Mostly in pursuit of depth in free agency, the Seahawks seemed to have acquired a starter Tuesday when they signed D.J. Fluker, who played nine games with six starts for the New York Giants last season after signing a one-year, prove-it deal. Fluker’s six starts came at right guard. His season ended in week 11 when a damaged toe put him on injured reserve.
Fluker has played right guard and right tackle. The Seahawks have a vacancy at left guard, where last season’s starter, Luke Joeckel, is a free agent who was not asked back. The Seahawks options may include moving second-year right guard Ethan Pocic to the left side.
The 27-year-old Fluker, an Alabama alum also sought by the Indianapolis Colts, is 6-foot-5 and 345 pounds. He joined the NFL as San Diego’s first-round draft pick in 2013 (11th overall). As a rookie, he made Pro Football Weekly’s All-Rookie team, spending most of the season at right tackle.
A first-team All-America for the Crimson Tide in 2012, Fluker started 59 games for San Diego through 2016. The Chargers released him in March 2017, deciding that his $8.8 million salary for 2017 wasn’t going th happen again. Fluker signed a one-year deal with the Giants for $3 million, but was not offered a contract for 2018 because the Giants believed he wouldn’t fit within their cap space. Joeckel made $7.1 million last year.
Fluker’s position coach with the Giants was Mike Solari, the Seahawks’ new line coach.
During his time in New York, the Giants averaged 110 rushing yards per game when Fluker started, and 25 fewer rushing yards when he didn’t.
Fluker gained a bit of fame when he appeared in the commercial that debuted during the Super Bowl telecast featuring Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. in a parody of the film Dirty Dancing.
SEAHAWKS FREE AGENT TRACKER
Free agents signed
| Date | Player | Pos. | ’17 AAV | New Deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 14 | Barkevious Mingo | DE | $3.4M | 2 years, $6.8M |
| Mar 16 | Ed Dickson | TE | $1.95M | 3 years, $14M |
| Mar 16 | Jaron Brown | WR | $1.3M | N/A |
| Mar 16 | Maurice Alexander | S | $528K | N/A |
| Mar 20 | D.J. Fluker | OL | $3M | N/A |
Free agents retained
| Date | Player | Pos. | ’17 AAV | New Deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 14 | B. McDougald | S | $1.8M | 3 years, $13.95M |
| Mar 14 | Dion Jordan | DE | $366K | 1 year, $1.9M |
| Mar 14 | Justin Coleman | CB | $615K | 1 year, $2.9M |
Free agents lost
| Date | Player | Team | ’17 AAV | New Deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 14 | Jimmy Graham | GB | $10M | 3 years, $30M |
| Mar 14 | Paul Richardson | WA | $1.4M | 5 years, $40M |
| Mar 14 | DeShawn Shead | Det | $1.2M | 1 year, $3.5M |
| Mar 14 | Thomas Rawls | —- | $615K | Non-tendered |
| Mar 16 | Sheldon Richardson | Min | $3.6M | 1 year, $8M |
| Mar 21 | Luke Willson | Det | $1.8M | 1 year, $2.5M |
Remaining free agents
| Date | Player | Pos. | AAV | 2017 Season/Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| —– | Luke Joeckel | LG | 8M | Missed 5 games with injuries |
| —– | Eddie Lacy | RB | 4.25M | Bust: 179 yards, 0 TDs |
| —– | Michael Wilhoite | LB | 1.55M | Best beard on team |
| —– | Blair Walsh | K | 1.1M | Eight FG misses |
| —– | Marcus Smith | DE | 990K | A serviceable backup |
| —– | Oday Aboushi | RG | 975K | Played 8 games before injury |
| —– | Matt Tobin | LT | 862K | Played sparingly |
| —– | Terence Garvin | LB | 855K | Solid special teamer |
| —– | Austin Davis | QB | 855K | Played two snaps, but a veteran |
| —– | Byron Maxwell | CB | 755K | Played well in spurts |
*=Includes incentives
5 Comments
1st rounder from “Bama – he can’t be a stiff, so there may be potential here.
Supposed to be good for the run game, poor at pass protection. Seems to fit the mold.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000923212/article/rams-signing-dt-ndamukong-suh-to-1year-14m-deal
God help us and Russell when we play the Rams.
So our new guard can run block but can’t pass block . Our new tight end Dickson was rated the #1 pass blocking TE in the NFL last year by Pro Football Focus , but can’t run block ..
Any way you cut it , the word “block” is involved – something we haven’t seen a whole lot of around here lately . The only downfall to this signing that I can see is it probably means they keep Ifedi at right tackle . I say we put Ifedi next to Brown at left guard where he shouldn’t get as many false starts and move Pocic over to right tackle . The kid seems versatile enough to do that with . But then what do I know ..
Solari will fix it , and Cable’s gone . Its bound to get better guys .
Assuming the right thing happens, Brown can do the footwork and Flucker can get in the way of anyone. Sounds like a helluva better deal . . .