Seahawks Visiting With Free Agent G Greg Van Roten

Previously spending a brief cup of tea with the franchise, the Seattle Seahawks have brought Greg Van Roten back to town as a potential veteran reinforcement for the offensive line.

Sep 17, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Las Vegas Raiders guard Greg Van Roten (70) blocks / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Continuing to search for experienced help in the interior of the offensive line, the Seattle Seahawks have brought in an old friend for a free agent visit.

According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston, nine-year veteran guard Greg Van Roten flew out to Seattle to meet with the Seahawks on Wednesday. The 34-year old most recently started all 17 games for the Raiders last season and remains an unrestricted free agent.

Veteran free agent guard Greg Van Roten, who had a 75.3 @PFF blocking grade overall for #Raiders last season as one of their top offensive linemen, is visiting #Seahawks today, per a league source. Van Roten started 17 games last season, a career-high, for Las Vegas last season.…

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) April 3, 2024

Originally entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Penn, Van Roten has aged like fine wine after a rocky start to his career, which included being cut by Seattle at the end of training camp in 2014. The journeyman guard enjoyed the best season of his career in Las Vegas in 2023, finishing with Pro Football Focus' fifth-best overall blocking grade out of 54 qualified guards while allowing 21 pressures and five sacks on 626 pass protection snaps.

Prior to landing in the Sin City, Van Roten spent time with the Bills, Jets, and Panthers, starting 54 games from 2017 to 2022. A testament to his perseverance and patience, he played two seasons with the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League before returning to the NFL with Carolina in 2017, appearing in a regular season game for the first time since he started his career in Green Bay way back in 2012.

Playing at his best in the latter stages of his career, Greg Van Roten would be a quality stop-gap option at guard for the Seahawks. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Now preparing for his 10th NFL season, Van Roten would check off a number of boxes for the Seahawks, who only have one guard on the roster with more than a single NFL regular season start. With 110 games and 71 starts under his belt while logging more than 1,700 career snaps at both guard positions and a handful of snaps at center, his experience and versatility would be welcomed assets for an offensive line badly needing a veteran voice.

Even with him now being 34 years of age, Van Roten also remains a plus-athlete for the position, offering a trait line coach Scott Huff has preferred while coaching at Washington. Aside from having the lateral mobility to excel as a zone blocker and climb to the second level, he has historically been a quality blocker in space on screens as well, which would make him an ideal fit in new coordinator Ryan Grubb's scheme.

With only $2 million in cap space available, Van Roten likely will be offered a veteran minimum contract on a one-year deal with playing time incentives to either start at left guard or compete against incumbent Anthony Bradford at right guard. Regardless of whether he decides to sign or not, the guard position should stay a top priority for the Seahawks heading towards this month's NFL Draft.