So much for continuity: Deal for Cedric Ogbuehi Seahawks’ 3rd in 2 days on offensive line
Always-compete Pete is sure doing that again on his offensive line.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider added their third offensive lineman in 24 hours Wednesday afternoon with Seattle’s reported deal for free-agent tackle Cedric Ogbuehi. ESPN’s Jordan Schultz reported the deal.
Ogbuehi (pronounced oh-BWAY’-hee) was a first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2015. He turns 28 next month. He hasn’t started a game since 2017, 13 games that season for Cincinnati. He was a reserve last year for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Carroll said in January he wanted the Seahawks’ 2019 line to stay mostly intact for 2020.
So much for that.
Ogbuehi joins guard-tackle B.J. Finney from Pittsburgh and tackle Brandon Shell from the New York Jets as Seattle’s free-agent signings on the O-line since Tuesday.
The Seahawks are losing starting right tackle Germain Ifedi in free agency, though as of Wednesday evening Seattle’s former first-round pick remained unsigned.
Mike Iupati, the team’s starting left guard in 2019, is also an unsigned free agent.
Justin Britt, the starting center, is recovering from a season-ending knee injury in October. He salary-cap charge of $11.4 million makes him a candidate for a renegotiation down to a more team-friendly cap number for 2020, if not a release.
Finney started two games for the Steelers at center last season, in addition to playing guard.
The Seahawks lost reserve tackle George Fant in free agency this week. He signed a contract worth $10 million per season with the Jets.
Ogbuehi started 12 games for the Bengals in 2016, playing right tackle. He started 13 games for Cincinnati the following season. He last NFL start was on Dec. 17, 2017. He played 11 snaps before injuring his shoulder in a Bengals game at Minnesota.
He appears to be adding depth, for now, to an offensive line that despite Carroll’s stated wishes is changing again this offseason.
