Seahawks re-sign center Ethan Pocic, though they still may have an issue at center
The Seahawks continue to address Russell Wilson’s frustration.
Sort of.
The “frustrated” Wilson has stated, very publicly he wants his pass protection and thus offensive line upgraded.
Re-signing their center from last season is not an upgrade.
That’s what Seattle did Thursday, signing back Ethan Pocic on a one-year contract. The deal is worth up to $3 million, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The salary-cap charge for 2021 is believed to be perhaps half that.
The team’s second-round draft choice in 2017 was a college center at LSU. But his first three years with the Seahawks, the 6-foot-6 Pocic was a backup guard and sometime tackle. He didn’t excel at either one.
This time last year the Seahawks signed B.J. Finney to replace injured and released Justin Britt as Wilson’s new center for 2020. Finney never played a down. Pocic, having been in the offense for three years to Finney’s weeks, grasped and used the schemes and meshed in protection calls with Wilson far better than Finney did. So Pocic returned to his college position and started there, in his fourth NFL season.
Wilson now-famously said to Seattle-area reporters in January responding a question if he was frustrated with the Seahawks: “I’m frustrated with getting hit too much.”
That was a clear and extraordinary siren call from the franchise quarterback: change the offensive line. It came after another season of Wilson being among the league leaders in getting sacked. He’s been sacked 394 times as a Seahawk. That’s the most in NFL history over the first nine years of a career.
Seattle’s first step to address Wilson’s frustration was hiring Shane Waldron as their new offensive coordinator in January. Waldron, who replaces fired Brian Schottenheimer, was the Rams’ passing-game coordinator and before that their tight-ends coach. He is bringing Los Angeles’ quicker, run-based, short passing game to Seattle. That alone should help Wilson’s pass protection; his blockers won’t have to pass block as long if the receivers aren’t running routes as long and Wilson isn’t holding onto the ball as long as they did in 2020.
The Seahawks’ second step to appease Wilson and upgrade his pass protection was trading for Las Vegas Raiders’ $9-million-a-year guard Gabe Jackson Wednesday. He’s been rated as one of the league’s best pass protectors at guard for years.
Center was—and may still be—the remaining, pressing issue.
The best and most expensive one on the free agent market, Corey Linsley, agreed in the first hours of the NFL’s free-agent negotiation period on Monday to sign with the Los Angeles Chargers. Veteran center Alex Mack then signed with San Francisco. The Raiders traded Rodney Hudson, another coveted center, to the Arizona Cardinals before the Seahawks could put a bid on him in free agency.
David Andrews, the five-year starter for the New England Patriots, was still on the market Thursday. But he is likely going to sign for a cost Seattle couldn’t afford. As of Thursday, the team had about $1 million in salary-cap space.
The Seahawks will have to release veteran players or restructure contracts to sign anyone else under the $182.5 million cap.
As The News Tribune reported last week, they could restructure Wilson’s $19 million base salary into bonus money for cap room, without him having to approve it.
The Seahawks may need to do that to upgrade at center.
Pocic knows the Seahawks’ offense, but not the one Waldron is about to install. He was at times overwhelmed physically by the toughest, best interior defensive linemen Seattle faced last season.
Then again, who isn’t overwhelmed by Aaron Donald?
Pocic, for now, can be a fall-back plan. That is, if the team can’t sign or (with one of its three picks this year) draft another center in what’s seen as a deep class at the position.
Seattle also has Kyle Fuller as an option at the position The Seahawks have tendered Pocic’s backup last season a contract offer for 2021 as an exclusive-rights free agent, nearly assuring his return to the team.
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 5:33 PM.
