Why Seahawks signed Dekoda Watson to fill Josh Gordon’s spot: Pass rusher more key than WR
The Seahawks’ push to reinforce their most important position group continues.
Seattle brought back 31-year-old edge pass rusher Dekoda Watson on Wednesday. He fills the spot on the 53-man active roster vacated by Josh Gordon. The NFL suspended the wide receiver indefinitely on Monday for another violation of its policies on substance abuse and performance-enhancing drugs.
The Seahawks first signed Watson on Oct. 30. They released him two days later, Nov. 1, after he had just two practices and no games with them. They dropped Watson the day they claimed Gordon off waivers from the New England Patriots.
Seattle brought back Watson two days after the team put in a waiver claim on Terrell Suggs. The Kansas City Chiefs (10-4) got the 37-year-old pass rusher by being higher than the Seahawks (11-3) in the league’s claiming order, which goes in reverse order of NFL standings.
So it’s Watson for pass-rush depth instead. He has six sacks in nine NFL seasons. His last one was in 2018 when he had two sacks in four games for the 49ers. He’s played for San Francisco (2017-18), Denver (2016), New England (2015), Dallas (2014), Jacksonville (2014) and Tampa Bay (2010-13).
Jadeveon Clowney missed Seattle’s win last weekend at Carolina and is just now getting over a nasty flu. The three-time Pro Bowl defensive end is also playing through a core-muscle injury that may require surgery this season.
Ziggy Ansah, 30, has missed the last two games because of a nerve issue in his neck that may be related to shoulder surgery 12 months ago. The 2015 Pro Bowl end with Detroit was on the Seahawks’ practice field participating at the start of Wednesday’s drills open to the media.
Clowney was not.
“He’s been a pass rusher in the past, an edge player,” Carroll said of Watson, “and we are concerned about our guys coming back. And we just wanted to make sure we had a chance to secure some depth to help us. That was the thought.
“We’ve had guys who have missed a little bit, and we are not sure how they are going to come back this week and next week. We are working our way through it.”
Ansah was a full participant in practice Wednesday. But the Seahawks went light, in no pads.
Asked Wednesday how close Clowney and Ansah are to playing for the playoff-bound Seahawks (11-3) Sunday against Arizona (4-9-1), Carroll said: “Can’t tell you that. I don’t know.
“We’ve got to get through the week and see what happens...We are going to see if it’s right for those guys to play.”
Some thought the Seahawks would seek a veteran wide receiver to make a one-for-one swap with Gordon on the roster.
Carroll made it clear he thinks the team’s wide receivers are enough as is, without Gordon, to carry into the postseason.
That’s headliners Tyler Lockett and rookie DK Metcalf, with David Moore and Jaron Brown set to rise in prominence with Gordon out. Malik Turner has been a clutch receiver for Russell Wilson on some third downs this season. And rookie seventh-round draft choice John Ursua active last weekend for the first time since week two at Pittsburgh.
“We’re always looking. But I like our guys,” Carroll said. “We had seven guys active last week. So we are in good shape, at this point.
“But we are always looking.”
Left unsaid because it’s obvious: the pass rush is the more important position group right now.
How important? Pressuring quarterbacks may prove to be the difference between the Seahawks holding onto the top playoff seed in the NFC it currently has with two games left in the regular season or playing on the road in the wild-card round as the conference’s fifth seed.
And that may be the difference from Seattle playing in Super Bowl 54, or being home watching it.
When Clowney dominated with his outstanding game Nov. 11 at San Francisco, during which he got hurt, the Seahawks had five sacks and 10 hits on Jimmy Garoppolo. That created three turnovers by the 49ers, and that win is why Seattle beat San Francisco to seize the inside track to the division title.
The next week, Ansah shined in pressuring Carson Wentz, the Seahawks sacked him three times and forced five turnovers, and Seattle won at Philadelphia.
But two games ago in Los Angeles, the pass rush did not sack Jared Goff, and the comfortable Rams stormed to a 21-3 lead in the first half of a 28-12 win.
Pressuring quarterbacks is the key to helping Seattle’s at-times iffy coverage in the secondary. That issue in the back may get worse the next game or two. Free safety Quandre Diggs, a Pro Bowl alternate who’s been a revelation for the defense since his arrival via trade from the Lions at the end of October, may be out a while with a high-ankle sprain.
Lano Hill and rookie second-round pick Marquise Blair are poised to play for Diggs Sunday against the Cardinals, as they did in the second half last weekend at Carolina.
If Watson proves this week to be in any kind of football shape after not playing in a game since Dec. 2, 2018, for San Francisco at CenturyLink Field, he will play against the Cardinals.
And why not? Their quarterback Kyler Murray has been sacked 46 times this season. That’ the most in the NFL.
“It’s still too early to tell (what kind of game shape Watson may be in),” Seahawks defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. said. “He’ll have enough shots to show us he’s ready to roll.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 3:47 PM.
