Darrell Taylor

Seahawks Extend OLB Darrell Taylor

March 13th, 2024 at 3:51pm CST by Adam La Rose

After missing his rookie season, Darrell Taylor has proven to be a productive secondary contributor to the Seahawks’ edge contingent. Set to be an RFA, he will not have the opportunity to test the market with the new league year having begun.

Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports the Seahawks are believed to have worked out an extension with Taylor. Rather than tendering the former second-rounder, therefore, a more permanent agreement appears to be in place for a player once in danger of being traded.

Seattle lost Uchenna Nwosu early in the 2023 campaign to a pectoral injury. That left the team without a starting edge rusher, and Taylor saw a 44% defensive snap share for the second straight season. Prior to the former’s injury, however, the latter was on the trade block. The Seahawks were prepared to deal Taylor ahead of the trade deadline, but they ultimately elected to retain him.

Taylor has struggled against the run during his career, but he has maintained a notable role due to his pass-rush production. The 26-year-old posted 6.5 sacks in 2021, then upped that total to 9.5 the following season. Logging five starts in 2023, Taylor produced 5.5 sacks while adding 17 pressures and eight QB hits. While those figures will likely be insufficient to land him a full-time starting opportunity, they have resulted in a second Seattle contract.

The Seahawks could have placed the right of first refusal tag on Taylor, valued at $2.99MM. An unmatched offer sheet would not have yielded any compensation in that case, however. The second-round tender would have guaranteed a draft pick in that round in the event Taylor departed, but it would have come at a cost of $4.89MM. Instead of working with either of those one-year tenders, the Tennessee alum will remain in place on a re-up.

Seattle still has Nwosu on the books for three more seasons. Boye Mafe and Derick Hall are also on their respective rookie deals, so this Taylor agreement will ensure stability for the Seahawks along the edge. The team posted a top-10 finish in sacks last season, and the chances of repeating that success will be high with continuity at the OLB spot.

Seahawks Were Prepared To Trade LB Darrell Taylor Prior To Uchenna Nwosu Injury

October 29th, 2023 at 12:16pm CST by Rory Parks

Before Uchenna Nwosu sustained a pectoral injury that will require season-ending surgery, the Seahawks were prepared to trade fellow outside linebacker Darrell Taylor, as Albert Breer of SI.com reports. Now, however, Taylor will be called upon to fill Nwosu’s shoes as the 4-2 Seahawks compete for NFC West supremacy.

Taylor, a 2020 second-round pick, missed the entirety of his rookie season due to a shin surgery that he underwent following his senior year at Tennessee, though he rebounded nicely to post 6.5 sacks in 16 games of work (five starts) in 2021. He opened the 2022 campaign as a starting OLB opposite Nwosu, but he struggled mightily against the run, and 2022 second-rounder Boye Mafe eventually saw more action on early downs.

Although he was not on the field as frequently, Taylor did excel as a situational pass rusher and recorded 6.5 sacks in the final six games of the 2022 season. He ended the year with 9.5 sacks and earned a strong 74.0 pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus (which also assigned him an abysmal 40.7 run defense grade consistent with his disappointing film).

Taylor, 26, has again been utilized in a rotational capacity this year (aside from Week 2, when he earned a start in place of an injured Mafe). He did post 1.5 sacks in Seattle’s victory over the Cardinals last week in relief of Nwosu, and rather than trade him, the ‘Hawks will count on him to continue getting after opposing QBs while demonstrating improvement in run support.

Such an improvement may be a tall order given his track record, and to offset a possible downturn in that regard, the Seahawks seem prepared to turn up the pass rushing heat. According to Breer, who published his piece after Seattle reunited with Frank Clark, the team is still interested in adding edge help. The Commanders’ Montez Sweat, who is strong against the run and pass, certainly qualifies as a good fit, but the Falcons have already offered Washington a third-round pick for Sweat.

Taylor is earning roughly $1.5MM in 2023, the final year of his rookie contract, and a strong performance down the stretch could help him land a multiyear deal in the offseason.

Injury Updates: Mitchell, Vikings, Becton

August 4th, 2023 at 9:50pm CST by Ely Allen

The past few years in San Francisco have seen a procession of running back injuries. One such player who has been at the center of that issue the past two years is third-year back Elijah Mitchell. Unfortunately, Mitchell isn’t in quite in the clear going into Year 3 for the 49ers. According to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, Mitchell has suffered an abductor strain that will hold him out for a bit.

Injuries have been a bit of an issue for Mitchell to start his career. While playing as an injury replacement in his rookie year for Raheem Mostert, Mitchell was forced to miss six games due to injury himself. Things went further downhill in his sophomore season as he suffered a sprained MCL in the first game of the season. He was able to return in mid-November, but by the time he was back, Christian McCaffrey had arrived and staked his claim atop the depth chart. Mitchell would only play in five games last year.

Now, for the first time in his career, Mitchell will not be expected to carry the weight at running back. With McCaffrey firmly leading the group, Mitchell should be able to take his time coming back from the strain. Head coach Kyle Shanahan told the media that Mitchell should be back “in a week.” While that’s an encouraging timeline to hear, Mitchell’s injury history warrants a bit of cautious optimism from fans.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the league:

We saw Saints linebacker Andrew Dowell land on injured reserve earlier this week. Thanks to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, we now know that he was placed on the injured list after suffering a torn ACL. After only missing one game in the past two seasons, Dowell is now likely to miss the entire 2023 season.
Another player who unfortunately went down with a torn ACL this week is Vikings defensive lineman James Lynch, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Lynch was a tied for the fourth-most snaps on the defensive line for Minnesota last year, a defensive line that is also playing without Dalvin Tomlinson this year. Lynch has missed games in each year of his young career, but 2023 will see him miss the entire season.
After only two years in the league, Seahawks edge rusher Darrell Taylor has already established himself as a main contributor on the Seattle defense with 16.0 sacks over his first two seasons. According to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, Taylor showed up to practice on Thursday with his left arm in a sling. Head coach Pete Carroll informed the media that he was dealing with a sprained shoulder. A recovery timeline was not provided.
The Seahawks held a scrimmage tonight and saw two rookies sustain injuries in the simulated game. The team’s injury woes in the running backs room continue as rookie seventh-round pick Kenny McIntosh suffered what Carroll is calling a sprained knee, according to Brady Henderson of ESPN. Luckily, they will be getting another rookie rusher back, as Carroll told the media that second-round rookie Zach Charbonnet will return “full-go” following the team’s off day tomorrow. The other rookie to go down with an injury was undrafted cornerback Andrew Whitaker. The diagnosis is unclear, but Whitaker was carted off the field after sustaining an injury in the contest, according to Condotta.
Jets offensive tackle Mekhi Becton missed the entire 2022 season after suffering an avulsion fracture in his right kneecap. The veteran made his return to the field in last night’s Hall of Fame game but left after only playing seven snaps. He reported today that, while he didn’t feel like there was any setback with his surgically repaired knee, he decided to be overly cautious with playing on turf, according to Andy Vasquez of NJ.com. In recent years, many non-contact injuries have been attributed to turf fields around the league. With this in mind, Becton got a good sense of where his knee was at and decided to work the rest out in practice. The team plans to test him more as camp progresses and the season draws nearer.

Seahawks Notes: Wilson, Wagner, Wright

May 22nd, 2021 at 3:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Russell Wilson saga never reached the point when it looked like the Pro Bowl quarterback was on the cusp of being traded, the 10th-year passer’s comments about the Seahawks’ offensive line and his list of acceptable trade destinations caused a stir. Trade talks never progressed far, and although Pete Carroll confirmed his quarterback’s frustration, the 12th-year Seattle HC views the Wilson trade buzz as over.

“It seems like really old news to talk about this because it’s been such a long time,” Carroll said during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Podcast (via Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams). “The little bit he said carried so much air time that it became bigger than life. Throughout the whole process, Russell, we’ve always been connected. We’ve always been talking. A couple things that came out got magnified and the questions came out, and there was a couple things. He was frustrated when he was talking, just like any of us can sometimes emphasize something that’s on the top of our mind, and it can be played differently than it really played itself out.

“… What it amounted to was I think a refocusing, making sure that we were on the same page, making sure that we were clear so that we could withstand any of the scrutiny that would come towards us, and we did that.”

Wilson did not expect to be traded this year, though this matter could resurface down the line. The Seahawks shut down the Bears’ trade push, after Wilson included Chicago on his four-city destination list, and both Chris Carson and Carlos Dunlap indicated the soon-to-be 33-year-old QB would be back in Seattle this coming season. Here is the latest out of the Pacific Northwest:

Wilson and Bobby Wagner‘s cap numbers combine to comprise more than $49MM — certainly a sizable chunk of the team’s payroll. The Seahawks could have moved to restructure one of their stars’ deals, but Carroll said (via 710 AM Seattle’s John Clayton) no such moves will be necessary this year. Making only three draft picks, without a first-round contract hitting the books, the Seahawks completed that part of their offseason and still have more than $7MM in cap space. While restructures could have helped the team in free agency, they obviously would have moved more money onto future caps. They are not expected to add a free agent on a deal worth more than the league minimum before training camp, Clayton notes.
Unless the Seahawks reach another agreement with K.J. Wright, Wilson and Wagner will take over as the team’s longest-tenured players. No indications point to Wright coming back, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times notes. Wright said earlier this year he would welcome another Seattle deal, but the 10-year veteran linebacker also was not prepared to take a hometown discount. The 32-year-old defender remains in free agency. After Pro Football Focus graded Wright as a top-10 off-ball ‘backer in 2020, he should receive an opportunity for an 11th season. But a big-money deal is highly unlikely at this juncture.
The Seahawks are trying Darrell Taylor at a new position. The 2020 second-round pick is, for the time being, moving from defensive end to outside linebacker, Condotta adds. Taylor spent his rookie year on Seattle’s reserve/NFI list, after undergoing offseason surgery on his shin. But the Seahawks traded up 11 spots to land the Tennessee product. The second-year defender was on the field at the Seahawks’ rookie minicamp last week. Taylor will be vying to start alongside Wagner and Jordyn Brooks, but a role as a Bruce Irvin-type hybrid player in the team’s 4-3 scheme should be expected, Condotta adds.

Latest On Seahawks’ Pass Rush

August 13th, 2020 at 11:38am CST by Rory Parks

For months now, the Seahawks have been connected to two of the highest-profile edge defenders on this year’s free agent market, Jadeveon Clowney and Everson Griffen. They were reportedly in on the Griffen sweepstakes, but the longtime Vikings DE opted to sign with the Cowboys, so Seattle is still on the hunt for an experienced pass rusher.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter) that the team does have interest in Clay Matthews, who posted six sacks in the first five games of the 2019 season — his first and only year with the Rams — but who suffered a broken jaw in October that derailed his season. Matthews is not as productive as Clowney or Griffen at this stage of his career, but he could still be serviceable as a rotational piece.

However, Rapoport believes the club may circle back to Clowney. The first overall pick of the 2014 draft has had a frustrating offseason, as he did not get offers anywhere close to the $20MM AAV he was seeking, and perhaps his most aggressive suitor, the Browns, now appear to be out of the mix. Rapoport says Clowney has not closed the door on the Seahawks, and the last we heard, the Seahawks had not closed the door on him, so a reunion could still be in the cards.

That is especially true given that the team’s second-round pick, DE Darrell Taylor, is still on the team’s NFI list. Taylor played his final collegiate season at Tennessee with a stress fracture in his shin, and after the season was over, he underwent surgery to have a titanium rod inserted in his leg. His recovery is reportedly going well, but as Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk writes, Taylor may be sidelined for another few weeks.

While the Seahawks did add Bruce Irvin and Benson Mayowa this offseason, bringing back Clowney makes a lot of sense. His first year in the Emerald City could have gone better, but his upside remains sky-high, and at this point, Seattle might be able to get him for something of a bargain.