NFL Free Agency 2019: 5 Mistakes the Seattle Seahawks must avoid
By Samuel Teets
Remaining complacent with the secondary
The secondary started out strong in 2018, but some teams dropped big numbers against them in the second half of the year. The Seahawks finished 17th in pass defense during the regular season, giving up 240.1 yards per game. The team also tied for 18th in passes intercepted with 12, gave up the eighth most plays of 20 yards or more and quarterbacks had the 14th best competition percentage against them.
Basically, Seattle has a middle of the pack secondary. That might be passable for a Wild Card team, but if the Seahawks are looking to make a deeper playoff run in 2019, then they’ll need to improve.
One way the team can get better is through the free agent market. There are plenty of available safeties and we all saw how slow and cheap the market was at that position last year. The only issue with that is Carroll seems pretty content with safeties Tedric Thompson and fan favorite Bradley McDougald. That’s a little disappointing considering Adrian Amos, Landon Collins, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Lamarcus Joyner, Tyrann Mathieu and Glover Quinn are all available.
The cornerback market doesn’t exactly stand out. There are no big names out there, not that the Seahawks could afford anyone like that anyway. Although, it would be promising to see the team try to resign Justin Coleman, who was invaluable to them as a slot corner. Coleman joined Seattle last offseason on a one-year $2,914,000 deal. He probably earned a raise.
Of the other cornerbacks available, Bryce Callahan, Pierre Desir, Bradley Roby, Sam Shields and Jason Verrett may all fall into Seattle’s price range. There’s a chance the team goes cheaper though, but I wouldn’t recommend that move, especially in Coleman leaves. I don’t think the team will or should target higher-profile corners like Ronald Darby and Kareem Jackson. Regardless, the Seahawks need to go after at least one defensive back this offseason.