Seahawks defensive back Quinton Dunbar, a few hours after speaking to Seattle media members virtually, was issued an arrest warrant in Florida, where he is facing four charges of armed robbery alongside Giants defensive back Deandre Baker.
The charges are very serious, and while an arrest (and potential conviction) will take time, the Seahawks may end up making the decision to cut Dunbar sooner rather than later if they feel waiting will only make things worse.
Cutting Dunbar would save the Seahawks $3.4 million in cap space, which gets them just under $20 million in total cap space – not including rookie contracts.
What the Seahawks do with that space remains to be seen, but if Dunbar is out of the picture it certainly makes sense for them to pursue an upgrade at right cornerback, where Tre Flowers has been the starter the past two seasons.
The open market has a handful of names left that could appeal to coach Pete Carroll and company, although only one, Logan Ryan, that would be a surefire starter over Flowers.
Ryan, 29, is a seven-year vet who spent four years in New England and the last three in Tennessee. He recorded 4.5 sacks and four interceptions last year with the Titans – totals which would have been the best on the team for the Seahawks.
Ryan is not quite the prototypical size of a Seattle cornerback, but his ball-hawking ability and versatility as a rusher would make him an appealing, albeit spendy, option to replace Dunbar if they decide to go in that direction.
Other options on the free agent market include Dre Kirkpatrick, Trumaine Johnson, Eli Apple and Ross Cockrell, as well as a potential reunion with Akeem King who remains unsigned.
However – any of those options would only be as depth or competition for Flowers, and the Seahawks may just opt to let him challenge for his old job back and run it back with a secondary of Flowers, Shaquill Griffin, Bradley McDougald and Quandre Diggs – a unit that fared extremely well on the field together in 2020.
This legal situation is ongoing, but don’t be surprised to see the Seahawks be aggressive in bringing in more competition in the secondary if they decide to move on from Dunbar.
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