The Seahawks Friday signed Sebastian Janikowski, one of the most productive kickers in NFL history, to replace Blair Walsh, an unrestricted free agent who had critical missed field goals in losses to Atlanta, Washington and Arizona last season. Janikowski, who signed for one year at undisclosed terms, is the second kicker signed by Seattle since the Walsh flop. Jason Myers, formerly of Jacksonville, was added in January.
Janikowski, 40, spent 17 years with the Oakland Raiders.He’s the 11th-leading scorer in NFL history, with a league-record 55 field goals of 50 yards or longer. But he missed all of last season while on injured reserve with a back problem. Myers is 26 and drew his release from the Jaguars in October after he had three big misses in two losses.
That #FridayFeeling when you sign in Seattle.
pic.twitter.com/8Q90sQKPRk — Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 13, 2018
Janikowski in 2016 made 29 of 35 field goals, including 26 of 27 from inside 50 yards, a success rate of 82.9 percent. Walsh last year went 21 for 29, 72.4 percent.
A native of Poland, Janikowski joined the Raiders as a first-round draft choice in 2000 (17th overall pick). Janikowski has 1,799 points, including 414 field goals. He made a career-high 33 in 2010. He made his only Pro Bowl team in 2011 and has been a seven-time AFC Player of the Week.
Among active kickers, only Adam Vinatieri (2,487) and Phil Dawson (1,817) have scored more points.
Janikowski, who had a base salary of $3 million last year, and Myers are expected to be at the VMAC Monday when the Seahawks launch their off-season conditioning.
SEAHAWKS FREE AGENT TRACKER
Free agents signed
| Date | Player | Pos. | ’17 AAV | New Deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 14 | Barkevious Mingo | DE | $3.4M | 2 years, $6.8M |
| Mar 16 | Ed Dickson | TE | $1.95M | 3 years, $14M |
| Mar 16 | Jaron Brown | WR | $1.3M | 2 years, $5.5M |
| Mar 16 | Maurice Alexander | S | $528K | 1 year, $880K |
| Mar 20 | D.J. Fluker | OL | $3M | N/A |
| Mar 23 | Tom Johnson | DT | $2.33M | 1 year, $2.1M |
| Mar 25 | Shamar Stephen | DT | $823K | 1 year / 2.1M |
| April 11 | Dontae Johnson | CB | $690K | N/A |
| April 12 | S. Janikowski | K | $3M | N/A |
Free agents retained
| Date | Player | Pos. | ’17 AAV | New Deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 14 | B. McDougald | S | $1.8M | 3 years, $13.95M |
| Mar 14 | Dion Jordan | DE | $366K | 1 year, $1.9M |
| Mar 14 | Justin Coleman | CB | $615K | 1 year, $2.9M |
| Mar 22 | Mike Davis | RB | $615K | 1 year, $ TBA |
| Mar 22 | Marcus Smith | DE | $990K | 1 year, $2.7M |
Free agents lost
| Date | Player | Team | ’17 AAV | New Deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 14 | Jimmy Graham | GB | $10M | 3 years, $30M |
| Mar 14 | Paul Richardson | WA | $1.4M | 5 years, $40M |
| Mar 14 | DeShawn Shead | Det | $1.2M | 1 year, $3.5M |
| Mar 16 | Sheldon Richardson | Min | $3.6M | 1 year, $8M |
| Mar 21 | Luke Willson | Det | $1.8M | 1 year, $2.5M |
| Mar 23 | Matt Tobin | NE | $872K | 1 year, $ N/A |
| April 11 | Terence Garvin | LB | $775K | N/A |
Remaining free agents
| Date | Player | Pos. | AAV | 2017 Season/Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| —– | Luke Joeckel | LG | 8M | Missed 5 games with injuries |
| —– | Eddie Lacy | RB | 4.25M | Bust: 179 yards, 0 TDs |
| —– | Michael Wilhoite | LB | 1.55M | Best beard on team |
| —– | Blair Walsh | K | 1.1M | Eight FG misses |
| —– | Oday Aboushi | RG | 975K | Played 8 games before injury |
| —– | Austin Davis | QB | 855K | Played two snaps, but a veteran |
| —– | Byron Maxwell | CB | 755K | Played well in spurts |
*=Includes incentives
18 Comments
Herniated disc, age 40. Trust the process?
The SeaHawks have become an expansion franchise or a home for Lost Boys.
Look around the league. Lots of veterans on one-year contracts.
Leg isn’t as strong as it used to be but at least he’ll be accurate from the 40 and closer.
That’s a reasonable guess, but we really don’t know, do we?
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Get Byron Maxwell done next, please.
They may like Johnson better.
They might, but we also need depth at CB…and competition is good. No one was clamoring for Maxwell after he was released from Miami last year….it would seem to be a relatively easy signing, unless Maxwell has unrealistic contract demands. My guess is that the Seahawks signed Johnson because they like him, but also to send a message to Maxwell.
We got Johnson at a reasonable contract for a veteran CB with starter experience the previous year, 1.3 million total with only 350k loss if they cut him. At that price he could stay as depth without the feeling of it being a bad signing. Typical, upside, 1 year prove it deal style signing.
I’ve got no problem at all with the Johnson signing. I just want Maxwell brought on board for competition and depth, too. You can never have too many CBs in this league.
I’m holding off on evaluating this signing until I see the contract numbers. Hopefully, he is not getting more than what the Bills paid for Steven H. last year. Overall I have confidence in Janikowski which is a good feeling after last year but Myers may be the better option rather than paying Janikowski 3 million dollars. I guessing that is the thought process that got us Walsh in the first place.
Don’t know yet, but he gets probably a little more than the veteran minimum for his service time.
Lou Groza may still be available. And, hey, Bob Waterfield could both punt and placekick as well as play quarterback. A real bargain. Plus he was married to Jane Russell, who was Marilyn Monroe before there even was a Marilyn Monroe. Unfortunately Waterfield died prematurely in 1983, at an age only slightly older than Janikowski is now.
Bob Waterfield? Woofer, you’re pulling from deep.
Lots of kickers are good past 40. They don’t time them in the 40-yard dash.
OK, you’re right. So how about bringing in someone more contemporary, like George Blanda? It’s going to be a very long season. You’re probably going to run out of legitimate things to talk about somewhere around Thanksgiving. Trust the process?
The Seahawks signed 40-year-old kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who
spent 17 years with the Oakland Raiders and holds the league mark for
most 50-yard field goals.I guess that’s a sign that the offense isn’t going to have many excursions into the red zone this coming season.
Janikowski is MONEY – It’s about time we got through with messing with jives like Walsh – Inside 50, this guy is GOLDEN, if his back comes together. Let’s hope he is healed and if so, Janikowski will give us a few solid years of a position that has clearly cost the Hawks 2-4 games last year, which is ALL on Schneider for not resigning Haushka. Classic “Penny-wise, pound foolish”.