Seahawks’ Dion Jordan Returns To Practice
The clock has started ticking on Dion Jordan. The Seahawks defensive end is returning to practice this week, the team announced. The team will now have three weeks to activate him to the 53-man roster. If they fail to do that, he will not be eligible to play again in 2017. 
Seattle added some reinforcements to the defensive line this week by signing veteran Dwight Freeney. In three weeks time, the Seahawks may or may not need Jordan’s services. It’s also not a given that he’ll be in football shape. Thanks to personal problems and injuries, Jordan has not played in a game since December 28, 2014.
The former No. 3 overall pick has just three career sacks to his name. The potential is still there for him to do something at the NFL level, but he’ll first have to get himself on the right track. The Seahawks, who took a very mild risk on him with a $615K non-guaranteed contract, are curious to see what he can offer.
Seahawks To Sign DE Dwight Freeney
The Seahawks have signed veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney, as Freeney himself first indicated on his own Twitter account. Unsurprisingly, it’s a one-year deal for Freeney, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
Freeney, now 37 years old, spent the 2015 campaign in Arizona and managed eight sacks down the stretch after signing with the club midseason. Last year, Freeney didn’t have to wait quite as long to land a contract, and put up three sacks and 26.5 pressures for the Falcons while playing roughly a third of Atlanta’s defensive snaps.
Despite that performance, Freeney had yet to draw any interest on the free agent market until meeting with the Seahawks earlier today. He’d always planned to continue his career, however, and there’s an argument to be made that waiting until midseason to sign a deal could actually help a pass rusher of Freeney’s age by limiting his overall usage.
Freeney won’t be asked to play a starter’s complement of snaps in Seattle, as the club already boasts two excellent edge defenders in Michael Bennett and Frank Clark. Bennett, though, is dealing with plantar fasciitis, while fellow defensive end Cliff Avril is out for the rest of the season (and could be contemplating retirement). Given the Seahawks’ depth up front, Freeney will serve as a rotational option alongside other reserves such as Marcus Smith and Branden Jackson.
While there’s no word on the financials in Freeney’s contract, it’s possible (and even likely, based on past precedent) that his deal with Seattle will include some type of performance-based pay. Last season, Freeney inked a one-year, $1MM pact with Atlanta that contained up to $2MM in sack incentives.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/24/17
Today’s practice squad updates:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: T Givens Price
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DL Taniela Tupou
- Released: DL Jonathan Woodard
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Kenny Bell
- Released: TE Gabe Holmes
Denver Broncos
- Signed: DL Kyle Peko, LB Kevin Snyder
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Max McCaffrey
Houston Texans
- Signed: DT Jarrod Clements
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR K.J. Brent, S Ronald Martin
- Released: RB Marcus Murphy
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: OL Brandon Thomas
- Released: OL Norman Price
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: T Nick Becton
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Jeremy Cash, RB Akeem Judd
- Released: S Harold Jones-Quartey
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: CB Tevin Mitchel
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: DE Alex McCalister
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: S Tyvis Powell
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released: DE Larry Webster
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DL Julius Warmsley
- Released: QB Tyler Ferguson
Seahawks To Host DE Dwight Freeney
Hours after it was reported that the Seahawks may have interest in veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney, the team will now bring in the former All-pro for a team visit tomorrow, tweets Dan Graziano of ESPN.com.
While the Seahawks already have a talented defensive line made up of Michael Bennett, Sheldon Richardson and Frank Clark, the team’s interest in the 37 year-old probably stems from the injury that talented pass rusher Cliff Avril suffered at the beginning of the month. It’s highly unlikely that Freeney would play the majority of the snaps if he were signed, but he would provide another option to get after the quarterback on passing downs.
The defensive lineman is nowhere near the player he once was, although the veteran did post a combined 11 sacks in his previous two seasons as a member of the Cardinals and Falcons.
Seahawks Could Look To Add Dwight Freeney
- With defensive end Cliff Avril out for at least seven games, the Seahawks may be looking to bring a free agent into the fold, tweets Bon Condotta of the Seattle Times. Condotta adds in another tweet that he hears the team could look into 37 year-old Dwight Freeney. The longtime Colts star remains on the open market after suiting up for the Falcons last season.
Latest On Colin Kaepernick, NFL Protests
One of the centerpieces of Colin Kaepernick‘s collusion grievance against the NFL will be President Donald Trump’s tweets and comments regarding his and other players’ racial inequality-themed protests and those words’ possible influence on owners, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. La Canfora adds Kaepernick’s case will involve the numerous times the president has attempted to exert influence on owners regarding this matter, one that the quarterback is charging has him unemployed while numerous passers of lesser pedigrees are on teams’ rosters. Arguing certain inferior players are rostered while Kaepernick isn’t may not be enough to satisfy the CBA’s “burden of proof” element, so it appears Kaepernick’s side is taking a different approach.
Trump’s tweeted about having conversations with owners about protesting players and has discussed publicly his sway over them regarding this recent movement, and La Canfora writes Kaepernick’s lawyers could argue this has created a climate in which “numerous owners have colluded” to keep the quarterback from having a chance to sign as a free agent. Trump recently tweeted about speaking with Jerry Jones in late September regarding this issue, and the Cowboys owner made comments about the team benching protesting players in early October. Jones spoke about Trump discussing the game-day manual regarding anthem protocols as well, per La Canfora.
Kaepernick became a free agent in March by opting out of his 49ers contract, but San Francisco GM John Lynch said the team would have released him had he not done so.
Here’s the latest surrounding the Kaepernick grievance and the protest discussions that came out of the league meetings this week.
- Other owners wish Jones would refrain from making bold pronouncements like his anthem directive in an effort to preserve the goodwill fostered between them and the players this week, Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com reports, adding the owners would like the NFL to stay off Trump’s political agenda. Jones could be an outlier among owners who have expressed optimism about talks with the players on social activism, Robinson writes. The Cowboys owner did not make further remarks about this issue after the owners’ meetings. Considering Jones speaks with the media often, this issue will come up again soon.
- Michael Bennett said an early step toward further discussions with owners about social issues would be making sure Kaepernick signs with a team. “I think before we even negotiate anything about whether we sit, whether we stand [during the national anthem], it should be a negotiation about opening up the doors for Colin Kaepernick and giving him an opportunity again,” the Seahawks defensive end said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. “Because I feel like through everything, that’s been lost.”
- However, other players may not see a Kaepernick job as an automatic end to the protests. One anonymous member of the NFL players coalition, assembled this year to help with criminal justice reform in these players’ respective communities, told Ed Werder (Twitter link) a Kaepernick signing won’t just stop the protests. The same player told Werder (Twitter link) the quarterback “continues to isolate himself from [the coalition]” with this grievance.
- The Jets player reps at this week’s owners’ meetings, Kelvin Beachum and Demario Davis, declined to answer questions about them. Davis did compose a statement, however. “I will say that the talks were very productive,” the linebacker said, via Daniel Popper of the New York Daily News. “It’s encouraging to me as an athlete to see so many athletes and owners so concerned about our country and pushing in the right direction. We have a tremendous platform in the NFL, and to whom much is given, much is required. And that’s why we simply can’t just play football.”
- Jaguars owner Shad Khan said Trump’s failure to buy an NFL team has led to this crusade against the league. “This is a very personal issue with him,” Khan said (via Jarrett Bell of USA Today). “… He’s been elected president, where maybe a great goal he had in life to own an NFL team is not very likely. So to make it tougher, or to hurt the league, it’s very calculated.” Trump attempted to buy the Bills in 2014, but Terry Pegula wound up acquiring the franchise.
Pete Carroll Discusses Avril Retirement Rumors
After being placed on injured reserve earlier this week, there were whispers that Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril could decide to hang up his cleats. While the player subsequently denied those reports, coach Pete Carroll addressed the rumors earlier today.
Cliff Avril Not Thinking Retirement
Retirement is reportedly on the table for the Seahawks’ Cliff Avril, but that’s news to the injured defensive end. Avril told Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports on Wednesday that he is not considering walking away from football (Twitter link).
Head coach Pete Carroll announced Wednesday that Avril will go on injured reserve, noting that “he’s seeing a bunch of doctors” and is “seriously looking at a big decision.” Many deduced from Carroll’s comments that Avril was determining whether to continue his career, but those inferences were apparently incorrect.
“People are saying I’m retiring because of what coach Carroll said, but he’s referring to surgery,” Avril told Schultz.
Thanks to a serious stinger and numbness in his arm, Avril is likely done for the year, at the very least. He suffered the injury during the Seahawks’ win over the Colts on Oct. 1, forcing him to sit out their most recent game – a 16-10 victory over the Rams – the next week. Seattle, which is coming off a bye, is off to a decent start (3-2), but its defense ranks an uncharacteristically low 12th in DVOA and sits toward the bottom of the league in sacks (11).
Thanks in part to Avril and his 33.5 sacks, the Seahawks’ stop unit ranked between first and fifth in DVOA in each of the previous four seasons. But while Avril was a force during that stretch, he didn’t perform like his usual self early this season – which helps explain the decline the Seahawks’ defense has experienced. The 31-year-old picked up one sack in four games, and his performance ranks just 100th among 104th qualifying edge rushers at Pro Football Focus.
Even if Avril’s career isn’t in doubt, his future in Seattle looks uncertain. If the Seahawks don’t think the longtime sack artist will return to form, they could cut him in the offseason and save $7.5MM of his $8MM cap hit in 2018 – the final year of Avril’s contract.
Seahawks To Place Cliff Avril On IR
It sounds like Cliff Avril’s season might be over. Coach Pete Carroll says the defensive end will be placed on injured reserve (Twitter link via SiriusXM). Avril is said to be considering retirement, so this sounds like the season-ending variety of IR rather than an eight-week stint. 
[RELATED: Branden Albert Declines Seahawks’ Offer]
Avril was initially said to be dealing with a “serious stinger,” but the problem goes much further than that. The 31-year-old experienced numbness in his arm, a sign that he could be have a much more serious problem.
Avril appeared in 63 of 64 games for the Seahawks from 2013-16 and racked up 33.5 sacks during that time. Losing him will be a tough blow for Seattle, particularly given the lackluster play they’ve gotten out of the defensive line so far this year. At the same time, Avril has not been playing up to his usual level. He has actually been among the league’s worst edge defenders (among those with enough snaps to qualify), per Pro Football Focus.
Seahawks Notes: Avril, Joeckel, Alexander
As he continues to deal with a neck injury, Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril has sought multiple medical opinions and is visiting another doctor today, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. Head coach Pete Carroll originally indicated Avril would be sidelined “awhile” with a stinger and numbness in his arm, but subsequent reports have expressed concern about the future of Avril’s career. While Seattle has the defensive line depth to withstand a Avril absence (Frank Clark, Marcus Smith), his absence will certainly be felt, and doubts about his ability to continue playing are certainly worrisome.
Here’s more from Seattle:
- Left guard Luke Joeckel is expected to miss four-to-five weeks after undergoing knee surgery during the Seahawks’ bye week, reports Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). Joeckel, who signed a one-year, $8MM contract this spring, has played every snap at left guard for Seattle this season. Perhaps unsurprisingly given his track record with the Jaguars, Joeckel had struggled — along with the rest of the Seahawks’ offensive line — through five games, grading as the No. 44 guard among 75 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. Mark Glowinski and rookie Ethan Pocic will now compete to replace Joeckel, per Condotta.
- Free agent safety Maurice Alexander is visiting with the Seahawks this week, as Condotta writes in a full piece. Seattle should be relatively familiar with Alexander, as he’d spent the entirety of his four-year NFL career with the Rams. Alexander, who has also auditioned for the Jets and Cardinals since being waived last week, offers valuable experience (18 starts over the past season-plus), but he’d seemingly be overkill in Seattle. The Seahawks already boast two of the NFL’s best safeties in Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, plus veteran Bradley McDougald and rookies Delano Hill and Tedric Thompson in reserve.
- If recent history is any indication, Seahawks defenders Dion Jordan and DeShawn Shead likely won’t return to the field for three more weeks, opines Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. Both Jordan, a defensive end, and Shead, a cornerback, are allowed to resume practicing today, but neither player is ready to roll just yet. Once they are, Seattle will get a three-week window during which Jordan and/or Shead can be added to the 53-man roster. Jordan is currently on the non-football injury list, while Shead is on the physically unable to perform list. As Henderson notes, the Seahawks have typically given their players ample practice time before activating them.