Report: Seahawks Tender G Phil Haynes
Two days remain until the "legal tampering" period of NFL free agency gets underway and the Seahawks are making their final preparations. According to Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com, Seattle will be using an original-round tender on restricted free agent guard Phil Haynes, which is worth $2.54 million.
Haynes was taken in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Wake Forest, so any team interested in signing him would have to surrender a fourth-round draft choice to the Seahawks in order to do so. That is not expected to happen, though the fourth-year lineman will need to sign his tender to make his stay in Seattle official.
Plagued by injuries, Haynes has appeared in just seven games through his first three seasons at the professional level. After serving half of his rookie campaign on the PUP list, the North Carolina native made his debut in the Seahawks' 28-23 loss to the Packers in the divisional round of the 2019 NFC playoffs, logging 42 snaps in place of the injured Mike Iupati and Jamarco Jones.
Heading into training camp looking to ride the momentum of his solid first outing, Haynes instead opened the 2020 season on injured reserve with an ailing hip. He went on to play just a single offensive snap in a Week 12 game against the Eagles before heading back on IR with a groin injury.
With just 43 career snaps to his name, Haynes entered 2021 without a guaranteed spot on Seattle's 53-man roster. He didn't make the cut, getting waived despite a decent preseason. Two days later, however, he signed back with the team's practice squad and stayed there until late November.
As Jones and cornerback Tre Brown were placed on IR, Haynes was signed to the Seahawks' active roster. From there, he played in three games, making two starts at left guard in Weeks 17 and 18 with Damien Lewis on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Helping running back Rashaad Penny explode for a combined 360 yards and three touchdowns on the ground against the Lions and Cardinals, Haynes left quite the impression and earned a 68.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus as a starter.
Assuming he signs his tender, Haynes could have an opportunity to crack Seattle's starting lineup full-time if the team moves Lewis to center or trades right guard Gabe Jackson, which would save $6 million towards the salary cap in a post-June 1 deal.
