The Seahawks discussing sending Michael Bennett to work with his former defensive coordinator. The Falcons are talking to the Seahawks about a deal for the veteran defensive end, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports.
Multiple teams are talking to the Seahawks about a deal for Bennett, but the Falcons are the only confirmed suitor. They would make sense considering Dan Quinn and Bennett’s relationship and the team utilizing a 4-3 scheme very similar to the Seahawks’.
Despite having three years left on his latest Seahawks deal, Bennett’s been on the trade block during the Combine. McClure identified the 10th-year defensive end as being a Falcons fit because of the aforementioned reasons but also due to Atlanta’s present need for interior pass rush. Bennett started all 16 Seahawks games last season and was a key cog on both of Seattle’s Super Bowl teams.
Bennett registered 8.5 sacks in 2017 and booked his third straight Pro Bowl trip. Long a well-regarded player by the advanced-metrics community, Bennett didn’t receive quite as high of a grade from Pro Football Focus last season (No. 36 edge defender) but was still productive. He often provides an inside pass rush on passing downs, and could have some starter seasons left if shipped to Atlanta. No Falcon under contract registered more than six sacks last season.
Three seasons and more than $26MM remain on the 32-year-old defensive end’s contract. John Schneider said the Seahawks are taking numerous calls this offseason about deals for their veteran components, with Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman candidates to be moved as well. Bennett will count $7.36MM toward a team’s cap this season, and considering multiple teams are talking with the Seahawks, prying him away from Seattle may well take a trade.
Good.
Wouldn’t want him on my team
So you wouldn’t want a talented player on your team? Must enjoy losing.
Exactly JT!
I’m a falcons fan, I don’t want him or his brother. Ever.
The guy is still an asset to the team so not sure what you guys are talking about in the comments before me. I think it’s obvious the Seahawks have been in decline for the last couple years with their O Line being pretty terrible and their defense not being as dominant as it was for that run they made. Trading players and other guys might not even being able to come back from injury kind of helps them start that rebuild stage a little faster which is something they should really thinking about in the next year or two. They can still add youth, go through a mini rebuild while still winning some games thanks to Wilson and Carrol being their coach but they won’t be as dominant for a few years until those young guys develop. Or they can try to avoid it and will just get older and older and take a long time to come back because the entire team is young like the 9ers went through.
Amazing how one ignorant call in a Super Bowl has killed the Heart of this team. They looked set for years.
Seahawks making the right moves… get rid of your aging players with a lot of $ left on their deals.