Cornerback Pierre Desir recently signed with the Jets one day after being released by the Colts, but there were a number of teams interested in his services before he elected to join Gang Green. The Seahawks were one of those teams, per Connor Hughes of The Athletic.
After a bumpy start to his career, Desir spent the latter portion of the 2016 season on the Seahawks’ practice squad. He signed a reserve/futures deal with the club that offseason, and while he was cut prior to Week 1 of the 2017 campaign, he credits his time spent in the DB room with members of Seattle’s famed Legion of Boom as a key factor in his career rejuvenation.
Desir was claimed by the Colts shortly after being waived by the Seahawks, and he became a full-time starter midway through the 2017 season. He enjoyed a career year in 2018 and parlayed that into a three-year, $25MM deal with Indy last offseason. Though he regressed in 2019, which led to his ouster, he was playing through a painful hamstring injury for much of the season. The Colts had hoped to re-sign him to a cheaper deal after cutting him, but the Seahawks — along with four other clubs — were not going to let that happen.
This is only speculation, but it could be that missing out on Desir led to Seattle’s trade for Quinton Dunbar one day after Desir signed with the Jets. Though Dunbar finished the 2019 season as the league’s second-best corner per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, and while he may command a hefty contract extension as a result, it appears that the ‘Hawks may have valued the two players similarly.
Meanwhile, Desir will have a real chance to open the 2020 campaign as a starting CB for the Jets, an opportunity he may not have had in Seattle.
Slow news day