HEADLINES

Mark Glowinski

OL Notes: Seahawks, Joeckel, Eagles, Paradis

April 3rd, 2017 at 8:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

As teams get set for the start of offseason workouts, they are assembling their pre-draft offensive line depth charts. One such team with some fluidity: the Seahawks. They plan to make a move that ended up backfiring on the Jaguars in stationing Luke Joeckel at left tackle. While Pete Carroll acknowledges Joeckel could end up at left guard, the recently added blocker will begin his Seahawks tenure as a left tackle.

“Luke is a guy who started at left tackle, was drafted at left tackle. I’m thinking of him as that, knowing he can play left guard,” Carroll said, via Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com. “He had a really good experience this year moving in, and he liked it and felt comfortable doing that. So my first thought is we head into it with he’s coming into it as a left tackle that can play left guard.”

Jacksonville shuttled Joeckel from left tackle to left guard before the 2016 season, but an injury limited him to only four games. The former No. 2 overall pick did not fare especially well at left tackle as a full-time starter from 2014-15; he began his Jags run as a right tackle while a rookie. The Seahawks signed Joeckel to a one-year deal for a fully guaranteed $7MM in an attempt to help what’s been a maligned offensive line over the past two seasons. Carroll plans, for now, to sit converted basketball player George Fant behind Joeckel. Fant started 10 games for the NFC West champions last season.

“If George had to sit for a while, what could be better for him than sitting behind a guy who was a [No. 2] pick in the draft and knows how to play the position?” Carroll said. “If that happens, it would only enhance his future, and we have high expectations for him down the road — high expectations.”

Here’s more out of Seattle and the latest from other offensive fronts.

  • The Seahawks’ most recent first-round pick, Germain Ifedi, is expected to receive a long look at right tackle, per Kapadia. Ifedi started 13 games at right guard last season, but a chain reaction might relocate him. Should Joeckel move to left guard, 2016 left guard starter Mark Glowinski would shift to the right side and possibly bump Ifedi to right tackle. Ifedi primarily played right tackle at tackle-rich Texas A&M but slid inside during his debut NFL season. Seattle, of course, is no stranger to moving its linemen. Former second-round pick Justin Britt shifted from tackle to guard to center during his first three seasons in the league.
  • Isaac Seumalo started four games — at three different positions — for the Eagles last season, and it looks like Doug Pederson is eyeing more time for the second-year blocker. “He’s a guy that we want to get into the mix,” Pederson said, via Zach Berman of Philly.com. Berman adds Seumalo could wind up at center or guard long-term. The Eagles, though, are keeping left guard Allen Barbre and center Jason Kelce after being rumored to be set to unload both. Philadelphia also brought back center/guard Stefen Wisniewski, complicating Seumalo’s immediate path to playing time.
  • Matt Paradis underwent offseason surgery on both of his hips and has an uncertain timetable back to his spot on the Broncos‘ starting offensive front. The fourth-year center shed his crutches last month and is expected back. But Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post notes the hope now is Paradis won’t miss any regular-season action, meaning Paradis might not be a lock for training camp. The former sixth-round pick enjoyed a breakout season in 2016, finishing as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 center and doing so on one of the league’s shakiest offensive lines. He’s played every Broncos snap over the past two seasons.

NFC Notes: Eagles, 49ers, Giants, Seahawks

August 24th, 2016 at 5:53pm CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles have been shopping defensive lineman Taylor Hart around the NFL, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Hart doesn’t have an overly appealing track record in the league, however. The 2014 fifth-round pick from Oregon was on the Eagles’ 53-man roster throughout his rookie year, but he failed to log any appearances. In 14 games last season, the 6-foot-6, 281-pounder partook in 27 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps and made 27 tackles.

Here’s more from the NFC:

  • When asked to characterize his association with Trent Baalke, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick said he and the GM have a “business relationship” (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). Further, in response to Baalke’s comment last week that he and Kaepernick broke their months-long silence with a” good conversation,” the signal-caller simply referred to it as a “conversation.”
  • Giants owner John Mara the Josh Brown situation on Wednesday and said the club was in fact aware of both the domestic allegations against the kicker and his arrest (via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com). Nothing has happened since to change the Giants’ opinion on re-signing him in April.
  • Because the Seahawks made such a minimal investment in Jahri Evans (one year, minimum salary benefit with $80K guaranteed), it’s uncertain if the veteran guard is a lock for the club’s final roster. As Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times writes, Seattle is pleased with the play of left guard Mark Glowinski and first-round right guard Germain Ifedi, so a starting spot for Evans might not be available.
  • As of now, the Saints and contract-year quarterback still aren’t progressing toward an extension.

Connor Byrne contributed to this post.

Seahawks Sign Four Draft Picks

May 8th, 2015 at 5:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Seahawks are moving quickly to process deals with their draft choices, doing so with four of them on Friday, according to Mike Wilkening of Pro Football Talk.

Seattle signed guards Terry Poole and Mark Glowinski, who were both selected in the fourth round, along with fifth-round cornerback Tye Smith and sixth-round defensive end Obum Gwacham.

Second-round defensive end Frank Clark and third-round wideout Tyler Lockett are the NFC champions’ only unsigned selections.