Free agent defensive tackle Henry Melton, who had visited the Seahawks last week, will sign with Dallas, he announced on Twitter.
Thank you chicago for the best 5 years of my life!…. I can’t wait to begin the next chapter of my life… With a star on my helmet.
— Henry Melton (@HenMel) March 19, 2014
Melton, who is coming off an ACL tear, would have been a nice option as an interior pass rusher for the Seahawks, who lost Clinton McDonald in free agency last week. Even so, it seemed unlikely that the Seahawks were going to get in a bidding war for Melton, or just about any other free agent, when their priority is keeping a Super Bowl roster as intact as possible, not spending big to add players. Had Melton been available at a great value, he would have made a ton of sense for Seattle, but the Seahawks couldn’t afford to spend big to land him.
Not landing Melton isn’t a huge deal for the Seahawks, but it does mean that with McDonald gone, instead of hoping that somebody like Jordan Hill, Greg Scruggs or a yet-to-be picked rookie can step up as an interior rusher, they’ll need one of them to do that.
The question now is what this means for the Seahawks’ chances of landing defensive end Jared Allen, who visited Seattle over the weekend. Allen had also been a target of Dallas, but the Cowboys are tight on cap space, so it’s very unlikely they could sign both Melton and Allen. Allen reportedly has other suitors, but Dallas landing Melton should help Seattle’s chances when it comes to Allen.
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