After a visit Friday at Seahawks headquarters, CB Cary Williams and the Seahawks must have liked what each other saw. The eight-year veteran from the Philadelphia Eagles — the team that will sign Legion of Boom CB Byron Maxwell — is set to sign Tuesday when the free agency period commences, according to anonymous leaks to national media sources.
Also Monday night, reports say free agent LG James Carpenter, the Seahawks’ first-round draft choice in 2011, is destined to join the New York Jets, who lost out on acquiring former 49ers Pro Bowl selection Mike Iupati, who is joining the Arizona Cardinals.
The Seahawks said before last season they weren’t exercising their fifth-year option on the 340-pound Carpenter, who has had injury and conditioning problems, so the assumption has been that he would enter free agency. Carpenter had his best season, giving up only one sack, that one in the Super Bowl, and starting all 13 games in which he was healthy.
Carpenter and Maxwell are the Seahawks’ only starters who are unrestricted free agents.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Williams, who was also considering the Jets and Tennessee, which took him in the seventh round of the 2008 draft, was going to earn $6.5 million in 2015 with a cap hit of $8.1 million. That made him expendable in the massive remake being undertaken by coach Chip Kelly.
In Philly for two seasons and in Baltimore for two seasons before that, Williams, 30, has been an every-day guy — 43 starts in 48 games played, and also won a Super Bowl ring as a Ravens starter in the “Harbaugh Bowl.” Last year, Williams had 56 tackles, 10 passes defensed and two interceptions.
Williams also has some baggage. He missed some OTA workouts in 2013 because he was shopping for home fixtures. And in 2014, he criticized Kelly’s practice regimen: “A lot of guys had no legs,” he said. “We have to take care of our guys during the week to make sure we’re fresh come Sundays.” He later apologized.
Terms of the contract aren’t yet available, but Williams seems in line to be a starter opposite Richard Sherman in place of Maxwell, who parlayed 17 starts in Seattle to a contract worth up to $63 million. Surgeries to repair injuries to CBs Jeremy Lane and Tharold Simon have hit hard Seattle’s famed depth.
Also Monday, the Seahawks added Will Blackmon, a free-agent corner from Jacksonville.
SEAHAWKS FREE AGENT TRACKER
Unrestricted Free Agents
| Date | Player | Action | Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/8 | TE Anthony McCoy | Re-signed | One year; injured last 2 seasons |
| 3/10 | CB Byron Maxwell | Signed-Phil | 6 years, $63 million: ($10.3 average) |
| 3/10 | LG James Carpenter | Signed-NYJ | 4 years, $20 million |
| 3/10 | LB Malcolm Smith | Signed-Oak | Super Bowl XLVIII MVP |
Restricted Free Agents
| Date | Player | Action | Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/6 | DE Greg Scruggs | Re-signed | Injured reserve last 2 years (knee) |
| 3/9 | LB Mike Morgan | Re-signed | Played in 53 games since 2011 |
| 3/9 | WR Ricardo Lockette | Re-signed | 11 catches, 2 TDs in ’14 |
| 3/9 | CB DeShawn Shead | Re-signed | Played in 16 games with 1 start in ’14 |
Extensions / Restructures / Cuts
| Date | Player | Action | Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/6 | RB Marshawn Lynch | Extend. | 3 years, $31 million; $12 million in 2015 |
| 3/6 | TE Zach Miller | Cut | Played 3 games in ’14; had severe ankle injury |
| 3/6 | DT Jesse Williams | Cut | IR most of last 2 years with knee injuries |
| 3/6 | OT Garrett Scott | Cut | Waived due to a non-football heart condition |
Remaining Unrestricted Free Agents
| Player | Pos. | Age | Current Avg. | Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Williams | DT | 34 | $2,100,000 | Candidate for 1-year deal |
| Jeron Johnson | S | 26 | $1,500,000 | 15 games in ’14, 1 start |
| Demarcus Dobbs | DE | 27 | $1,431,000 | 4 games in 2014, no starts |
| Tarvaris Jackson | QB | 31 | $1,250,000 | Played in one game in 2014 |
| Heath Farwell | ILB | 33 | $1,125,000 | Retiring to coach |
| Clint Gresham | LS | 28 | $827,500 | Played in all 16 games |
| Landon Cohen | DT | 28 | $730,000 | Played in one playoff game |
| O’Brien Schofield | LB | 27 | $730,000 | Played in every game in ’14 |
| Will Tukuafu | FB | 31 | $645,000 | Made 2 starts in 2014 |
| Tony Moeaki | TE | 27 | $645,000 | 6 games, 2 starts in ’14 |
| Lemuel Jeanpierre | C | 27 | $645,000 | Played in 15 games in ’14 |
| D’Anthony Smith | DT | 26 | $570,000 | Practice-squad player |
| Bryan Walters | WR | 27 | $570,000 | Was not tendered |
Remaining Restricted Free Agents
| Player | Pos. | Age | Current Avg. | Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Shilling | G | 26 | $645,000 | Went on IR Nov. 10 (knee) |
| David Gilreath | WR | 26 | $495,000 | Didn’t play in 2014 |
| Jermaine Kearse | WR | 25 | $480,000 | Winning TD in NFC Champ. |
Free Agents Signed
| Date | Player | Pos. | From | Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/9 | Will Blackmon | CB | Jacksonville | 12 starts for the Jaguars last 2 years |
| 3/9 | Cary Williams | CB | Philadelphia | Deal is 3 years, $18 million |
Trades
| Date | Player | Pos. | From | Skinny |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/10 | Jimmy Graham | TE | New Orleans | Cost: C Max Unger, No. 1 pick |
6 Comments
I assume the Seattle front office didn’t get any game film from the Eagles…Williams was out of position constantly and seemed to guess wrong about 75% of the time
I have trust in the coaches here to get him back on track.
Hope you’re right because if he doesn’t get with the program (and taking OTAs off to buy furniture isn’t part of it), he’ll be gone. Unmotivated players don’t have long shelf lives in Seattle.
Zach Miller was cut!?!?!??! Must have SOME serious career ending injury…best receiver on the team IMHO, and a critical reason why the Hawks struggled a bit this year. Big loss.
Doesn’t surprise me Carpenter is gone. If teams were lining up for Breno and McQuistan last year it stands to reason Carp could command a lot of attention. Not surprised that Miller was cut. There’s no way he’d pass a physical right now. He can still be brought back at a lower salary once he’s healthy but I’m surprised that McCoy was brought back after having two injury prone seasons. Evidently the price was right. They could also bring back Kellen Davis since he only signed a 1 year deal with the Giants. McQuistan also only signed a one year deal with the Browns. Good pickups by the Hawks with Williams and Blackmon.
An aside for those still agonizing over The Play that ended the SB. Hugh Millen gives an excellent dissection of the play and why it was called posted on seahawks.com.