Another Seattle Seahawks starter could bolt for another team this offseason.
According to a report from Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network on Wednesday, April 20, defensive end Rasheem Green visited with the Carolina Panthers. While Green is clearly testing free agency waters — he previously met with the Baltimore Ravens — he has remained in “contact” with the Seahawks, per Rapoport.
“Seahawks FA pass-rusher Rasheem Green spent today visiting the #Panthers, per the wire,” said Rapoport. “He previously had visited the #Ravens and has remained in contact with Seattle. In addition, Seattle hosted Mario Addison and Damontae Kazee.”
Green’s Versatility is Appealing for Seahawks
Despite entering training camp in 2021 battling for a position on the roster, Green emerged as the starting defensive end. The 24-year-old ended up posting a banner year, starting 16 games while posting 48 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 15 quarterback hits, six tackles for loss and four pass deflections.
While it’s impressive enough that Green won a starting spot and posted career-highs essentially across the board, his versatility may be his most appealing asset. The former third-round draft pick lined up all over the defensive front, seeing more than 200 snaps as a defensive tackle and close to 100 snaps as an outside linebacker, according to Pro Football Focus.
According to Corbin K. Smith of Sports lllustrated, he projects Green’s “ideal” contract to be two years at $7.5 million total, which would be a reasonable deal for the Seahawks considering Green’s potential upside and youth.
The Seahawks have added to the defensive line with the addition of defensive tackle Shelby Harris, but they’re clearly lacking in edge rushers. Seattle is looking to upgrade at the position after posting just 34 sacks last season, ranking in the bottom 11 of the league in that category.
Head coach Pete Carroll stressed at the end of the regular season how the Seahawks need to improve in the pass-rushing department.
“We need to improve our pass rush, you know? That’s an area that we need to get better,” Carroll said following Week 18. “You saw how dynamic it is when you get going like we did [in Week 18]. But we didn’t have that consistency and that’s an important part of it. So many things feed off of that. It’s the disruption of the quarterback that leads to all the issues, you know, on the positive side for the defense and so we gotta—whatever we can do—we have to work there. So that’s one of the focal points for me.”
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Seahawks Looking at Overhaul of D-Line
The Seahawks are looking at an overhaul after their disappointing production from the pass-rushing department last season. During this offseason alone, the Seahawks released Benson Mayowa, Kerry Hyder Jr. and Carlos Dunlap, who led the team with 8.5 sacks last season.
As reported by Doug Kyed of Pro Football Network on Wednesday, April 20, the Seahawks hosted ex-Buffalo Bills defensive end Mario Addison. The 34-year-old posted at least 9.5 sacks per season from 2016 until 2019 with the Carolina Panthers.
With the Seahawks holding the No. 9 overall pick in the draft along with a couple of selections in the second round, Seattle could very well select a pass-rusher early in the 2022 NFL draft — or even sign a free agent pass-rusher such as Addison.
While those are possible scenarios, Seattle could be well-served by re-signing one of the few bright spots of their defensive line last season.
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Versatile Seahawks Starter Could Bolt for Panthers: Report