Although he’s unlikely to be blamed, veteran DE Dwight Freeney, 37, was the first casualty of the 34-31 loss to Atlanta Monday when the Seahawks announced Tuesday afternoon that he had been waived.
The former Pro Bowl player played four games with Seattle after he was signed as an emergency replacement for injured DE Cliff Avril Oct. 25. Freeney had three sacks, but didn’t record a statistic in 17 snaps against the Falcons.
The Seahawks managed a single sack of QB Matt Ryan, and that was on the Falcons’ final scrimmage play. The Seahawks defense, hoping to take pressure off their remade secondary, wanted to bother Ryan, but he helped the Falcons convert nine of 14 third downs.
The Seahawks haven’t added anyone yet to fill the roster vacancy. They had three defensive linemen inactive Monday — Jarran Reed (hamstring), Garrison Smith and Quinton Jefferson.
Coincidentally, the Patriots waived at the same time Cassius Marsh, the former Seahawks defensive end. He and Freeney would need to clear waivers before moving to other teams as free agents.
The Seahawks (6-4) play at San Francisco (1-9) at 1 p.m. Sunday.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="2237016 https://sportspressnw.wpengine.com/?p=2237016">6 Comments
Freeney had a strong start but has been relatively quiet the last 2 games. Either the coaches saw something they didn’t like or Freeney asked for the release. Michael Bennett gave Freeney several compliments when he joined the club so it’s puzzling to see him released at this point. He seemed more than ideal to replace Cliff Avril.
My sentiments also, something does not add up. Three sacks in four games and a guy gets canned? Could it be the addition of Dion Jordan?. There must be more to the story.
It’s possible it’s due to salary cap but if they only figured that out now then something is really wrong. If they pick up Marsh and think he’d be a bigger contributor then they need to forget the fact that is legal here.
Nothing is wrong. They’ve had to add veterans such as Duane Brown and Byron Maxwell, and ended up having to keep Jeremy Lane. Lots of unplanned salary additions. Happens to every team every year, but the Seahawks have been hammered with injuries.
And I forgot to mention in the above answer that they saw a lot they liked from Dion Jordan, who is younger and cheaper than Freeney.
Several factors, starting with the past two games of almost zero production. Also, another team was seeking 7th-round WR David Moore off the practice squad, so they had to clear a roster spot to keep him. He also plays special teams.
The Seahawks are hard up against the cap, and need to clear space to potentially add other players as injuries mount. Freeney’s modest cost of $500K was the easiest move. The Seahawks had a surplus of 11 D-linemen and have regularly played games with eight.