Henry Melton (69) sacks Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) during the first quarter at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Former Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Jason Hatcher signed a lucrative four-year deal with the rival Washington Redskins after a career-year in 2013 in which he posted 11 sacks, and now former Chicago Bears DT Henry Melton is now clearly the top player at the position still available. Heck, Melton is the better player than Hatcher in my book, and he would have been signed to a lucrative deal already had he not torn his ACL last season. There aren’t many interior pass rushers better than Melton, and he’s clearly one of the best three-techs in the NFL.
The Seattle Seahawks hosted Melton on a free agent visit yesterday, and it would be downright ridiculous if the Seahawks were able to add him to their elite defensive line. He recorded seven sacks in 2011 and six sacks in 2012, and that type of production as an interior defensive lineman would be nasty on the Seahawks line with guys like Michael Bennett and Brandon Mebane.
It was reported that the Cowboys would host Melton on a visit after the Seahawks, but it looks like that visit may have been nixed. ESPN Dallas’s Calvin Watkins reports that the Cowboys don’t actually have a visit with Melton scheduled for today, and it looks like the coast could be clear for the Seahawks to sign him. The Minnesota Vikings have interest, but they already signed Linval Joseph earlier this offseason, have 2013 first-round pick Sharrif Floyd, and they also re-signed Fred Evans.
Melton would have been a great signing for the Cowboys and would have even been an upgrade over Hatcher at DT. We’ll see if anything new happens on the Cowboys-Melton front to clarify things. It’s possible that this means Melton has signed with the Seahawks, but it could also mean that both parties simply rescheduled the visit to a later date.