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The Seattle Seahawks are beefing up their defensive line with another addition.
According to a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Brady Henderson, the Seahawks are signing veteran defensive end Mario Edwards. The 29-year-old had previously visited Seattle back in March.
“The Seahawks are signing veteran DE Mario Edwards to a one-year deal, sources told BradyHenderson and me,” writes Fowler. “Edwards, entering his ninth NFL season, had three sacks and seven starts for Tennessee last year.”
Why the Seahawks Are Signing Mario Edwards
The eight-year NFL veteran spent last season with the Tennessee Titans after he was signed off of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad last September. Edwards started seven of his 13 appearances and notched 17 tackles, 11 quarterback hits and three sacks during his stint in Tennessee.
Prior to playing for the Titans, Edwards spent time with the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears. Edwards is probably best known for his stint with the Raiders after they used a second-round draft pick on him back in 2015. Over the course of his three seasons in Las Vegas, Edwards started 24 of his 30 appearances. However, he wasn’t too productive, posting just 5.5 sacks during his three years with the Raiders.
As noted by Seattle Sports’ Brandon Gustafson, Edwards should profile as a 3-4 defensive end in Seattle’s scheme.
“Edwards is 6 foot 3 and 280 pounds, so he should profile as a 3-4 defensive end in the Seahawks’ defensive scheme,” writes Gustafson. “He joins Dre’Mont Jones and Jarran Reed as free-agent additions to Seattle’s defensive line this offseason, though Reed had previously been in Seattle from 2016-2020 after being selected in the second round by the Hawks.”
The Seahawks have essentially revamped their defensive line this offseason following the departures of Poona Ford, Al Woods and Shelby Harris from last season. As Gustafson mentions, Seattle has since added Edwards, Jarran Reed and Dre’Mont Jones to replace the former players. It’s worth noting that this is likely due to the defensive line’s struggles from last season. The 2022 Seahawks ranked 30th in rushing yards and 26th in rush yards per attempt allowed.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Seahawks’ run defensive unit posted a 62.7 defensive grade last season, ranking 17th in the NFL.
Across eight seasons, Edwards holds career totals of 19.5 sacks, 135 tackles and 46 quarterback hits in 99 games and 32 starts.
Seahawks Unsure of Jamal Adams’ Return Date
The Seahawks are unsure of when their star safety, Jamal Adams, will return from his most recent injury.
The three-time Pro Bowler suffered a quadriceps injury during the first game of the 2022 season, which ended his season. It was the second consecutive year that an injury ended Adams’ season.
“He’s doing well. The company answer is that we don’t know exactly, you know, timeline,” Seahawks general manager John Schneider said Thursday on the Rich Eisen Show. “He’s got to keep progressing here. Very bad injury, very unfortunate for Jamal. For our team last year, really. He was crushing it in the first half of that Denver game last year. You could see the intensity. You could see the difference maker that he truly is early in that game. So, we really missed him throughout the season.”
Prior to the Seahawks acquiring Adams from the New York Jets back in 2020, injuries had never been an issue for Adams. He played in every game during his first two seasons and 14 of his 16 appearances during the 2019 season.
However, he’s missed at least four games every season since his arrival in Seattle and has missed 21 games over the past two seasons alone.
If Adams misses any time this season, the Seahawks signed veteran safety Julian Love as a potential replacement.
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