The Seahawks have signed free agent CB Dontae Johnson, 26, who started all 16 games last season for San Francisco. Johnson became expendable in the Bay Area after the 49ers signed CB Richard Sherman, a three-time All-Pro who had been released by Seattle.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Johnson, who also visited with the Minnesota Vikings, was a fourth-round pick in 2014 out of North Carolina State. His inking gives Seattle three corners (also Shaquill Griffin and Justin Coleman) who were starters for most of the 2017 season.
Seattle has seven corners on the roster, including DeAndre Elliott, Neiko Thorpe, Mike Tyson and Akeem King, the latter also considered a safety.
Unrestricted free agent CB Byron Maxwell, who ended the 2017 season as a starting corner for the Seahawks, remains unsigned, as does Jeremy Lane, who was released in March.
Johnson started 22 of the 63 games in which he played for the 49ers. He has two career interceptions, including one off QB Blake Bortles of Jacksonville last year that he returned for a touchdown in a 44-33 victory. Johnson also has two career fumble recoveries. Pro Football Focus graded out Johnson at 36.9, a ranking labeled “poor” in its five levels of categories for veteran players.
Johnson is the eighth free agent signed by the Seahawks since the new league year began in mid-March.
While the Seahawks landed Johnson, they also lost linebacker Terence Garvin, a backup who signed with the Miami Dolphins. Garvin made three starts for Seattle last season.
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 | 2 years, $5.5M |
| Mar 16 | Maurice Alexander | S | $528K | 1 year, $880K |
| Mar 20 | D.J. Fluker | OL | $3M | N/A |
| Mar 23 | Tom Johnson | DT | $2.33M | 1 year, $2.1M |
| Mar 25 | Shamar Stephen | DT | $823K | 1 year / $N/A |
| April 11 | Dontae Johnson | CB | $690K | 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 |
| Mar 22 | Mike Davis | RB | $615K | 1 year, $ TBA |
| Mar 22 | Marcus Smith | DE | $990K | 1 year, $2.7M |
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 16 | Sheldon Richardson | Min | $3.6M | 1 year, $8M |
| Mar 21 | Luke Willson | Det | $1.8M | 1 year, $2.5M |
| Mar 23 | Matt Tobin | NE | $872K | 1 year, $ N/A |
| April 11 | Terence Garvin | LB | $775K | N/A |
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 |
| —– | Oday Aboushi | RG | 975K | Played 8 games before injury |
| —– | Austin Davis | QB | 855K | Played two snaps, but a veteran |
| —– | Byron Maxwell | CB | 755K | Played well in spurts |
*=Includes incentives
12 Comments
For all the Colin Kaepernick fans…
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/seahawks-back-out-of-colin-kaepernick-meeting-over-anthem-kneeling-report-says/ar-AAvORUx
The ESPN story claims the Seahawks haven’t closed the door, but I think they have.
They get Sherman, we get Johnson. Doesn’t seem right.
Don’t know much about Johnson — other than he was benched late last season. But the optics on this are awful. We lose Sherman, one of the best in the league, and then sign one of San Francisco’s weakest starters. Maybe he’ll give us some depth, but if he’s not a quality player, what’s the point? And do we lose a compensation pick by doing this? Ugh.
Probably to put pressure on Maxwell since he’s yet to sign.
Maxwell isn’t drawing a crowd of takers, so I’m not sure he’s worth pressuring.
Since he hasn’t signed with the Hawks yet I’m assuming he’s haggling over the numbers in the contract offer and Schneider won’t have patience for that. If he doesn’t sign by the draft he isn’t returning IMO.
The point is that we are tanking this coming year. We will have nearly $80 million in available cap space, and a top ten draft pick heading into the 2019 season to improve our lot in 2019. And if we take a QB with that draft pick, and trade away Russell Wilson, we could have $100 million in cap space.
I don’t see these guys tanking, especially before they’re through with the draft.
Your own story implies otherwise…
“Pro Football Focus graded out Johnson at 36.9, a ranking labeled “poor” in its five levels of categories for veteran players.”
Not a player who would draw compensation. But he did seem to draw opponents’ throws. Pro Footbball Focus ranked him 118th among CBs.
Johnson is healthy. There’s that.