Joe Thomas isn’t coming to Seattle. Neither is Joe Staley.
The NFL’s trade deadline came and went Tuesday with the Seattle Seahawks choosing not to make any deals, including potentially upgrading their offensive line.
The speculation heading into the deadline was that Seattle may make a move for a veteran tackle, with the Cleveland Browns’ six-time All-Pro Thomas and the San Francisco 49ers’ five-time Pro Bowler Staley rumored to be available on the trade market. The Seahawks, with a banged up quarterback in Russell Wilson, a struggling running game, and two undrafted free agents starting at tackle, were thought to be among the teams interested in Thomas or Staley.
But Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said in the run-up to the deadline that making a major trade was unlikely, both because of expected high asking prices, as well as the logistics behind fitting a high-priced player under the salary cap.
That seemed to be the case for the entire NFL on Tuesday, as neither Thomas nor Staley was moved. Indeed, a grand total of one trade was completed on deadline day. The only significant deal that took place in advance of the deadline came Monday, when the New England Patriots surprisingly sent Pro Bowl linebacker Jamie Collins to Cleveland for a conditional third-round draft pick.
By not making a trade the Seahawks are keeping the faith with Bradley Sowell and George Fant at left tackle. Sowell, signed as a low-budget free agent during the offseason, started the first six games of the season before suffering a sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee in Seattle’s 6-6 tie against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 23. Fant, an undrafted rookie who played basketball in college, made his first NFL start in last Sunday’s 25-20 loss to the New Orleans Saints. It’s possible Sowell will recover in time to play Monday against the Buffalo Bills.
However, the Seahawks didn’t leave the day empty handed. Seattle added some emergency depth to its pass rush by signing free agent defensive end Damontre Moore.
Moore was originally a third-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft by the New York Giants. The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder appeared in 42 games with the Giants the previous three seasons, showing promise by recording 60 tackles and 8.5 sacks. However, Moore was abruptly waived by the Giants last December for violating team rules, which reportedly included multiple confrontations with teammates.
Moore finished out the 2015 season with the Miami Dolphins before being released in May. He was signed by the Oakland Raiders in August, but released during training camp.
Moore provides additional depth at defensive end as the Seahawks expect to be without starter Michael Bennett for a brief period. Bennett, who sat out Sunday’s game against New Orleans, is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday in Los Angeles. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Monday he expected Bennett to miss two-to-three weeks.
To make room on the 53-man roster for Moore the Seahawks waived defensive end Malliciah Goodman, who was signed last week.
For more on the Seattle sports scene, check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at www.heraldnet.com/tag/seattle-sidelines, or follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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