Seahawks fill some of their defensive-tackle void, make official Al Woods signing
Familiarity remains a Seahawks’ theme in free agency.
Seattle announced Monday it signed back defensive lineman Al Woods for his 11th NFL season, and his third stint with the team.
The 34-year-old defensive tackle signed for one year. The deal is reportedly worth $3 million.
Woods played for the Seahawks in 2019. He signed in May of that year after playing for five teams over his first nine NFL seasons. He was effective in 14 games as a run stopper who tied up interior blockers along the line of scrimmage.
He played in every one of Seattle’s first 14 games of the ‘19 season, in on 47% of Seattle’s defensive snaps. The 6-foot-4, 330(plus)-pound Woods was a strong run defender, winning matches with offensive linemen at the snap and controlling running lanes. His play was underappreciated outside Seahawks headquarters, the norm for an interior defensive tackle on running downs.
“Yeah, he’s played big, really,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said late in the 2019 season. “He’s the guy, for years we’ve had a real big guy in there who has played for us, played three-technique (tackle, in the guard-center gap) for many years. He can also play nose tackle, which he did.”
The league suspended Woods in December 2019 for four games for using performance-enhancing drugs. That sidelined him for Seattle’s final two regular-season games of ‘19 and both playoff games.
He signed with Jacksonville for 2020 then opted to not play last season during the coronavirus pandemic.
Woods first played for Carroll and general manager John Schneider in 2011 after they claimed him off waivers. He played in two games that season for Seattle.
Woods is back to fill some of the void the Seahawks created 10 days earlier by releasing starting defensive tackle Jarran Reed. That was to save $8,975,000 in salary-cap space. Reed signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.
In the first three weeks of free agency this offseason the Seahawks have re-signed lead running back Chris Carson, defensive end Carlos Dunlap and center Ethan Pocic. They have given Poona Ford, their other starting defensive tackle with Reed last season, a new, two-year, $14 million deal.
Seattle has Ford, returning Bryan Mone and Woods to fill interior run-stopping roles on the defensive line for 2021.
The Seahawks have also signed pass rusher Kerry Hyder, tight end Gerald Everett and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon from within their NFC West—from San Francisco, the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco, respectively.
This story was originally published April 5, 2021 at 1:47 PM.
