On Tuesday, the Seahawks announced the signings of Benson Mayowa and ex-49er Kerry Hyder. In doing so, Seattle seemed to be closing the door on the possibility of rehiring former first-round player and longtime fan favorite Bruce Irvin. With your career in the Pacific Northwest probably coming to an end, what’s next for the former West Virginia standout? Apparently, Irvin may be deciding that it’s time to hang up his boots and end the day.
Bruce Irvin “liked” the above tweets earlier this morning, and a number of cryptic posts on social media lead to the notion that Irvin may, in fact, be retiring. Irvin will be 34 during the 2021 season. His return to Seattle in 2020 was a welcome lift, as his magnetic attitude – both on and off the field – has always made him dear to fans throughout his career. The fanfare, unfortunately, was short-lived, as their welcome season was interrupted in week 2 with a torn ACL.
In addition to being a first-round pick for Seattle in the legendary 2012 draft, Irvin’s personal path to the NFL goes much deeper. I highly recommend reading this exceptional article that Irvin wrote for the Players Tribune in 2017, which details his life before football. As a professional, Irvin played a key role in defending the Seahawks’ Super Bowl victory in 2013. He collected 52 bags over his 9-year career while also playing for the Raiders, Falcons and Panthers.
Although Irvin may still be working on his next steps, as no official announcement has been made, the Hawks may be evaluating their future plans as well. A year ago, the Seahawks’ quick pass was in a very different position, at least perceptibly. At that time, Jadeveon Clowney’s departure was still a very fluid situation, as we all pondered the merits of paying a high dollar to a player who had three sacks and 13 QB strikes the previous year. The Hawks made a bold decision to proceed with a group of Irvin, Benson Mayowa, debutants Darrell Taylor and Alton Robinson and sophomore LJ Collier.
Many changes in the year. The Hawks lost he looked smart when they stood their ground and Clowney eventually signed a $ 12 million deal with Tennessee, where he continued to have the least healthy and productive season since his debut year. Meanwhile, Benson Mayowa’s recent rehiring was announced by fans after a solid 2020 campaign. Collier stepped away from the “bust” label for at least another year while his game improved in a second-year campaign, where he started all 16 games of the regular season and accounted for a trio of sacks after a year of almost anonymous debut. Darrell Taylor never saw the field, but Alton Robinson performed well in limited actions, exhibiting an ability to reach the quarterback at critical moments in the game and even showing some talent against the race. But, as Tyler detailed last week, even with solid performances from Mayowa, Collier and Robinson, the defense looked historically poor until mid-season, when Schneider exchanged a vintage horn with Cincinnati for Carlos Dunlap, who did his part for revitalize the defense in the final stretch.
But, with Dunlap as an unlikely candidate to return after the latest changes to the squad, and Irvin virtually gone, how comfortable is Seattle with the defensive end group currently on the squad? The Hawks have a group of talented and young, but unproven, players behind veterans Hyder and Mayowa, who will turn 30 at the start of the season. None exceeded 10 bags in one season, and only Mayowa, Hyder and LJ Collier have extensive initial experience. Schneider and Carroll are in a difficult situation with the salary cap, and the chances that they will add more important names to the free agency seem minimal, even with some not-yet-signed notable players like Jadeveon Clowney, Aldon Smith, Melvin Ingram and Justin Houston.
In all likelihood, if Seattle wants to continue to boost its approval race, the April draft may be the most likely remnant way to do so – a draft in which Seattle currently holds only three selections, by far the smallest in the PC / JS was. What do you think – did Seattle do enough to handle the passing race in this off season? Who are some players that they should consider with choices 56, 129 and 250?