NFL

Could Ryan Clady, Branden Albert or Kelvin Beachum interest Seahawks?

Feb 17, 2017

  • Sheil KapadiaESPN Writer

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    • Covered the Philadelphia Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine and Philly.com from 2008 to 2015.
    • Covered the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL for BaltimoreSun.com from 2006 to 2008.

The free-agent market for offensive tackles looks a whole lot different now than it did a few days ago.

The New York Jets have parted ways with Ryan Clady. The Jacksonville Jaguars are not picking up Kelvin Beachum’s option.

And the Miami Dolphins are expected to trade or release Branden Albert.

Naturally, the question in Seattle is: Will the Seahawks make a move to address a position of need?

Kelvin Beachum started 15 games at left tackle for the Jaguars last season and just hit the open market. AP Photo/John Raoux

George Fant, who had no college or high school experience playing football, started 12 games (playoffs included) at left tackle last season and struggled. But the coaching staff clearly likes him and believes he can grow into a quality offensive lineman.

Garry Gilliam started most of the season at right tackle, and he is a restricted free agent.

Coach Pete Carroll made it clear after the season that he didn’t think spending more money on the offensive line would fix the Seahawks’ issues.

“That’s not how we think, like, ‘OK, let’s take money and put it here,’ and all of a sudden you’re going to be better,” he said. “You have to get guys that will play worthy of it, and when they demonstrate that, they get paid. We’ve shown that we understand that, and we’re committed to that mentality.

“I don’t think you can just buy your way to it. We’re not going to do that. We’re not going to go out and spend a ton of money on free agency on one guy to try to save the day. That’s not how we function at all.”

Having said that, general manager John Schneider and his staff pride themselves on exploring all possibilities.

Albert turns 33 in November, has missed 13 games the past three seasons and did not play particularly well in 2016. He was a Pro Bowler the previous season, though. Albert is due $8.9 million in 2017 and $9.6 million in 2018. Any team that trades for him will have to give up compensation and be willing to take on his current contract.

Clady has missed 22 of a possible 48 starts the past three seasons due to injuries. In 2016, he tried to play through a torn rotator cuff but then was placed on injured reserve. Clady turns 31 in September.

Beachum does not have the length that the Seahawks typically prefer at tackle but has started 39 games there, including 15 last season. He turns 28 in June.

The guess here? The Seahawks will employ the same approach as last offseason. They will look to sign players to low-risk, one- or two-year deals with little guaranteed money and hope their decisions yield better results than last season when the team got next to nothing from J’Marcus Webb and Bradley Sowell.

As noted earlier this offseason, the Seahawks have a league-low $5.5 million total committed to the offensive line in 2017. Their preference has been to build through the draft. Seattle has drafted 14 offensive linemen since 2010, tied for most in the league. The problem? The majority of those picks have not panned out.

The Seahawks would be wise to add competition at tackle this offseason, but it seems unlikely that they’ll target one of the bigger names on the market in free agency.