The Seahawks’ offensive line could be very different in 2021. (Getty)
Left-guard Seahawks left-back Mike Iupati announced his retirement on Monday after 11 seasons in the NFL.
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No one should be surprised. The injuries hurt him in his two seasons with the Seahawks. He lost seven of the 32 games of the regular season.
He spent all 11 years of his career at NFC West, making three Pro Bowls for the San Francisco 49ers and one with the Arizona Cardinals. He said his body was fed up in a Spokesman-Review article announcing his retirement.
His announcement opens the door to one of the most important decisions that General Manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll faced with the Seahawks. They have two big holes in the middle of the offensive line and need to decide whether Jordan Simmons or Phil Haynes are good enough in the left guard and whether they should re-sign Ethan Pocic or find another starting point.
The free agency will offer more in the center than in the guard. Corey Linsley, of Green Bay, is considered the best center in the free agents market and can move US $ 10 million a year, if not more. But Alex Mack, Ted Karras, Austin Blythe, Joe Looney and David Andrews are also available, and that does not include centers that can be cut.
Brandon Scherff is the best guard, but the Washington Football Team will find a way to keep him. Joe Thuney of the New England Patriots is next, but there is a big drop after that.
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The offensive line is becoming a big story at NFC West. Russell Wilson threw the Seahawks’ offensive line under the bus in his post-Super Bowl interviews and said the line needs to be better. The San Francisco 49ers need to find a way to sign again with Trent Williams and that could cost more than $ 20 million a year, an easy task with a tight pay cap and a long list of free agents.
The Los Angeles Rams surprised everyone last week when coach Sean McVay fired offensive line coach Aaron Kromer and hired Stanford racing game coordinator Kevin Carberry. Kromer’s departure leaves McVay with just four of his original 2017 team coaches. The Rams also have problems with the offensive line and may not be able to sign Blythe again. As they will be over $ 30 million over the limit after completing the deal with Matthew Stafford, they may have to attack Rob Havenstein.
With the hiring of the Seahawks from former Rams pass game coordinator Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator and former Rams offensive line assistant Andy Andyerson as racing game coordinator, you may be wondering if the Seahawks they would be tempted to go to the reserve center of Blythe or Rams, Brian Allen. Both are familiar with the offensive line scheme that Waldron and Dickerson are bringing in from Rams, and would be well trained by Seahawks offensive line coach Mike Solari.
Solari values size along the offensive line, and the Rams scheme also needs good blockers’ athleticism. If the Seahawks improve on the offensive line and the new attack under Waldron allows Russell Wilson to play faster than the 2.97 seconds he held the ball on average in passing moves, the Seattle quarterback should have his first season of sack under-40 since 2012. In the past four years, Jared Goff and Jimmy Garoppolo, who have played on systems with the Rams and 49ers similar to what Waldron is bringing to Seattle, have only had one sack season of 30 or more each.
It is true that Wilson needs to be hit less. Now that Iupati is gone, work begins on discovering the Seahawks’ offensive line.
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