5 + season finale Pryor is the superior QB to TJack in every way. Quite frankly, TJack sucks and nothing can really be read of his play in garbage time when frankly players aren’t even playing full throttle. Like you pointed out, he had problems sustaining drives and that’s always been a problem for him.