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Seattle Seahawks News & Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/21

August 26th, 2021 at 4:27pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Indianapolis Colts

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Latest On Seahawks, Duane Brown

August 26th, 2021 at 2:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Duane Brown‘s hold-in effort has now long surpassed Jamal Adams‘, with the Seahawks left tackle having observed the team’s practices for nearly a month. The team is looking into a compromise.

The Seahawks are now looking into adjusting Brown’s 2021 compensation, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com notes (video link). They are not believed to be eyeing a new contract for Brown — at least, not at this point — but are now aiming to find a creative solution to meet the soon-to-be 36-year-old blocker in the middle. Brown’s deal expires at season’s end; he has long sought an extension at a higher rate, skipping minicamp and training camp in order to land one.

Given Brown’s history, expecting him to back down after the team adjusts some of the Pro Bowl- or participation-based incentives already included in his deal might be optimistic. The accomplished tackle held out well into the 2017 season, when the Texans traded him to the Seahawks, and he has the support of Russell Wilson this time around.

Seattle also did not blink in its most recent staredown, which ended with Adams signing after the team threatened to withdraw its offer. The Seahawks would prefer to have Brown play out his contract year, in order to see how much he has left in his 14th season, before reassessing the situation in 2022. With the tackle market having changed substantially since Brown signed his three-year, $34.5MM extension in 2018, the veteran understandably wants to cash in without going through another prove-it year.

TE Luke Willson Announces Retirement

August 25th, 2021 at 3:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Luke Willson worked out for the Seahawks on Monday and signed to rejoin the team Tuesday. The Seahawks released him a day later, and the veteran tight end has subsequently announced his retirement.

Willson will wrap his career after eight seasons. He revealed Wednesday, via Twitter, he dealt with a heart issue this offseason — a severe pericardial effusion, which is a fluid buildup around the heart — that required a lengthy hospital stay. After one day back with the Seahawks, the 31-year-old veteran reversed course and called it quits. The Seahawks released Willson after he informed the team of his retirement plans Tuesday night, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com tweets.

A fifth-round Seahawks pick in 2013, Willson played in 96 games (counting playoffs) for the team. While not known as a pure receiving tight end, Willson caught 11 TD passes during his first Seattle stint. The Rice alum added a playoff touchdown as well, scoring from 25 yards out in the Seahawks’ divisional-round win over the Panthers in 2014. Willson totaled four catches for 68 yards in that 31-17 Seattle win. A week later, Willson’s two-point conversion grab helped the Seahawks erase a 16-point second-half deficit against the Packers en route to Super Bowl XLIX.

The Seahawks are currently down Colby Parkinson, who suffered a foot fracture for the second straight year, but have Gerald Everett and holdover Will Dissly at the position. Willson was to provide depth, a role he played in 2019 and at the end of last season.

Willson caught on with the Lions in 2018 and joined the Raiders in 2019, receiving some Hard Knocks screen time. After the Raiders released him, he wound up back with the Seahawks. After a Ravens deal in 2020 also led to a release, he ended up playing his final games as a member of the Seahawks last season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/21

August 24th, 2021 at 6:01pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here. Teams had until 3pm today to cut their rosters down to 80 players.

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

  • Waived: QB Kenji Bahar

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: OT Casey Tucker

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: K Ryan Succop
  • Waived/injured: OT Chidi Okeke

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Seahawks To Sign Luke Willson, Release Pierre Desir

August 24th, 2021 at 2:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The John Reid trade did not mark the only cornerback transaction for the Seahawks on Tuesday afternoon. They are releasing Pierre Desir, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).

Desir’s surprising release will clear a roster spot for Luke Willson, whom Rapoport adds will return to the Seahawks. Willson, 31, made a return visit to Seattle on Monday. The veteran tight end has twice headed elsewhere, but he will once again return to the Pacific Northwest and aim to contribute as a role player.

The Seahawks originally drafted Willson in the 2013 fifth round. He signed with the Lions in 2018 and spent time with the Raiders in the summer of 2019, earning some Hard Knocks screen time with the latter, but ended up back in Seattle for the ’19 season. After a short stint with the Ravens last year, Willson re-signed with the Seahawks in December. They will now add him to a group that is again dealing with a notable injury.

Colby Parkinson is rehabbing from a second foot fracture. Willson will team with Will Dissly and free agency addition Gerald Everett, though the veteran should not be expected to play a big part in Seattle’s passing game. Willson has not surpassed 200 receiving yards in a season since 2016.

Desir’s departure is somewhat strange for a team that is not exactly oozing high-end cornerback talent. Though, it does continue a trend for the soon-to-be 31-year-old defender. The Colts cut Desir in March 2020, and the Jets ended up cutting him during the season.

Desir, who caught on with the Ravens last year, has been with five teams — including two Seahawks stints, the previous one coming from 2016-17 — but has enjoyed quality stretches. He worked as a full-time starter in 2018 and ’19 with the Colts, who extended him in 2019. The former Division II standout will look for a new home ahead of what would be his eighth NFL season.

Seahawks To Acquire Texans CB John Reid

August 24th, 2021 at 2:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

Rather than cutting John Reid, the Texans found an 11th-hour taker for the second-year cornerback. The Seahawks are acquiring Reid, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. The Texans had planned to merely waive the 2020 draftee ahead of the 3pm CT deadline for teams to trim their rosters to 80 players, but they will now obtain something in return.

Seattle will send Houston a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2023 draft. This marks the second straight day the Texans have made a trade involving both a cornerback and a seventh-round pick. Houston sent a 2022 seventh to Green Bay for Ka’Dar Hollman on Monday — a move that helped pave Reid’s way out of town.

The Penn State product, however, generated interest and will have a chance to stick with the Seahawks. Reid played in 13 Texans games last season and made 13 tackles. Houston used Reid on 145 defensive snaps during his rookie year. Reid checks in at just 5-foot-10, which is a bit shorter than the corners the Seahawks usually target. He did have a four-season role with the Nittany Lions, intercepting seven passes from 2015-19.

The Seahawks, who lost Shaquill Griffin in free agency, have made a few additions at this position this year. They signed Ahkello Witherspoon, brought back Damarious Randall — whom they are moving back to corner after his years-long run at safety — and drafted Tre Brown in Round 4.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/23/21

August 23rd, 2021 at 9:28pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here. Teams have until 4pm ET/3pm CT Tuesday to reach the 80-man roster limit.

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts 

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: OT Jonathan Hubbard
  • Released from IR via injury settlement: Sam Renner

Tennessee Titans

Seahawks Host DT Geno Atkins

August 23rd, 2021 at 4:55pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks are meeting with free agent Geno Atkins (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Now fully cleared from rotator cuff surgery, the defensive tackle offers lots of upside for Seattle.

Atkins went through a successful workout, veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson tweets, adding that the Seahawks are interested in adding him. The ball is now in Atkins’ court. It likely will come down to how low of a salary the 33-year-old interior D-lineman is willing to accept after the Bengals removed his four-year, $63.5MM extension from their payroll.

Atkins was limited to just eight games in total last year. But, even when he was healthy, the Bengals weren’t giving him a ton of playing time. His final tally: zero sacks and zero starts. It was a sharp drop from his pre-extension season in 2017, when he finished out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 ranked interior defender.

Before all of that, he was a perennial Pro Bowler with 75.5 career sacks. At this stage of the offseason, contenders like the Seahawks can probably add him on a low-cost one-year deal – perhaps with a couple million in incentives. The Seahawks would give Atkins a chance to reclaim his value, pursue a Super Bowl ring, and reunite with old pal Carlos Dunlap. Dunlap arrived via trade last season, notched five sacks, and re-upped on a two-year, $13.6MM deal.

If signed, Dunlap will join Kerry Hyder, Benson Mayowa, Al Woods, and Robert Nkemdiche in the Seahawks’ remodeled front seven.

Luke Willson To Visit Seahawks

August 23rd, 2021 at 3:48pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Luke Willson could be headed back to Seattle once again. The veteran tight end will visit the Seahawks later this week, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

The Rice product, originally drafted by the Seahawks in the fifth-round in 2013, has already had three separate stints with the team. He spent his first five pro seasons with the team before signing with Detroit in 2018. After a season with the Lions he was with the Raiders for a bit, then cut and scooped back up by the Seahawks. Seattle cut him in November of 2020, he then signed with the Ravens, and was cut by Baltimore about a month later.

That led him back to the Seahawks one final time, and he finished the year on the roster. This is the first we’ve heard of the 31-year-old this offseason. Willson’s most productive season as a receiver came in 2014, when he had 22 catches for 362 yards and three touchdowns.

He’s been more of a blocker in recent years, and if he signs once again he likely won’t be counted on to play too big of a role on offense. Seattle currently has ex-Ram Gerald Everett and Will Dissly atop the depth chart at tight end.

Seahawks’ Ben Burr-Kirven Done For Year

August 23rd, 2021 at 9:44am CST by Zachary Links

Seahawks linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven has suffered a torn ACL (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). It’s a tough blow for the former fifth-rounder, who was in the midst of a solid camp. 

Burr-Kirven went down during the opening kickoff of the Seahawks’ 30-3 loss to the Broncos on Saturday night. His Monday morning MRI confirmed the team’s fears — a serious knee injury that will force him to spend 2021 rehabbing.

“Both those guys got hurt seriously,’’ said head coach Pete Carroll, referring to Burr-Kirven and receiver John Ursua. “And it breaks your heart. This is a rough game and sometimes it takes a toll. Those two kids are hurting, so we’ll see what happens with them. But it’s going to be a while.’’

Like Ursua, Burr-Kirven will be placed on injured reserve. The Seahawks may need to find outside help to replace the ‘backer — Cody Barton stands as the only other reserve ILB with experience. Otherwise, the Seahawks may need to rely on fullback Nick Bellore to work at his original position. Fortunately, there are some quality options still available, including old pal K.J. Wright.

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