Seahawks 'Need' to Sign Poona Ford, GM John Schneider Admits 'Issue' on D-Line

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider are placing an emphasis on re-signing defensive tackle Poona Ford in free agency.

The Seattle Seahawks entered this offseason with a focus on improving the defensive line and added a pair of potential difference-makers to address this in Dre'Mont Jones and Jarran Reed.

However, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll isn't content just yet with the group that he and general manager John Schneider have put together ... 

"There's a lot of work to do still, we know that," Carroll said. "We're faced now with different circumstances to deal with, just because we've spent a lot of money already and all of that, but we have a lot of work to do."

One such avenue Carroll's particularly keen on is re-signing defensive tackle Poona Ford, who's started 63 games across the last four seasons.

"Hopefully we can keep talking," Carroll said. "Really, we'd love to have (Ford) back. We need him to come back. So, we're actively involved with that."

The 5-11, 310-pound Ford has been a consistent player on the defensive interior for Seattle, playing in every game in each of the past three campaigns.

Ford, who was undrafted out of Texas in 2018, is coming off a year in which he recorded 35 tackles, three sacks, six tackles for loss and seven quarterback hits across 17 games, starting all but one.

But Carroll believes that Ford was misused, noting at season's end that the Seahawks prefer to play him at nose tackle but too often aligned him at three- and five-technique ... with Carroll saying he thinks it "wore (Ford) down."

As things stand, Seattle has question marks surrounding nose tackle; Ford has proven to be a capable solution, but there are hurdles to clear before a reunion can happen.

"It's an issue for us," Schneider said of the nose tackle position. "We're going to have to figure it out as we go along. Cash and cap, we're pretty tapped out, so we have to be careful how we proceed."

Thus, it may prove difficult to retain Ford - but Schneider and Carroll would certainly "love" to get a deal done ... and the latter feels like it's a necessity entering next season.

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You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft

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