Julian Love another example of the Seahawks swooping in late to sign a needed free agent
Julian Love was at home back east, weighing the multiple offers he’d gotten from other teams in free agency.
And he was going to bed.
That’s what most people do past 11 o’clock at night.
“Kind of in the 11th hour, basically the last hour, I got call from Seattle. It was Eastern time when it happened, and I got a call at 11 p.m.,” Love, last year’s captain of the New York Giants’ defense, said from his home in Chicago. “They were flying me out the next morning, so that all happened pretty quickly.
“I thought I was just visiting to see if I would be a fit there.”
Oh, he already fit the needy Seahawks defense.
Coach Pete Carroll has been wanting to play three safeties as his primary defense since before last season. Ryan Neal was playing with Jamal Adams and Pro Bowl veteran Quandre Diggs during training camp.
Then Adams tore the quadriceps tendon in his leg before halftime of the first game. Seattle didn’t use three safeties. Ryan Neal filled in for Adams and played with Diggs as the Seahawks’ two safeties while Adams missed the season on injured reserve.
Meanwhile in New York, Love was finishing his fourth season and rookie contract as the Giants’ co-captain and defensive play caller. That is rare in the NFL for a safety. He played cornerback, nickel back inside against slot receivers, deep safety, close to the line of scrimmage as a run-stopping safety — everywhere — for New York.
With Adams recovering from surgery intent on being on the field and he and Diggs having the two highest salary-cap charges on the team for 2023, the Seahawks targeted Love as the third safety.
Late offer to Love
Like they did with signing former Denver defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones to a $51 million contract in free agency last month, the Seahawks came in late on Love.
He thought he was flying from to Seattle to visit the team and check out the possibilities there.
Nope.
“Before the flight, I had the offer on the table,” Love said.
The Seahawks wanted Love so much — and wanted to keep him from signing with someone else — they made him an offer before meeting him.
The Seahawks also benefited from what Love described as a “funky safety market.” Teams did not throw money at the position in free agency as they did with edge rushers, linemen and other spots.
“Unfortunately,” Love said.
Then Seattle changed that. They gave him a two-year contract worth up to $12 million.
“And after I met Coach Carroll and everybody in the building, it just felt comfortable,” he said.
“I think that is the biggest stressor of free agency, the unknown. I don’t know the people in the organization, for the most part, but meeting them and getting to know them, it was clear cut. I knew I was supposed to be there.
“That’s kind of how the process went down. It was pretty fast. It all happened fast with Seattle. And I am just really blessed that they called me.”
When he met with Carroll, Love thought of his days playing for Notre Dame. Carroll’s USC Trojans are generational enemies to the Fighting Irish, who play SC every college football season.
“I’m a Notre Dame guy, so he’s very infamous in Notre Dame history,” Love said.
“I was truly excited to meet him. I knew that he has been doing great things for a long time. I was excited and I think that was the meeting that I had that reassured everything.
“Just meeting him because he talks ball. He has energy. He has juice. And I think he is for the players. That’s what I wanted. I just wanted someone who will be for the players, who I can still learn from.”
Love was blown away by the Carroll’s intricate discussion of defense and how Love will fit in it.
“We started with the casual conversation about family, background, and all of that stuff,” Love said, “but he couldn’t help but talk ball with me. He was kind of going in and out of talking ball, and I love that. That’s the kind of the player and learner that I am.
“So before you knew it, within five minutes of being in his office, we were at the computer going over tape. That’s what it was. I was just watching tape with him, picking his brain, and him picking my brain. That is where the reassurance came from.”
Carroll and the Seahawks made clear to Love their intentions. They want him to play with Adams and Diggs, as Seattle goes with three safeties more than it ever has in 13 years with Carroll designing the defense. That is, if Adams gets back fully from a torn quadriceps injury.
Love is all for that.
“I think they were excited about having the ability to put three safeties on the field. I think they saw me as a good addition to who they have in the room right now, and so that’s what I wanted,” Love said.
“Fortunately, I have the opportunity to grow with two savvy vets. I’m a vet myself now, but I am still 25 years old and I am still learning the game and I am still trying to improve. That’s kind of how they saw me fit, just continue to improve and grow into their system.”
Neal was coming off what he called a “clean-up” knee surgery this offseason. Two weeks after they signed Love, the Seahawks withdrew the offer they had made to Neal last month as a restricted free agent. Instead of a one-year contract worth $2.63 million to have Neal as their third safety in 2023, the Seahawks went with Love.
Neal became an unrestricted free agent. He signed with Tampa Bay last week for one year and the veteran minimum $1.08 million.
Where Love will play
Carroll has pointed out how “extraordinary” it is that Love played 1,006 snaps for the Giants on defense (95% of New York’s plays) and another 220 on special teams last season. He played on 62% and 50% of the Giants special-teams plays the last two seasons.
“He’s a really versatile football player,” Carroll said.
As for where Love will play in Seattle’s defense, it’s unlikely to be a specific spot of free safety, strong safety or nickel, fifth defensive back inside against slot receivers. It’s more likely to vary depending on opponent, opposing receivers, or even down and distance from one play to the next.
The Seahawks want to maximize advantages in personnel and match-ups in their three-safety plans.
“I don’t know if I have a specific spot,” Love said. “I played corner in college. I had some starts at nickel, corner, safety, free, and strong in the league.
“I don’t know. Wherever I can make plays, I think, is where I am most comfortable. I like to be in the action. I think I play a tough brand of football, and I think they will utilize me in that way.”
This story was originally published April 11, 2023 at 2:11 PM.
