Aside from those who cut the Seahawks this season, there are still five players remaining from the team’s original pool of unrestricted free agents. This includes facing Duane Brown, Brandon Shell, full-backs Alex Collins and Adrian Peterson and defensive line Robert Nekimdic.
Brown is the highlight of the quintet, entering his 15th season in the NFL after making his fifth Pro Bowl appearance at the age of 36 last year. The odds of returning to Seattle for both him and Shell were cut to zero in light of the draft, which saw the Seahawks pick out Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas with two of their top four picks. Barring the injury, Cross will undoubtedly be the team’s left-footed starter from the jump. Meanwhile, Lucas will battle for the right job with 2021 rookies Jake Corhan and Stone Forsyth.
That means Brown – as well as Shell – will be heading elsewhere this summer, assuming he hasn’t changed his mind calling it a career. There was grumbling that the Colts, who had encountered Brown twice a year during his South Asian days as a Texan, could show an interest. However, their recent signature to the former Packers and Titans likely knocked them out of the race.
On the other hand, Shell was reportedly courted by former Seahawks and now Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson at the start of the free agency. But since then, his market has seemed cold.
Go to follow
In terms of both Brown and Shell’s positions, some of the teams still looking for help on one or both sides include the Bears, Steelers, Falcons and a few others.
Looking at the three other original UFAs in Seattle, Peterson might stand out even more. But at 37, after a back injury marred by legal problems, the future Hall of Famer likely played his last NFL shot.
Collins, after showing flashes of production last year, should be able to land a training camp with a team and, at the very least, make his way into a training squad. Maybe it’s with the Seahawks, who may be diving into the market for depth in running if Chris Carson (the Neck) is released next month as expected. At this point, it is still unclear if he will be able to play again.
Finally, Nkemdichi’s position is a bit intriguing. He failed to revitalize his career in 2021, which could spell the end of the road for him altogether. But it’s possible that another team might believe in him enough to issue an invitation to training camp.
Outside of Collins, though, Seattle seems unlikely to show interest in any of the aforementioned players. That also goes for the likes of defensive back Carlos Dunlap and Benson Maywa, who were both cut by the team.
OverTheCap.com currently expects the Seahawks to have $6.4 million in space in the salary cap space after factoring in their final rookie signings. That number would increase to $10 million if Carson were released after June 1, so General Manager John Schneider and the company will likely have a noteworthy move ahead of the season’s start in September.