The Seattle Seahawks traded away their best pass rusher in Frank Clark this offseason, but they replaced him with fellow defensive lineman Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah, who, when healthy, is a fine pass rusher in his own right.
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is loving the thought of what Ansah will bring to the table this coming season:
“Everybody needs to practice in order to get ready but, Ziggy’s a really good ball player, he’s played a lot of football, he’s done all of the things we’ve asked him to do in our scheme, he’s really an excellent fit for us, as long as he’s up mentally and communication-wise and we can see that in the walk through we know he’s making progress towards being ready,” Carroll said, according to Liz Mathews of Seahawks Wire. “It’s that last bit of shucking the blocks, getting your leverage right, getting your pads down and all that kind of stuff and his timing on his pass rush, that will come when he gets back on the practice field going.”
Ansah is recovering from shoulder surgery, but there seems to be a possibility he could be ready for Week 1.
The 30-year-old, who played his collegiate football at BYU, was originally selected by the Detroit Lions with the fifth overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft.
He had an impressive rookie campaign, totaling 30 tackles, eight sacks and a couple of forced fumbles, but his best year came during his third season when he racked up 47 tackles, 14.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.
Ansah also registered 44 tackles and 12 sacks in 2017.
However, he played in just seven games this past year, logging 11 tackles and four sacks before a shoulder injury ended his season.
Follow Us
Subscribe