Tag: Germain Ifedi

Seahawks agree to terms with tackle Cedric Ogbuehi

Cedric Ogbuehi will get a fresh start in Seattle, where the Seahawks could play him in the extra tight end role vacated by George Fant.

The Seattle Seahawks indicated they hoped to keep some continuity along their offensive line heading into 2020. That appears to be out the window, however, after the team signed their third new offensive lineman in the last 24 hours, agreeing to terms with former Jacksonville tackle Cedric Ogbuehi, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

Ogbuehi joins tackle Brandon Shell and center/guard B.J. Finney as newcomers to Seattle’s offensive line, a group that is almost certainly moving on from Germain Ifedi and Mike Iupati, and already lost George Fant to the Jets.

Ogbuehi has yet to live up to his billing as a first round pick by the Browns in 2015. He has appeared in 49 games over the last five seasons, including 25 starts – none in the past two years.

He is likely on hand as added depth at the two tackle spots, and could compete with Shell to start at right tackle. Ogbuehi also has some experience in the sixth lineman/tight end role, so perhaps Seattle views him as a replacement for Fant in that role.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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Seahawks agree to terms with free agent tackle Brandon Shell

The Seattle Seahawks agreed to terms with tackle Brandon Shell, which could spell the end of Germain Ifedi’s tenure in the Emerald City.

The Seattle Seahawks agreed to terms with their second free agent offensive lineman in as many days, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting that former Jets tackle Brandon Shell is coming to Seattle on a two-year, $11 million dollar deal.

Shell appeared in 15 games for the Jets last year, starting 11. He earned an overall grade of 63.6 from Pro Football Focus, and is expected to come in and compete right away for Seattle’s vacant right tackle position.

The 28-year-old was a fifth round pick by the Jets back in 2016 out of South Carolina University. He has made 40 starts in his NFL career, and has some experience playing guard and lining up in the tight end/sixth tackle role as well, which makes him a versatile weapon for Pete Carroll and Mike Solari to utilize in a variety of different roles next season, if need be.

However, this signing likely indicates that Germain Ifedi, who is also a free agent, won’t be back in Seattle next season.

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What Monday’s O-Line contracts could mean for Germain Ifedi

The Seattle Seahawks will likely have to pay over $10 million per year to re-sign right tackle Germain Ifedi after yesterday’s signings.

The Seattle Seahawks brought back defensive tackle Jarran Reed on the first day of legal tampering, but did not signing anyone new – par for the course for this team in the Pete Carroll/John Schneider era.

They did have to say goodbye to hybrid tackle/tight end George Fant, who agreed to a three-year, $27.3 million dollar contract to start at left tackle for the Jets.

Fant was not the only offensive lineman to agree to a lucrative new contract on Monday, with tackle Jack Conklin agreeing to a three-year, $42 million dollar deal with the Browns and Halapoulivaati Vaitai leaving the Eagles for a five-year, $50 million dollar deal with the Lions.

Those deals not only take two potential Seahawks off the market, they also have a big impact on the contract demands for Seattle’s most recent starter at right tackle, Germain Ifedi.

Ifedi is expected to explore the open market after the Seahawks refused to pick up his fifth-year option, which would have paid him $10.35 million dollars for the 2020 season.

Now, with backups like Fant and Vaitai each getting about $10 million per year, it’s almost a guarantee that Ifedi will want more than that per season.

Whether he gets that remains to be seen. After all, while he has much more experience than both Fant and Vaitai, his performance has not been all that great, and other teams may be hesitant to offer him that much money, even if he is still just 25-years-old.

The Seahawks need to find more tackles before the 2020 season begins, and Ifedi is absolutely still an option to return to the Emerald City.

However, the team would likely have to pay him more than they would have had they just tendered him the fifth-year option, and it’s hard to imagine them doing that for a player who still struggles in pass protection.

The draft is also a strong option for this team to find their next right tackle, if they don’t find any options in free agency that they like, so this team may take their time to find their solution on the right side of the line.

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The Athletic predicts Giants sign four of NFL’s top 50 free agents

The New York Giants have $79 million in salary cap space and The Athletic believes they will use it on four of the top 50 free agents.

The NFL’s free agency frenzy is still on for next week beginning March 18 at 4:00 p.m. ET. There’s a lot of speculation regarding who will sign where. The New York Giants currently have $77.8 million in available cap space to use to sign players and are expected to be major players.

That isn’t being reflected in a recent article by Sheil Kapadia published The Athletic predicting where the Top 100 free agents will land, however. According to Kapadia, the Giants will only land four of the top 50 unrestricted free agents and some those names are less than inspiring.

15. Cory Littleton (LB): Giants

Littleton would make sense for a number of teams, including Washington and the Raiders. But the Giants have money to spend and need to build up one of the least talented defenses in the NFL. They add the play-making, three-down linebacker.

34. Bradley Roby (CB): Giants

Roby is more of a second-tier corner, but he can play man coverage and has the versatility to line up on the outside or in the slot. Roby signed a one-year deal with the Texans as a free agent last offseason and will likely be looking for something more substantial this time around.

47. Germain Ifedi (RT): Giants

It feels like they’ve been trying to rebuild their offensive line for over a decade now. Ifedi fills a hole for the Giants at right tackle and helps their run game get back on track.

49. Leonard Williams (DT): Giants

After GM Dave Gettleman inexplicably sent a pair of draft picks to the Jets for half a season of Williams (0.5 sacks last season), it’s tough to see him letting the 2015 first-round pick walk in free agency.

Littleton would be an ideal signing for the Giants, or any team that he decides to go with. He’s a leader on defense and a Pro Bowl-caliber special teamer who’s still young enough (26) to become part of the young core the Giants are building.

Williams is basically a “must-sign” thanks to the foolish deal general manager Dave Gettleman made in acquiring him. The Giants have to sign Williams because they will have wasted draft picks if they don’t and probably won’t get any relief from the league in the way of compensatory draft picks if he signs elsewhere.

You can pretty much keep the other two. Roby is not a top veteran corner and I’m not sure what value he’ll bring for the price they’ll have to pay him. Ifedi is an average lineman who is probably not the upgrade they need. May as well resign Mike Remmers or let Nick Gates continue to grow there.

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2020 NFL Free Agency: Best Seahawks targets for the Saints

The New Orleans Saints have had interest in Ezekiel Ansah before, but they would do better to pursue Jarran Reed of the Seahawks free agents

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How can the New Orleans Saints improve in 2020? The answer to that question starts with shoring up the weaknesses of last year’s roster, and accounting for the areas thinnest on the depth chart. Fortunately, the Seattle Seahawks offer some pending free agents who might interest the Saints. Here’s the full list:

  • CB Akeem King
  • CB Neiko Thorpe
  • CB Kalan Reed
  • CB Jeremy Boykins (ERFA)
  • DE Jadeveon Clowney
  • DE Ezekiel Ansah
  • DE Quinton Jefferson
  • DE Branden Jackson
  • DT Al Woods
  • DT Jarran Reed
  • DT Bryan Mone (ERFA)
  • FS Ryan Neal (ERFA)
  • LB Mychal Kendricks
  • LB Dekoda Watson
  • LB Emmanuel Ellerbe (ERFA)
  • OC Joey Hunt
  • OG Mike Iupati
  • OG Jordan Roos (ERFA)
  • OT Germain Ifedi
  • OT George Fant
  • OT Jordan Simmons (ERFA)
  • QB Geno Smith
  • RB Marshawn Lynch
  • RB Robert Turbin
  • RB C.J. Prosise
  • TE Luke Willson
  • TE Jacob Hollister (RFA)
  • TE Tyrone Swoopes (ERFA)
  • WR Josh Gordon
  • WR Jaron Brown
  • WR David Moore (RFA)
  • WR Malik Turner (ERFA)

The Saints have had interest in Ansah before, but he was a shell of his former self in 2019. He produced just 2.5 sacks and 8 quarterback hits in 11 games, with injuries having taken a toll on his body. A better target may be Reed — the interior lineman created 13 total pressures in just 10 games, having lost part of the year to an early-season suspension. If he’s cleaned up his act, he could be a nice replacement for Saints free agent David Onyemata.

While he is a restricted free agent, meaning the Seahawks can match any contract offers he receives, Hollister is an intriguing prospect at tight end. He created a lot of yards after the catch and handled a variety of blocking assignments for the Seahawks, and he could be a nice third-string addition for the Saints behind Jared Cook and Josh Hill (each of whom will become free agents in the not-too-distant future). The Seahawks just signed first-team Saints slayer Greg Olsen, so they may be open to letting Hollister walk away if the money isn’t to their liking.

And the Seahawks also have a number of cornerbacks hitting the market; that could be an area where we see some movement, considering how few corners the Saints have under contract (just three: Marshon Lattimore, Janoris Jenkins, and Patrick Robinson). Of the group, King saw the most playing-time on defense (267 snaps), while he and Thorpe both played frequently on special teams for Seattle. The Saints will be looking for backups, so they should both be on New Orleans’ radar.

Also: wouldn’t Geno Smith make some sense as a low-cost backup who can play from the pocket, much like Teddy Bridgewater has done? He doesn’t offer Bridgewater’s playmaking ability or accuracy, but the Saints have taken worse passers into training camp in the past.

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Seahawks not expected to utilize franchise tag in 2020

The Seattle Seahawks are not planning to use either the franchise tag or the transition tag this offseason.

The Seattle Seahawks have 19 unrestricted free agents, plenty of cap space, and a desire to compete in 2020.

That may look like a recipe for a team who plans to utilize either the franchise tag or the transition tag this offseason – but not so, according to general manager John Schneider.

“I don’t see us tagging anybody,” Schneider told assembled media at the NFL combine. “I’m sure it’s going to be huge benefit to a couple of clubs that feel like they are going to have a chance to lose an impact player.”

Schneider’s comments are in line with the team’s overall philosophy in his regime, as they have only used the franchise tag twice since he took over as general manager – once last year on defensive end Frank Clark, who was traded shortly after.

For this year, the only player who would realistically make sense is Jadeveon Clowney, and the team promised not to use the tag on him when they acquired him late last year, so that’s not an option.

Right tackle Germain Ifedi and defensive tackle Jarran Reed are potentially options as well, but the estimated value for a one-year tag contract for them is $16.1 million and $15.5 million, respectively, and that’s almost certainly too rich for the Seahawks.

The team has until March 10 to make an official decision on franchise and transition tags, although it seems very unlikely that anything will change, leaving Ifedi, Reed and Clowney all on the open market.

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Combine results indicate strong class of offensive tackles

Offensive tackles had a strong performance at the NFL combine, while tight ends did not. This is good news for the Seattle Seahawks.

The 2020 NFL combine gave the Seattle Seahawks and the rest of the league a chance to see many of their draft targets compared to their peers over the past two weeks.

Often what comes out of the combine is a better overall sense of each positional group, and the depth (or lack thereof) of talent in the upcoming draft class.

For a Seahawks team that needs help at a handful of positions, this combine helped them evaluate which positions they should look to upgrade via the draft, and which other ones they should focus their attention on free agency or the trade market.

Fortunately for Seattle, the combine actually did more to confirm their previous suspicions. The tight end group, collectively, had a really poor showing at the combine – further confirming the team’s decision to sign veteran Greg Olsen as opposed to using draft capital to supplement Will Dissly.

Perhaps the position group that did the most to boost their overall stock was the offensive tackles, another area of need for this team with the pending free agencies of both Germain Ifedi and George Fant.

Many of the best tackles in this draft class are expected to go early in the first round, making them unlikely targets for Seattle. However, a flurry of instant starters available in the draft could help drive down the price of both Fant and Ifedi on the open market – which might clear room for one or both of them to return to the Emerald City.

There’s also a possibility that the team finds someone they like at No. 27 overall, or decides to package some picks to trade up for one of the studs in this draft class – like Mekhi Becton or Tristan Wirfs.

Seahawks fans should feel good about John Schneider and Pete Carroll’s instincts, as the Olsen signing looks even better in hindsight and the team’s ability to upgrade at offensive tackle, or at least bring back some familiar faces, looks even stronger following the combine.

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Jamarco Jones’ 2019 performance surprised Pete Carroll

Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Jamarco Jones surprised Pete Carroll with his versatility last year, and is in the mix to start in 2020.

The Seattle Seahawks are heading into the free agency and draft portion of the offseason with a whole lot of question marks on their roster.

Perhaps no position group is less settled than the offensive line, who could be out four of their five starters depending on how the offseason shakes out.

Duane Brown will almost certainly be back, but Germain Ifedi and Mike Iupati are both unrestricted free agents, along with George Fant, and both Justin Britt and D.J. Fluker are potential cap casualties.

As such, there could be a lot of new faces in front of Russell Wilson in the 2020 season. While the team will certainly look to free agency and the draft to add more bodies, they also have a surplus of young offensive linemen on the roster who could step into full-time roles in 2020, if called upon.

Perhaps the most notable of that group is Jamarco Jones, a left tackle by trade who started games at three different spots for Seattle in 2019, including both guard spots. His performance there surprised his coach, Pete Carroll, who admitted he should have believed in him more.

“Jamarco did a nice job for us,” Carroll said at the NFL combine on Tuesday. “He really did. He surprised us a little bit that he would be so comfortable, particularly on the right side because he had been a left side guy and a left tackle most of his playing time. Mike Solari always said he was a really savvy football player and the game made sense to him, and he could just assimilate our stuff from his old stuff, right from the beginning. I guess we should have realized he could make that transition and do it better, but he really did surprise us.”

Carroll went on to say that Jones had some work done on his shoulder, presumably a post-season surgery, but he didn’t seem too concerned about the injury lingering into training camp.

He also alluded to Jones being in the competition for a starting job next year – which doesn’t really mean much at this stage in the offseason – but his positional versatility does allow Seattle to pursue a wider range of players, knowing Jones can fill in everywhere but center.

“We’re counting on him to be very versatile and very much a part of the competition for all the playing time,” Carroll continued. “He’s worthy of that and he deserves that shot.”

“It’s an exciting start for him.”

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2020 NFL Draft: Why TCU’s Lucas Niang is a good fit for Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks might need to replace Germain Ifedi, and TCU right tackle Lucas Niang might be the perfect fit in the 2020 NFL draft.

The Seattle Seahawks are entering the 2020 NFL draft with multiple positions of need, and a lot of picks to work with.

The team signed veteran tight end Greg Olsen, which helps solidify that spot, but they could still use more help along the offensive front.

With Germain Ifedi, George Fant and Mike Iupati all headed to free agency, the Seahawks will almost certainly need to use an early pick on an offensive lineman if they want to avoid spending huge sums of money on veterans.

One player the team could target in the early rounds is Texas Christian University right tackle Lucas Niang.

Niang made 27 starts at right tackle for TCU, earning praise for his mobility, strength and pure size as a six-foot-seven, 328 pound monster.

Scouting reports like his power at the point of attack, which should make him an asset in the run game, as well as his overall athleticism and strong lower half – traits that will serve him well as a pass blocker.

He has some footwork issues, and spent part of 2019 dealing with a hip injury, but most believe he will be a high-upside right tackle in the NFL – and that alone makes him a great match for the Seahawks if they don’t re-sign Ifedi this offseason.

Niang is projected by a handful of early mock drafts to go around the third round, although Seattle has never been afraid to reach for a player they believe fits their needs.

As such, Niang is a name worth keeping an eye on as draft season rolls on.

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Is Titans tackle Jack Conklin a potential free-agent fit for Seahawks?

Could the Seattle Seahawks be targeting Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Jack Conklin as a potential free agent come March?

Most mocks are projecting the Seahawks will look to beef up their defensive line again this year via April’s NFL draft. But Seattle also has needs on the other side of the ball, including the offensive line.

Around the NFL writer, Nick Shook, took a look at one player each club could target this season at the start of the new league year. He has the Seahawks eyeing current Titans tackle, Jack Conklin.

“Conklin fits on the Seahawks for two reasons: Germain Ifedi is headed to free agency and isn’t a lock to be retained because of his up-and-down play, and Seattle will have $50 million to work with this offseason,” Shook writes. “That seems to create an ideal landing spot for Conklin, who would shore up a position that has been a liability for the Seahawks for some time.”

Conklin has spent the last four seasons in Tennessee, however, the Titans opted to not pick up his fifth-year option. Conklin started all 16 regular games played in 2019.

Seattle looked to free agency last year to add a veteran to the line and this March should be no different for the Seahawks.

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