Seahawks note Ethan Pocic’s versatility upon official signing, may not be done at center
When Pete Carroll and the Seahawks drafted Ethan Pocic in the second round three years ago, the coach called the center from LSU “2 1/2 players in one guy.”
It’s that versatility—not specifically playing center—the team is trumpeting now.
Seattle made official Monday its re-signing known last week: Pocic to a one-year contract. It’s believed to be worth up to $3 million for the one-season starter at center.
Those terms aren’t for a sure-fire starter again at center.
The team’s news release announcing Pocic’s return had the subheadline: “The Seahawks are bringing back versatile offensive lineman Ethan Pocic, who took over the starting center job last season.”
That also does not exactly blare sure-fire starter again at center.
Neither does the fact Pocic has started in just one of his four NFL seasons. That was last season, at center, after Seattle released injured Justin Britt and free-agent center B.J. Finney failed then got traded last season without playing on offense in a game.
The Seahawks may be continuing its asked-for upgrading of the offensive line.
Russell Wilson very publicly stated his frustration with his pass protection and thus by extension Seattle’s protectors last month. Asked on a Zoom call with Seattle reporters if he was frustrated with the Seahawks, the league’s most-sacked quarterback the last nine years said in February: “I am frustrated with getting hit too much.”
Since then, the Seahawks have traded for Gabe Jackson, one of the best pass-protecting interior linemen in the NFL the last seven years starting for the Raiders.
Seattle made a bid to sign free-agent center Alex Mack before he signed a three-year, $14.85 million contract with San Francisco.
Center and guard are two of the deeper positions in talent in next month’s draft. But the Seahawks have just three choices in it: in rounds two, four and seven.
They’ve traded five picks in the 2021 draft, so far opting to acquire proven veterans such as Jackson, safety Jamal Adams last summer and defensive end Carlos Dunlap in the middle of last season instead of relying as much on a draft particularly unpredictable in a pandemic.
Before they add another center—or anyone else—Seattle needs to clear space under the league’s $182.5 million salary cap. The pending announcement of Chris Carson’s two-year, $14.6 million deal with the Seahawks will likely correspond with the team releasing a veteran or restructuring the contracts of Wilson, All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner, or both.
Converting Wilson’s base salary into bonus cash would save up to $12 million under this year’s cap. His $140 million contact that has three years remaining includes language that allows the Seahawks to restructure his deal in any year without his approval—though as a practical matter they would consult with him first about it.
Re-doing Wagner’s contract could save up to $6 million in cap space. The Seahawks would be kicking those costs into 2022 and ‘23, the last year’s of Wilson’s and Wagner’s deals.
