NFL Free Agency 2019: 5 Mistakes the Seattle Seahawks must avoid
By Samuel Teets
Not prioritizing the offensive line
We’ve been over this plenty of times. While the Seahawks led the league in rushing yards per game in 2018, Russell Wilson was sacked a career-high 51 times. That was the most he’s ever been sacked in a single season and it cost the Seahawks 355 yards in sack yardage.
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Wilson has never missed a start in his seven-year career — knock on wood — but even he can’t keep getting hit that often. 2019 will be his age 32 season. Isn’t it time for the Seahawks to finally give him the protection any Pro Bowl quarterback deserves?
Comparatively, Wilson is one of the most sacked quarterbacks in recent history. Ben Roethlisberger took a lot of hits early on in his career and was sacked 274 times in his first seven seasons. Wilson has been sacked 299 times in his first seven seasons. In those seven years, he’s been among the top six most sacked quarterbacks six times. 2012 was the only year he didn’t crack the top ten.
Even if they don’t want to, the Seahawks will have to address the offensive line. Both of the starting guards from 2018, D.J. Fluker and J.R. Sweezy, are impending free agents. Pete Carroll seems to want Fluker back for 2019, but that would likely involve a significant pay raise.
The Seahawks run game was largely successful because of Fluker and Sweezy mauling defenders up front. Yet Fluker only made $1.5 million on his one-year deal in 2018. Sweezy got the same deal. If Seattle doesn’t put up a good offer, some other NFL teams would be willing to give the guards a raise.