Seahawks Have Decisions to Make at Center

Entering the final year of his contract and coming off a torn ACL, Justin Britt's future in Seattle remains in limbo. But if the team moves on from him, what's the best avenue to take in an effort to replace him?

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

With the offseason now in full swing for the Seahawks, it’s time to take a long, hard look at the middle of the offensive line, where the organization has some tough choices to make at the center position.

Justin Britt had been a staple at center for Seattle for the past four seasons before suffering a devastating torn ACL in late October during the Seahawks’ 27-20 win against the Falcons. He only missed two starts in the previous three seasons before landing on injured reserve.

Now Britt and Seattle may be at a crossroads as he battles back from a serious knee injury, which can take up to a year to fully heal, including rehab. While he's making excellent progress per Pete Carroll, there is no guarantee that Britt will be snapping footballs to Russell Wilson at the start of training camp this summer.

Britt signed an extension before the 2017 season and has one year remaining on the deal. As it happens with NFL players on the last year of their deals, the Seahawks could explore the option of releasing Britt before the 2020 season.

Seattle stands to gain over $8 million against the cap if they cut Britt, who has a cap charge north of $11 million for 2020. This would give the Seahawks more flexibility in making moves like re-signing elite edge defender Jadeveon Clowney and defensive tackle Jarran Reed, retaining tackles George Fant or Germain Ifedi, and possibly adding a key player in free agency in March.

It’s an option the Seahawks will at least consider, given the fact it would be the move that would create the most cap room among players they could potentially cut.

No disrespect is meant to Britt, who has been a leader and a warrior on an offensive line that is always in flux and in doubt. Before Duane Brown arrived in the middle of the 2017 season, Britt was the clear-cut leader of the line and he's well-respected in the locker room, which could make moving on from him more difficult.

The other thing that makes such a decision a risky one for the Seahawks is the lack of depth behind him on the roster.

Joey Hunt filled in admirably once Britt went down, but at times he was over-matched, facing menacing interior linemen like Vita Vea, D.J. Jones, Fletcher Cox, and Aaron Donald. Hunt is a good insurance policy at center and should be re-signed as a restricted free agent to serve a backup role, but due to lack of size, he should not be pegged as Seattle's starter moving forward.

Ethan Pocic played center at LSU before mostly filling in at guard for Seattle the past three seasons. The 24-year old has largely been a disappointment after being taken in the second round of the 2017 draft, playing in 30 of a possible 48 regular season games due to injuries and starting just 16 of those contests.

With Hunt and Pocic seemingly not long-term solutions, if Seattle were to move on from Britt, finding a replacement could happen in the draft. There are four centers that could be selected in the first two days of the draft, including Tyler Biadasz of Wisconsin.

Comparatively speaking, last year, just three centers were taken before the sixth round. This year's crop is far superior, providing some intriguing options if Seattle wants to go that route.

The free agent pool seems pretty dry aside from the seven-year veteran A.Q. Shipley, most recently starting for the Cardinals. However, he received a grade from Pro Football Focus that was marginally better than Joey Hunt.

If the Seahawks do move on from Britt, the draft is their best (and maybe only) bet to replace him. The money saved can be put to good use to fix more glaring holes at other vital positional groups.