Seattle Seahawks trade for defensive end Carlos Dunlap
The Seattle Seahawks made a move to bolster their anemic pass rush on Wednesday by trading for defensive end Carlos Dunlap.
It’s no secret the Seattle Seahawks have serious issues putting pressure on opposing. Currently, they are tied for 26th place in the NFL with nine sacks. Two of them are from safety Jamal Adams. That leaves seven sacks through six games made by the defensive front.
Coming into this season, the Seahawks thought they could boost their pass rush by signing former team members Bruce Irvin and Benson Mayowa. Irvin made it through two un-impactful games before blowing out his knee. Mayowa played in all six games with only marginal success.
Credit Seahawks General Manager John Schneider for recognizing the problem on his team and taking action. Wednesday, he traded for a pass rusher. Seattle acquired defensive end Carlos Dunlap, on Wednesday from Cincinnati in exchange for center B.J. Finney and a 2021 seventh-round draft pick.
Dunlap, an 11-year NFL veteran, and two-time Pro Bowl selection has 82.5 career sacks. He became available after a very public dispute over playing time. It got so bad between Dunlap and the Bengals that the defensive tackle put his Cincinnati home up for sale on social media, Sunday, and the team asked him not to come to their facilities anymore.
The former Florida Gators star signed a two-year extension before the season. Seattle is on the hook for $4.6M this season. If the Seahawks keep him next season, Dunlap will count for $11.5M against the cap.
Due to COVID-19 protocols, he won’t be able to play until Week 9. With both Dunlap and recently signed defensive tackle Damon Harrison on the defensive line during the second half of the season. The Seahawks won’t be the same pushovers up front they were in the first half.
Two birds with one stone
In addition to getting a desperately needed pass rusher, Schneider unloaded some dead weight in Finney. Signed as a free agent in the offseason to a two-year, $8M contract, Finney was expected to be the Seahawks starting center. He had a bad training camp, and Ethan Pocic beat him out for the job.
After their week 8 victory, @Carlos_Dunlap now leads the @Bengals in sacks this season.@insidetheNFL pic.twitter.com/fpttNG6fRW
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) October 30, 2018
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