Source: Seahawks trading draft pick to Washington for Quinton Dunbar, comp for Tre Flowers
The Seahawks have acted on their desire to add competition for cornerback Tre Flowers’ starting job.
Seattle is acquiring Washington starting cornerback Quinton Dunbar in a trade. The Seahawks are sending the Redskins a fifth-round draft choice, a league source told The News Tribune Monday.
Dunbar started 11 games last season for 3-13 Washington and had a career-high four interceptions before a hamstring injury sent him to injured reserve. He had 27 starts in five years with the team. He asked for a trade last month rather than endure Washington’s coaching change with new head man Ron Rivera and his staff.
The 6-foot-2, 202-pound Dunbar has arms longer than 32 inches—32 5/8, to be exact. That’s the well-known standard coach Pete Carroll wants in rangy cornerbacks covering wide receivers outside.
Carroll talked at last month’s NFL scouting combine about the need to increase competition with Flowers at the cornerback spot opposite Pro Bowl cover man Shaquill Griffin. Offenses exploited Flowers in 2019, the second season of Carroll converting him from being a college safety.
Griffin is entering the final season of his rookie contract.
Carroll also wants to add competition at nickel defensive back inside against slot receivers. Ugo Amadi had that job at the end of 2019. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers went at the rookie for key plays late in the Seahawks’ playoff loss at the Packers in January.
Dunbar has one year, 2020, remaining on his contract. Seattle is inheriting his $3.25 million salary for this year. That suggests he’s going to be playing.
But it’s not an automatic he starts over Flowers at cornerback. The Seahawks have had a rather checkered history of importing corners from other NFL systems into Carroll’s unique, tricky step-kick technique.
Or do you forget the Cary Williams debacle from a few years ago?
Antoine Winfield, Jamar Taylor...the Seahawks have a history of veterans starters elsewhere becoming failures in Carroll’s system. Then again, Williams, Winfield and Taylor (barely) were older than Dunbar. He turns 28 in July.
Dunbar will get his shot to start in Seattle. But it’s no guarantee.
Little in the NFL is.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 3:49 PM.
