Pete Carroll wants more big wide receivers.
One Tuesday, he got one: six-time Pro Bowl pass catcher Brandon Marshall.
The 34-year-old Marshall indicated on his Instagram account that he has agreed to a free-agent contract with Seattle.
The one-year deal could be worth up to $2 million, including incentives, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Marshall was an All-Pro in 2012 when he caught 118 passes for 1,508 yards for the Chicago Bears. He had 109 receptions and a league-leading 14 touchdowns in 2015 with the New York Jets and 59 catches for the Jets in 2016.
He moved on to the New York Giants last year, but missed all but one month of the season because of an ankle injury.
He arrives in Seattle six weeks after the Giants waived him with a failed-physical designation.
“We would always like to have (big wide receivers),” Carroll said this month. “Our guys that do a lot of our playing are the quicker guys, smaller guys … so we are always looking.”
Marshall has had six seasons with at least 100 receptions in his 12-year career with Denver, Miami, Chicago, the Jets and the Giants. He played just five games for the Giants and had a career-low 18 receptions last season. His season ended on Oct. 10 when New York put him on injured reserve with a severe ankle injury.
If the 6-foot-4, 229-pound Marshall proves to be healthy again, he could give the Seahawks what they need, especially after the offseason departure of 6-foot-7 Jimmy Graham in free agency.
In the past eight months Seattle has also lost former No.-2 wide receiver Jermaine Kearse in a trade to the Jets for since-departed defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, plus Kearse’s successor as the second wideout, Paul Richardson, to Washington in free agency this spring.
Carroll has for decades coveted big, physical wide receivers. Before Marshall’s deal Tuesday, on the first practice day of Seattle’s second week of organized team activities, the Seahawks’ proven wide receivers were 5-10, 192-pound Doug Baldwin, with 5-10, 182-pound Tyler Lockett entering the final year of his rookie contract and Marcus Johnson (6-1, 204) plus Jaron Brown (6-3, 204) having arrived this offseason to compete for playing time. Last year’s draft picks Amara Darboh (6-2, 215) and David Moore (6-0, 215) remain unknowns.
The only one of the now-12 wide receivers Seattle has on its 90-man offseason roster bigger than Marshall is Tanner McEvoy (6-6, 230). But the former college quarterback and safety, a surprise to make the team as a rookie free agent in 2016, is no sure thing to make the 2018 team.
Size is the reason the Seahawks signed former University of Washington and Mississippi transfer wide receiver Damore’ea Stringfellow this month after a tryout at rookie minicamp. He’s 6-2 and 209, but has yet to play in an NFL game.
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