The Seahawks made a handful of minor defensive moves today. Most notably, the team added former Colts starting safety Rodney Thomas, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The team also re-signed special teamer/safety D’Anthony Bell, per Jordan Schultz. Finally, the team re-signed defensive tackle Brandon Pili to a one-year, $2MM pact, per Pelissero.
A 2022 seventh-round pick, Thomas immediately carved out a role in Indy. He started 10 of his 17 appearances as a rookie, collecting 52 tackles, six passes defended, and four interceptions. He started 15 of his 17 games as a sophomore, but his numbers dropped to 34 stops and two picks. He found himself mostly playing a special teams role over the past two years, collecting 28 tackles over that stretch.
The Seahawks recently lost Coby Bryant via free agency, so there could be snaps significant snaps to soak up. Ty Okada and Julian Love will lead the depth chart, but Bryant could find himself with a defensive role as a key backup behind that duo.
After spending three seasons in Cleveland, Bell joined the Seahawks last offseason. He was mostly signed for his special teams prowess, and he ended up garnering 251 snaps with that unit. However, the veteran spent some time on defense when Love missed games, and Bell ultimately started a pair of games while getting into 96 defensive snaps.
He was waived by the Seahawks late in December and didn’t end up sticking around for the team’s Super Bowl run. He was claimed off waivers by the Panthers, where he ended his season. As a free agent, Bell is now heading back to Seattle, with Schultz noting that it’s another one-year deal for the 29-year-old.
Pili started the season on the practice squad but eventually got his way into 13 games for the Seahawks. Byron Murphy and Jarran Reed will both be back at nose tackle and defensive tackle (respectively) in 2026, so Pili will likely compete with holdover Rylie Mills for leftover snaps at either position.
Will be good to see the roster get filled up. Don’t look to be using much of the cap money yet. Some or a lot must be for JSN he will be getting a big part of it. Need to keep the “Dark Side” alive and well.