The Seattle Seahawks continued to reshape their defensive line Wednesday, reportedly agreeing to a one-year deal with former Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Tony McDaniel.
Already this offseason the Seahawks have signed defensive ends Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, and with the addition of McDaniel, whose deal was first reported by ProFootballTalk.com, Seattle’s D-line could look very different in 2013.
The Seahawks still have starters Red Bryant, Brandon Mebane and Chris Clemons, though Clemons, who is recovering from knee surgery, may not be back by the start of the season. But Avril and Bennett will play big roles, and McDaniel has a chance to earn a starting job with Alan Branch still unsigned. Branch, a starting tackle on Seattle’s defense for each of the past two seasons, is an unrestricted free agent, and the fact that the Seahawks have not re-signed him up to this point, and have now added McDaniel, seems to point to Branch landing elsewhere.
The 6-foot-7, 305-pound McDaniel, 28, came into the league as an undrafted free agent with Jacksonville, and has spent the past four seasons in Miami. He battled through a knee injury last season but still appeared in 11 games, recording just six tackles. In the previous two years, however, he had 2.5 sacks each season as a rotational lineman, and had a career-best 30 tackles in 2010.
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