The Seattle Seahawks have said goodbye to a good number of familiar faces on their defense this offseason, with Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman, and Jeremy Lane three of the most noteworthy names. And now, they’re about to say goodbye to a highly-rated youngster before he even played a single snap for them.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport has reported that Seattle is expected to release defensive tackle Malik McDowell “in the near future.”
The #Seahawks have not yet cleared 2017 2nd round pick DT Malik McDowell, and source said they are expected to release him in the near future. The hope is that another team will medically clear him.
The Seahawks picked McDowell in the second round (35th overall) of last year’s draft. However, he missed his entire rookie year after getting into a serious ATV accident last July.
As Rapaport points out, the Seahawks have still not medically cleared McDowell, who suffered a concussion and facial injuries after the accident.
The 6-6, 295-pound McDowell was expected to be an impactful defensive tackle for the Seahawks defense with his strength and explosiveness as an interior pass-rusher. However, it now remains to be seen whether he can actually return to the field and resume his NFL career after his injury.
McDowell’s release further highlights the team’s need to fortify the defensive line this offseason after also letting Bennett and Sheldon Richardson go. Jarran Reed and Nazair Jones are likely to be the team’s two defensive tackle starters if the season started today. They’ll need to continue adding more depth behind them, possibly in the draft, if they want to make that D-line as strong as possible.
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