Patriots Acquire DE Cassius Marsh
The Patriots have acquired defensive end Cassius Marsh from the Seahawks, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).New England is sending a fifth-round pick and the seventh-round pick it acquired from Seattle in exchange for cornerback Justin Coleman back to the Seahawks, per Schefter.
New England has been searching for edge rushing help, and while Marsh isn’t exactly a premier defensive end, he’ll give the Pats depth at the position. Additionally, Marsh plays special teams (nearly 80% of Seattle’s snaps), meaning New England has now acquired two special-teamers today, with the other being former Lion Johnson Bademosi.
All told, the 25-year-old Marsh has appeared in 37 career games and made one start. He’s signed through 2017 at a rate of $690K.
Chiefs Trade OL Isaiah Battle To Seahawks
The Chiefs have traded offensive lineman Isaiah Battle to the Seahawks. The trade will see a conditional 2018 draft choice go to Kansas City.
Battle, a 6’7″ lineman out of Clemson, first entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Rams in the 2015 supplemental draft. After splitting time between their 53-man roster and taxi squad, he landed with the Chiefs on a futures deal this January.
Coming out of school, Battle drew comparisons to Alabama product D.J. Fluker, a first-round pick in the 2013 draft. At the same time, he was flagged by teams for his off-the-field issues. Interestingly, Fluker’s spot on the Giants’ 53-man roster is not 100% safe. Meanwhile, Battle seems likely to be on the Chiefs’ roster in Week 1.
Seahawks To Release DT Ahtyba Rubin
The Seahawks are releasing veteran defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Seattle had planned to shop Rubin after acquiring Sheldon Richardson from the Jets on Friday, but apparently weren’t able to find a taker. Even without Rubin in the picture, the Seahawks have enviable depth along the defensive interior, with options such as Jarran Reed and third-round rookie Nazair Jones available. Second-round pick Malik McDowell could also potentially return later in the season, although he’s currently recovering from an ATV accident.
In his first Seahawks season (2015), Rubin amassed 36 tackles, two sacks, and finished fourth among the team’s defensive linemen in snaps. Last year, he once again had a perfect attendance record in the regular season as he racked up 39 tackles, one sack, and three forced fumbles.
Rubin, 31, signed a three-year, $12MM deal with Seattle last offseason that contained $5.5MM in guaranteed money. By releasing him, the Seahawks will incur $1.5MM in dead money in each of the next two seasons.
Seahawks Waive RB Alex Collins
The Seahawks have started to clear up their crowded running back corps. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (via Twitter), the organization has waived second-year back Alex Collins.
The Seahawks selected the Arkansas product in the fifth round of the 2016 draft, and he proceeded to appear in 11 games as a rookie. Collins finished the season with 125 rushing yards and one touchdown on 31 carries, and he added another 11 receptions for 84 yards. The 23-year-old also saw some action in the postseason, finishing with 55 all-purpose yards. We heard earlier this week that the Seahawks were shopping Collins.
The Seahawks still have to trim down their running back depth behind starter Thomas Rawls. Eddie Lacy and C.J. Prosise seem like locks to make the roster, but the team is rostering another four running backs in Chris Carson, Mike Davis, J.D. McKissic, and Tre Madden.
Vikings To Acquire Tramaine Brock
The Vikings are set to acquire cornerback Tramaine Brock from the Seahawks, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. Minnesota will send a seventh-round pick to Seattle, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, and it’ll be a conditional selection in 2018, per Shawn Zobel of Zobel Sports Consulting (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN) and Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.
This continues an action-packed 2017 for Brock, who will join his third team of the year when the trade goes through. The 49ers released Brock in April on the heels of a domestic violence arrest, one that led to a felony charge, but the case was dismissed Aug. 9. As many as 12 teams – including the Vikings – then courted Brock, who joined the Seahawks on a $980K deal on Aug. 16. Seattle acquired fellow cornerback Justin Coleman from the Patriots on Friday, helping to make Brock expendable in the team’s eyes.
While Brock’s off-field incident damaged his stock, he has been a superb on-field performer at times during his seven-year career. As such, this looks like a worthwhile move for the Vikings, who were in need of a quality complement to No. 1 corner Xavier Rhodes. Brock will serve as one if he continues to post production along the lines of his recent output. The 29-year-old started in all 31 appearances from 2015-16, including each of the the 49ers’ 16 games last season, and has combined for nine interceptions since 2013. He picked off one pass in 2016, finished second among 49ers defenders in snaps (1,102) and graded a respectable 21st in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 110 qualified corners (Rhodes was 29th).
Seahawks To Shop DL Ahtyba Rubin
The Seahawks aren’t done yet. Once their acquisition of Sheldon Richardson is completed, they’ll turn around and discuss trades for defensive lineman Ahtyba Rubin, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Broncos are a top contender to land him, Rapoport adds.
Rubin, 31, joined the Seahawks on a free agent deal prior to the 2015 season. Before the ’16 campaign, he re-upped with the team on a three-year, $12MM deal. The good news for any team that acquires him is that the Seahawks already paid out half of that sum in the first year of the deal.
In his first Seahawks season, Rubin amassed 36 tackles, two sacks, and finished fourth among the team’s defensive linemen in snaps. Last year, he once again had a perfect attendance record in the regular season as he racked up 39 tackles, one sack, and three forced fumbles.
Jets, Seahawks Swap Sheldon Richardson, Jermaine Kearse
The Seahawks have agreed to acquire defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson and a 2018 seventh-round pick from the Jets in exchange for wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, a 2018 second-round pick, and a 2018 seventh-round pick, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
The Jets and Seahawks had been discussing the concept of this deal for weeks, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. New York, of course, had been shopping Richardson for much longer than that. Seattle reportedly showed interest earlier this year, but it wanted Richardson to accept a paycut from his $8.069MM base salary. This time around, the Seahawks agreed to take on his full salary. The Seahawks were able to take the hit after reworking receiver Doug Baldwin‘s contract and shedding Kearse’s $2.2MM salary in the trade.
Richardson certainly has his warts, which may have contributed to a limited trade market. For one, he wasn’t all that effective last season, as Richardson managed only 1.5 sacks in 15 games (though he still graded out as the NFL’s No. 31 edge defender, per Pro Football Focus). Richardson also comes with off-field question marks, as he has a substance abuse suspension in his past, and has dealt with commitment and tardiness issues.
But, if healthy and motivated, the addition of Richardson would give the Seahawks arguably the best front seven in the NFL. Richardson, who can conceivably play either along the edge or on the interior, would join a Seattle defensive unit that also includes Michael Bennett, Frank Clark, Cliff Avril, Bobby Wagner, and K.J. Wright on the front end, and the vaunted Legion of Boom in the back end.
The Jets, meanwhile, needed a wide receiver following a season-ending injury to Quincy Enunwa, and Kearse will add experience to a group that includes rookies ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hansen. Kearse, 27, posted 41 receptions for 510 yards a season ago, but Seattle has developed enough wideouts — including Paul Richardson, Tyler Lockett, and Kasen Williams — that Kearse wasn’t needed any longer. The Seahawks had been shopping him earlier this week, and the Browns were among the interested parties.
For a rebuilding club like New York, adding a veteran piece such as Kearse doesn’t make a ton of sense, so it’s possible the Jets took on Kearse simply to help offset Richardson’s salary. Gang Green won’t take on any dead money by trading Richardson, while Seattle will incur roughly $1.83MM in dead cap during the upcoming season as a result of dealing Kearse.
Gee Scott of ESPN Radio (on Twitter) first reported that Kearse had been traded to the Jets.
Patriots Trade CB Justin Coleman To Seahawks
The Patriots have sent cornerback Justin Coleman back to the Seahawks, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter). The Patriots will get a 2018 seventh-rounder from the Seahawks, which originally belonged to the Eagles, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. For the Pats, this means that they recoup a seventh-rounder after trading one away for linebacker Marquis Flowers in late August.
Coleman, 23, has seen action in 20 games and racked up three starts in his two-year career. The Patriots first plucked him off of the Seahawks’ taxi squad in 2015. This offseason, he re-upped with the Pats via the exclusive rights tender. He apparently wasn’t going to make the 53-man cut on Saturday, so the Patriots have parlayed him into a future draft choice. Seattle, meanwhile, won’t have to worry about the waiver process or competing clubs in free agency in order to make the reunion happen.
As DeAndre Elliott deals with an injury, Coleman could help provide support at the nickel spot.
Seahawks, Doug Baldwin Rework Contract
The Seahawks and wide receiver Doug Baldwin have agreed to a contract restructure that will create $5.2MM in 2017 cap space for Seattle, reports Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Seahawks Shopping Jermaine Kearse]
Baldwin had been scheduled to earn a base salary of $7.75MM for the upcoming season. Instead, the Seahawks have whittled that figure all the way down to $775K by converting the difference into a signing bonus. Seattle, which had been a bit tight on cap space, now have in excess of $13MM in reserves. Baldwin, meanwhile, will see his cap charge rise by roughly $1.744MM in each of the next three seasons. He’s signed through the 2020 campaign under the terms of his 2016 extension.
By reworking Baldwin’s contract, the Seahawks have made it more difficult to part ways with the veteran pass-catcher in future years. That shouldn’t be a problem if Baldwin continues his recent levels of production, however, as the 28-year-old has topped 1,000 yards receiving in each of the past two seasons while scoring 21 total touchdowns. He’s also excellent in the run game, as Pro Football Focus ranked Baldwin as the league’s No. 9 run-blocking wideout.
Browns Interested In Jermaine Kearse
The Browns are interested in Seahawks wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, a source tells Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. The Seahawks have him on the block as Saturday’s roster deadline approaches. 
[RELATED: Seahawks Shopping Jermaine Kearse]
Kearse is coming off of a down year and is set to enter the second year of a three-year, $13.5MM deal. He doesn’t hold as much appeal as he did this time last year, but the Browns could use someone with his experience level to round out their thin receiving corps. Free agent Kenny Britt and Corey Coleman will serve as the top two receivers, but converted running back Duke Johnson and late round 2016 picks Ricardo Louis and Rashard Higgins are the next ones in line.
So far this preseason, Coleman has been the Browns’ only reliable performer. Even Britt has looked shaky, and that has the Browns looking for outside help.