Seahawks Release Cliff Avril
The Seahawks announced they have released defensive end Cliff Avril with a failed physical designation. Avril lost half of the 2017 season to a neck injury which reportedly could keep him from returning to the field.
In January, Avril said that he would push to continue playing.
“I believe so,” Avril said when asked if he will return to the NFL. “Right now it’s all about recovery. I had surgery. I’m in the process of recovering. It’s a long process, a long journey. When I get to the end of that, then I’ll figure out what’s next.
“I mean, it’s something I love to do. It’s what I’ve been doing forever and, just as a competitor, I want to show that I can come back if it’s possible, you know? You do see all the injuries. You see the game from a different perspective when you’re on the sideline. And those thoughts do definitely pop into my head of ‘should I come back or not?’ But again, right now it’s all about recovery.”
Avril, a 10-year veteran, was slated to carry a cap charge of nearly $8MM in 2018. By releasing him, the Seahawks will be left with just $500K in dead money.
In 2017, Avril played only 151 defensive snaps before going down and garnered a disappointing 44.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. That was the lowest mark of Avril’s career, and he’d been an exceptional player as recently as 2015. In his nine seasons leading up to ’17, Avril totaled 73 sacks, including 20.5 between 2015 and 2016.
Right now, it’s unclear as to whether another team would risk putting Avril on the field given his recent injury history.
Dan Morgan To Join Bills’ Front Office
Dan Morgan looks set to follow other high-ranking former Panthers staffers east. Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reports (on Twitter) the Seahawks’ director of pro personnel will join the Bills as a high-ranking member of Brandon Beane‘s front office.
Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News reports this is not quite a done deal yet; the Bills plan to interview Morgan. Though, this may be a formality.
Morgan’s been a Seahawks scout and exec for several years. He will fill the role vacated by Brian Gaine‘s departure to Houston, per Garafolo. Gaine served as Buffalo’s VP of player personnel last year under Beane before returning to Houston as GM.
A former first-round pick, Morgan played seven seasons with the Panthers, from 2001-07, before breaking into the scouting side of the game. He’s worked under Scott Fitterer and Trent Kirchner in Seattle and will now make a significant step forward in his executive career.
The 39-year-old exec began his tenure with the Seahawks as an intern before working as a scout. The Seahawks then promoted him to assistant director of pro personnel. Beane was with the Panthers throughout Morgan’s career as their starting middle linebacker.
Cowboys Still Interested In Earl Thomas
It appears the Cowboys’ refusal to send a second-round pick to the Seahawks for Earl Thomas did not squash their interest in acquiring the three-time All-Pro safety. The Cowboys remain in the Thomas market, per David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, but it’s unclear how badly the franchise wants to execute a deal.
Moore reports the Cowboys are still interested in trading for Thomas. However, despite a rather interesting safety setup that features Jeff Heath and 2017 sixth-rounder Xavier Woods as the penciled-in starters, they aren’t desperate for his services. Moore notes they will be willing to wait out the Seahawks’ situation with Thomas.
John Schneider does not expect his superstar safety to hold out, despite repeated threats at doing so, and the Seattle GM reiterated that’s the sense he’s getting.
“My sense is that he wants to be here,” Schenider said Thursday, via ESPN Seattle’s Jessamyn McIntyre (Twitter link). “I haven’t got that sense from his agents at all.”
The Cowboys are searching for safety help, and while it’s a good year to do that — with Eric Reid, Tre Boston and Kenny Vaccaro still oddly unattached nearly two months into the 2018 league year — Thomas brings a much higher pedigree. The soon-to-be 29-year-old defender remains one of the top players at his position, and the Texas native surely wouldn’t be upset if the Cowboys acquired him.
Despite Dallas’ need at safety, the team didn’t inquire about trading up for Derwin James once he fell in Round 1, Moore reports, and selected an offensive lineman in Round 2 and a wideout in Round 3. Executive VP Stephen Jones said the team considered drafting a safety, and Jerry Jones said the team is interested in finding veteran help. Jerry Jones added post-draft that the Cowboys have cornerbacks who can play safety, perhaps indicating Byron Jones‘ shift to cornerback may not be permanent.
Moore writes that Thomas can help facilitate this by holding out and/or refusing to sign a Seahawks extension. One year remains on his deal. But for now, Seattle brass continues to publicly state they expect Thomas to remain their secondary’s centerpiece this season.
Cowboys Balked At Trading Second-Rounder For Earl Thomas
Earl Thomas appears to be staying put in Seattle, but the Cowboys’ discussions about a deal that would send the All-Pro safety to Dallas hit a snag when the prospect of second-round compensation surfaced.
The Cowboys did not want to surrender their 2018 second-round pick for Thomas, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. While a third-rounder and “a lot more” may have been enough to seal this deal, per Rapoport, the sides could not come to an agreement and Thomas remains a Seahawk.
Dallas ended up taking Connor Williams with the No. 50 overall pick. Thomas is entering his age-29 season and has one more year remaining on his contract. Should he reach free agency in 2019, it’s possible the Cowboys could pursue him again then. But for now, the three-time All-Pro remains as the centerpiece of the revamped Seattle secondary.
John Schneider characterized Thomas-centric trade talks as discussions that did not reach the final stages. The Seahawks had set a higher price — reportedly at a first- and third-round pick — for Thomas in the weeks leading up to the draft, but it appears they lowered their price come draft weekend. But no team was willing to meet the reduced asking price.
Set to move Byron Jones to cornerback, the Cowboys are rather thin at safety. They are on the lookout for veteran help at the position, per Jerry Jones.
Seahawks' Opinions On Shaquem Griffin, Will Dissly
Broncos Deal No. 149 To Seahawks
Entering this third draft day without a pick in the sixth or seventh rounds, the Broncos acquired one after trading their No. 149 choice to the Seahawks.
Denver dealt its fifth-rounder to Seattle in exchange for the No. 156 pick and a seventh-round selection (No. 226), Mike Klis of 9News reports (on Twitter). The Seahawks used their new choice to take Texas punter Michael Dickson, who won the Ray Guy award last year as Division I-FBS’ best punter.
Dickson is the first punter to go off the board in this year’s draft and will certainly push incumbent Jon Ryan, who has been Seattle’s punter since the 2008 season. Ryan’s under contract through the 2019 season and will make $3.2MM this year; it’s certainly possible the Seahawks will opt to save money at that spot this season and send Ryan, who will turn 37 later this year, elsewhere.
The Seahawks met with Dickson at the Combine and apparently made him do a staring contest. The Australia native was named MVP of the Texas Bowl and won the Ray Guy award via unanimous vote.
Latest On Earl Thomas
There were rumblings that the Seahawks were shopping veteran safety Earl Thomas, but coach Pete Carroll made it sound like the defensive back is saying put next season.
“It’s awesome,” Carroll said (via ESPN’s Brady Henderson). “Earl’s a great football player. You may have looked [at it] like he wasn’t going to be here; we didn’t look at it like that. That’s been a lot of speculation on your guys’ end of this thing. We’ve been counting on Earl being here the whole time.”
General manager John Schneider acknowledged that there were discussions about a Thomas trade, but he noted “that nothing was remotely close to happening.” It sounds like the GM wasn’t really planning on dealing the safety after all, as Schneider also noted that he wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t consider every offer.
The 28-year-old has spent his entire career in Seattle, earning six Pro Bowl selections. In 14 games last season, Thomas compiled 88 tackles, seven passes defended, and two interceptions.
Steelers Trade Up To Seahawks’ No. 76 Spot
It’s possible the Steelers have located their quarterback of the future. At least, they’re making a reasonable investment in one.
The Steelers have traded up to the No. 76 draft slot and selected Mason Rudolph. The Seahawks are trading down to allow for this to occur. Seattle will acquire Pittsburgh’s No. 79 choice and a seventh-rounder, No. 220, per Brady Henderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Viewed by many as the sixth-best quarterback prospect in this year’s prospect pool, Rudolph is the sixth QB selected. He’s also the first passer the Steelers have chosen in the first three rounds since Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. Pittsburgh used a 2017 fifth-rounder on Joshua Dobbs and still has Landry Jones on the roster.
The 6-foot-5 Rudolph put up monster numbers last season with Oklahoma State — 4,904 air yards, 37 touchdown passes and a 65 percent completion rate — and represents a move by the AFC North champions to install a possible Roethlisberger successor. Rudolph started for three seasons in Stillwater, Okla., operating in a passer-friendly system. He figures to have plenty of time to learn the pro game.
Unlike last offseason, Pittsburgh’s 15th-year starter did not publicly consider retirement. He’s now indicated he wants to play multiple additional seasons. Rudolph figures to be a longer-lens investment and could usurp Jones and Dobbs in Pittsburgh’s passing pecking order in the months to come.
Draft Notes: Penny, Chiefs, Jets, Jackson
Excepting the Eli Manning-for-Philip Rivers exchange, NFL draft trades rarely unfold like NBA draft-night swaps, with teams making picks and then sending players elsewhere. But the Seahawks indicated such an offer emerged on Thursday night. After they’d made their somewhat surprising Rashaad Penny selection at No. 27, John Schneider said (via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times) another team called them to try and acquire the running back. Schneider said that was the first time he’d seen such an offer as an NFL executive. Schneider said he would have authorized a Penny pick at No. 18, which would have been even more interesting since the San Diego State product was viewed as a fringe first-round prospect going into the night, and the Seahawks obviously held onto their new rookie after the surely strange phone call.
Here’s more from the draft world going into Night 2.
- Despite talk connecting the Jets to Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and (to a lesser extent) Josh Rosen before the draft, Sam Darnold was the top quarterback on their board, Manish Mehta of the Daily News tweets. The Jets did not expect Darnold to be on the board at No. 3, hence the franchise’s late maneuvering to secure more face time with its top QB prospect.
- The Chiefs made two blockbuster trades this offseason, and the team unloading Marcus Peters for second- and fourth-round draft choices deprives Kansas City of what was probably a top-three player on its roster. The now-Brett Veach-run franchise had discussions of moving up from No. 54 and all the way into the first round, and they’ve been reportedly considering a trade-up sequence in Round 2. Albert Breer of SI.com reports the Chiefs discussed moving into the Eagles‘ No. 32 spot last night before the Ravens did so and that a move north tonight will be with a cornerback acquisition in mind. The Chiefs traded for Kendall Fuller and signed David Amerson, but their defense — the No. 30 DVOA unit with Peters — still has a need at this spot.
- Some evaluators think that Lamar Jackson‘s best position in the NFL would be at wide receiver, but don’t tell that to Ravens offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. When asked about his plans for the Louisville product, he said, “[Jackson] is a quarterback. Done.” (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). He also emphasized that Joe Flacco will remain the team’s starter.
Seahawks Re-Sign CB Byron Maxwell
Cornerback Byron Maxwell and the Seahawks have agreed on a one-year deal worth up to $3MM, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The signing may lessen the Seahawks’ need for cornerbacks as they head into Day 2 of the draft.
Maxwell, 30, spent the first four years of his career with the Seahawks before signing a free agent deal with the Eagles in 2015. Things didn’t pan out for him there – or with the Dolphins – but he found his way back to the Seahawks last year after Miami released him. Maxwell racked up 38 tackles, seven passes defensed, one forced fumble, and one interception in seven games for Seattle.
One of Richard Sherman‘s running mates for four seasons in Seattle, the final two of those being the Seahawks’ most successful years in franchise history, Maxwell came back to his original NFL team last season and filled in for a Sherman-less operation down the stretch. He’ll now attempt to do so again.
The Seahawks do not have a second-round pick, so bringing in a higher-ceiling corner wouldn’t be as easy in this year’s draft. Seattle has 2017 third-rounder Shaquill Griffin in line to work as a primary corner, joining former 49er Dontae Johnson. Former Patriot Justin Coleman is in the mix as well, but none have Maxwell’s experience in this system — one that’s steadily churned out corners despite the team not investing prime draft capital in the position.