Source: Seahawks add Tomlinson to fill OL void

Brady Henderson, ESPNApr 12, 2024, 08:28 PM ET
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SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks are signing veteran guard Laken Tomlinson to a one-year deal, a source confirmed to ESPN on Friday.

The deal is worth up to $4 million, a source told ESPN.

Tomlinson, 32, was released by the New York Jets in February. He gives the Seahawks an experienced and durable starter to help fill one of their biggest remaining holes.

A first-round pick by the Detroit Lions in 2015, Tomlinson has made 138 starts for three teams over nine seasons — missing only one game in his career — and made his lone Pro Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. He has played almost exclusively at left guard.

Damien Lewis, Seattle’s starter there the past three seasons, signed with the Carolina Panthers early in free agency. Phil Haynes remains unsigned after starting eight games last year at right guard, where the Seahawks also used 2023 fourth-round pick Anthony Bradford. Their only addition at guard before Tomlinson was former Los Angeles Rams backup Tremayne Anchrum Jr., who got a one-year, minimum-salary deal with only $100,000 guaranteed.

At the league meetings last month, the Seahawks made no secret of their intention to continue adding to their offensive line. General manager John Schneider described it as an obvious need, and coach Mike Macdonald said they weren’t done there “by any stretch of the imagination.” Seattle also had interest in veteran guards Cody Whitehair and Greg Van Roten, sources told ESPN.

Tomlinson finished 34th among all guards (left or right) in pass block win rate in 2023 and ranks 27th in PBWR as a guard over the past three seasons. He has been an iron man, missing only nine offensive snaps over the past five seasons.

The Lions drafted Tomlinson 28th overall in 2015 out of Duke. He spent his first two seasons in Detroit, the next five in San Francisco and the past two with the Jets, who released him with one year left on a three-year, $40 million contract. Because he was released, he won’t count against Seattle’s formula for compensatory picks.

As of Friday, OverTheCap.com listed the Seahawks with the third-least amount of cap space of any team at around $1.7 million. It’s not clear whether they’ll have to free up more money to fit Tomlinson’s contract under their cap, but they will have to do so in order to sign their draft picks.

News of Tomlinson’s one-year deal was first reported by the NFL Network.