THURSDAY, 1:07pm: Winston’s one-year contract is worth just over $1MM, including a $60K signing bonus and a $100K bonus if he’s on the 53-man roster in Week 1, tweets Brian McIntyre.
TUESDAY, 11:56am: In addition to confirming the signings of Thomas and Winston, the Seahawks have also added wideout Randall Carroll to the roster, the club announced today in a press release. To make room for the three new additions, the Seahawks have waived cornerback Chandler Fenner and offensive guard Bronson Irwin, and placed receiver Taylor Price on their IR.
9:32am: The president of the NFLPA has found a job, as Eric Winston has reached an agreement on a one-year contract with the Seahawks, according to Pro Football Talk (via Twitter). The veteran offensive tackle confirmed the news himself, tweeting, “Season finally starts for me today! Looking forward to chasing a ring with the Seahawks!! Time go to work!”
Winston, 30, has been one of the league’s most durable linemen over the last few years, starting all 16 of his teams’ games in Houston, Kansas City, and – most recently – Arizona in each of the last seven seasons. According to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), the former third-round pick ranked as just the 69th-best tackle out of 76 qualified players last season. However, that may have been an aberration, considering Winston recorded consistently positive grades in every year leading up to 2013.
It’s not clear whether Winston will become a starter this season in Seattle and keep that streak alive, but as Tom Pelissero of USA Today notes (via Twitter), the Seahawks’ right tackle position is currently up in the air, following the departure of Breno Giacomini in free agency. Second-year player Michael Bowie and rookie Justin Britt are among the other contenders for the RT spot.
According to Pelissero, the agreement between Winston and the Seahawks just came together within the last couple days. Financial terms of the pact aren’t yet known. Additionally, by our count, Seattle had a full 90-man roster prior to reaching deals with Winston and Terrell Thomas, so a pair of corresponding roster moves should be necessary to make the two signings official.