Seahawks Eyeing TCU WR KaVontae Turpin
- TCU wideout KaVontae Turpin‘s Pro Day was attended by the Cowboys, Redskins, Seahawks, and Raiders, reports Wilson (via Twitter). The talented offensive weapon had at least 29 receptions in each of his four collegiate seasons, and he also showed some talent in the return game. Turpin is expected to be a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent.
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Seahawks Host Earl Mitchell, Nick Bellore
The Seahawks are sniffing around some of the players left over from the first wave of free agency. Seattle hosted defensive tackle Earl Mitchell and fullback Nick Bellore for visits, a source told Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Mitchell spent the past two seasons as a division rival with the 49ers, while Bellore was with the Lions the last two years. Mitchell, an Arizona product, was drafted by the Texans in the third round back in 2010. He played well enough with the Texans to earn a four-year, $16MM deal from the Dolphins back in 2014. After three years of that deal, he was cut and signed in San Francisco.
Mitchell appeared in 14 games with 12 starts last season, filling a rotational role as a run-stuffing piece in the middle. Overall, he logged 33.8% of the defensive snaps for the 49ers. Pro Football Focus gave him average grades for his work.
Bellore is an interesting case, as he can play both linebacker and fullback. An inside linebacker coming out of Central Michigan, Bellore spent the first six seasons of his career as a linebacker with the Jets and 49ers. Prior to the 2017 season, he signed with Detroit and was converted to a fullback. He played just 11 percent of the offensive snaps as a lead blocker, but was a major contributor on special teams.
It’s unclear if he’d have any interest in moving back to linebacker with the Seahawks or if they view him strictly as a fullback. The Seahawks haven’t been the biggest spenders so far in free agency, so it makes sense they’d take a look at some more under the radar guys. According to Overthecap.com, the Seahawks have the seventh-least cap space left with $11.57MM.
Contract Details: Seahawks, Lions, Thorpe
A look at the details on recent deals from around the NFL:
- Neiko Thorpe, DB (Seahawks): One-year, $1MM. $100K signing bonus $850K base (not guaranteed) (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson).
- Tommylee Lewis, WR, (Lions): One-year, $720K base salary. $50K signing bonus. $920K cap hit (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein).
- Logan Thomas, TE, (Lions): One-year, $805K base salary. $30K signing bonus. $735K cap hit.
- Andrew Donnal, OL, (Lions): One-year, $805K base salary. $15K signing bonus. $685K cap hit.
- Marcus Cooper, CB (Lions): One-year, $805K base salary. $150K guaranteed. $735K cap hit.
Seahawks' C.J. Prosise Undergoes Surgery
- C.J. Prosise saw another injury cost him time last season, and Pete Carroll said (via the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta) Tuesday the fourth-year running back underwent abdominal surgery recently. The Seahawks lost Mike Davis but still have Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny. Carroll remains hopeful Prosise can contribute, but the former third-round pick has gained just 129 yards from scrimmage over the past two seasons.
Seahawks, Wagner Begin Extension Talks
Entering a contract year, Bobby Wagner has begun negotiations on a third deal with the Seahawks, Pete Carroll said Tuesday (via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com, on Twitter).
This round of negotiations will feature Wagner representing himself, per Henderson. Carroll, whose team jettisoned numerous defensive cornerstones last year, said Wagner is “going to be a Seahawk.”
Wagner signed a four-year, $43MM deal in 2015. At the time, that was the benchmark for inside linebacker accords. But C.J. Mosley‘s new contract changed the market earlier this year, and Wagner has been a more decorated performer than the new Jets linebacker.
While Mosley is a four-time Pro Bowler, Wagner is a four-time first-team All-Pro. Among active off-ball linebackers, only Wagner and Luke Kuechly (five times All-Pro) have been named to more than one All-Pro first team. Three of Wagner’s All-Pro honors have come since he signed his 2015 extension. This will be Wagner’s age-29 season, so he figures to have some prime years remaining.
Given Mosley’s new $17MM-AAV deal — in another stratosphere compared to every other non-rush ‘backer — this process could become quite interesting. Inside linebacker now features one of the biggest gulfs between its highest- and second-highest-paid players (Kuechly is at $12.4MM per year) at a position in modern NFL history. Of course, the Seahawks probably are not eager to pay a pure linebacker $17MM per season. But Mosley’s deal may complicate this process, since Wagner almost certainly will not get to test the market anytime soon.
The Seahawks’ Super Bowls-era secondary has been disbanded; ditto for their defensive line. Linebacker, though, houses multiple veterans from those acclaimed units. Seattle just re-signed K.J. Wright and added Mychal Kendricks, who may or may not be available for the 2019 season due to a possible prison sentence for insider trading. Carroll called the Wagner-Wright-Kendricks trio potentially “the best we’ve had” (Twitter link via Henderson).
Helping a younger Seahawks team to the playoffs, Wagner made 138 tackles in 15 games last season. He registered a career-high 11 passes defensed and returning an interception 98 yards for a touchdown. He graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 off-ball ‘backer in 2018.
Seahawks To Meet With Earl Mitchell
Defensive tackle Earl Mitchell will visit the Seahawks on Wednesday, a source tells Mike Florio of PFT (on Twitter). Mitchell became available earlier offseason when the Niners declined to pick up his option for 2019. 
Mitchell, 31, inked a four-year, $16MM deal with the 49ers last offseason after previously spending time with the Texans and Dolphins. In 2018, Mitchell appeared in 14 games and played on 39% of San Francisco’s defensive snaps, racking up 28 tackles (two for loss) in that time. Pro Football Focus graded Mitchell as just the No. 89 interior defender among 112 qualifiers.
After losing Shamar Stephen to the Vikings, the Seahawks are on the lookout for help in the middle. As it stands, the Seahawks have five DTs under contract in Jarran Reed, Poona Ford, Quinton Jefferson, Nazair Jones, and Jamie Meder.
Nick Perry To Visit Seahawks
After Clay Matthews landed on his feet in Los Angeles, the other member of the since-disbanded Packers pass-rushing tandem has an NFC West meeting set up.
The Seahawks will host Nick Perry on a visit this week, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets. This will be Perry’s first meeting since the Packers released him.
Ending the past two seasons on IR, Perry did not live up to the deal he signed with the Packers in 2017. But the soon-to-be 29-year-old pass rusher is fully healthy for the first time in months, La Canfora adds. The Packers ate a considerable amount of dead money to move Perry’s deal off their books and revamped their outside linebacker corps by signing Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith.
Perry has never played 16 games in a season, but prior to the 2018 campaign that saw him miss seven games, the former first-round pick had played in at least 12 from 2014-17. He finished with 18 sacks between the 2016 and ’17 seasons and profiles as a reasonable second-wave free agent, albeit one who is not in position to command anywhere close to the five-year, $60MM deal he inked with Green Bay two years ago.
The Seahawks used their franchise tag on Frank Clark. He has not signed his tender but is expected to remain Seattle’s defensive line anchor in 2019. Second-year player Rasheem Green and RFA Quinton Jefferson are in line to contribute opposite Clark, but the group may stand to benefit from an experienced presence. With Clark’s $17MM-plus franchise tag on their books, the Seahawks hold $12MM in cap space.
Seahawks To Re-Sign DB Neiko Thorpe
Although Neiko Thorpe trekked to Buffalo for a Bills free agency visit this week, he will opt to stay with the Seahawks.
The veteran special-teamer agreed to terms to stay in Seattle on Saturday, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets. This will mark the defensive back’s fourth season with the Seahawks.
A former Raiders contributor on defense, Thorpe has been a key presence on the Seahawks’ specialty units since joining the team in 2016. He was a Seahawks special teams captain in 2018.
There are now seven cornerbacks on the Seahawks’ roster. At 29, Thorpe is the oldest. He has made 19 tackles during his three seasons as a Seahawk, recovering a fumble in each campaign. This figures to be purely a special teams-related signing; Thorpe played 30 defensive snaps last season.
Contract Details: Vaccaro, Callahan, Okafor
Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed NFL contracts, with all links going to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle’s Twitter account:
- Kenny Vaccaro, S (Titans): Four years, $24MM. $11.5MM guaranteed. $6MM signing bonus. $500K annual playtime, playoffs incentives (link).
- Bryce Callahan, CB (Broncos): Three years, $21MM. $10MM guaranteed. $4MM signing bonus (link).
- Alex Okafor, DE (Chiefs): Three years, $18MM. $8.805MM guaranteed. $6MM signing bonus. $2MM annual sack, playtime incentives (link).
- John Miller, G (Bengals): Four years, $16.5MM. $6.5MM guaranteed. $4MM signing bonus (link).
- K.J. Wright, LB (Seahawks): Two years, $14MM. $6.5MM guaranteed. $5MM signing bonus. $1.5MM playtime escalator in 2020 (link).
- Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB (Dolphins): Two years, $11MM. $7MM guaranteed. Up to $5MM via 2020 escalator (link).
- Darius Philon, DT (Cardinals): Two years, $10MM. $5MM guaranteed. $4MM signing bonus. $700K available annually via playtime and sack incentives. $600K playtime escalator in 2020 (link).
- Geoff Swaim, TE (Jaguars): Two years, $6.6MM. $1.25MM guaranteed. $500K signing bonus. $500K playtime, catches, yards, incentive in 2019 (link).
- Ronald Darby, CB (Eagles): One year, $6.5MM. $4.5MM guaranteed. $3.5MM signing bonus. $2MM available via playtime, playoff, and Pro Bowl incentive. Contract contains four void years from 2020-2023 (link).
- Luke Stocker, TE (Falcons): Two years, $5.5MM. $1.5MM signing bonus. Pro Bowl escalator in 2020 (link).
- Zach Kerr, DT (Broncos): Two years, $5MM. $600K signing bonus. $500K annual playtime incentive (link).
- Mike Pennel, DT (Patriots): Two years, $5MM. $500K signing bonus. $1.5MM annual playtime incentive (link).
- Mario Edwards, DL (Saints): Two years, $4.7MM. $950K signing bonus. $816K sack incentive in 2019. $816K salary escalator in 2020 (link).
- John Simon, DE (Patriots): Two years, $4.15MM. $1.65MM guaranteed. $700K signing bonus. $1.5MM annual playtime incentive (link).
- Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S (Bears): One year, $3MM. $500K signing bonus. $500K playtime, Pro Bowl incentive (link).
- Chandler Catanzaro, K (Jets): One year, $2.3MM. $600K guaranteed. $500K signing bonus. $500K field goal percentage incentive (link).
- Adrian Phillips, S (Chargers): One year, $2MM. $1.25MM guaranteed. $500K signing bonus. $500K playtime, Pro Bowl incentive (link).
- Bashaud Breeland, CB (Chiefs): One year, $2MM. $1.15MM signing bonus. $3MM playtime, Pro Bowl incentive (link).
- Trevor Siemian, QB (Jets): One year, $2MM. $1MM guaranteed. $750K signing bonus. $1MM available via playtime and team performance incentives (link).
- LaAdrian Waddle, T (Bills): One year, $2MM. $400K signing bonus. $500K playtime incentive (link).
- Max Garcia, G (Cardinals): One year, $2MM. $400K signing bonus. $1MM playtime incentive (link).
- Ryan Allen, P (Patriots): One year, $1.5MM. $100K signing bonus. $50K Pro Bowl incentive (link).
Doug Baldwin Expects Another Surgery
- Doug Baldwin has already had knee and shoulder surgeries this offseason, and the veteran Seahawks receiver may have to go under the knife yet again. Appearing on Sports Radio KJR, Baldwin indicated he’s likely to require another operation in the coming months (Twitter link via Curtis Crabtree of KJR). In April, Baldwin is expected to travel to Philadelphia to meet with a specialist regarding a possible sports hernia, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. Baldwin, 30, missed three games with a knee issue in 2018 and didn’t appear fully healthy once he returned to action.