Mike Macdonald says he can never have enough pass rushers and defensive linemen.
So DeMarcus Lawrence, come on down.
The Seahawks are signing the 11-year veteran and four-time Pro Bowl defensive end from the Dallas Cowboys to a three-year contract. It’s Seattle’s usual for bigger-bucks free-agent deals.
The contract includes $18 million guaranteed and up to $42 million with incentives and bonuses. NFL Media first reported the deal Wednesday afternoon, about an hour after the new league year began and the free-agent market officially opened.
Lawrence turns 33 next month. He’s played all 11 of his NFL seasons for the Cowboys, since they selected him in the second round of the 2014 draft out of Boise State.
His time in Dallas peaked in 2017 and ‘18, when he had 14 1/2- and 10 1/2-sack seasons. Those were his first two Pro Bowl years.
The $18 million guaranteed suggests it’s, in essence, a two-year deal, with the third year containing back-loaded, non-guaranteed money.
Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence is a top priority for the team in free agency this offseason. Michael Ainsworth/AP
He played in only four games last season. A foot injury put him on Dallas’ injured reserve list Oct. 1. He also went on injured reserve in 2021, when he played only seven games. Otherwise, he’s played all games and at least 57% of defensive snaps of seasons since 2016.
He had six sacks in 2022, his third Pro Bowl season. He’s had seven sacks combined the last two seasons.
The 6-foot-3, 265-pound Lawrence is 10th in Cowboys history with 61 1/2 sacks. He stated he wanted to return to Dallas to play a 12th season for the Cowboys this year. But Dallas entered the month with just over $3 million in available salary-cap money. Their chief operating officer, Stephen Jones, has said the team will be “selectively aggressive” in free agency.
So, Macdonald and the Seahawks stepped up to bring Lawrence to Seattle.
“Adding guys that affect the quarterback, you never turn that down, that opportunity,” Macdonald said two weeks ago at the league’s scouting combine in Indianapolis.
“I’m sure the (Super Bowl-champion) Eagles right now, probably the best pass-rushing crew in the league, and they’re thinking the same thing.
“So…yeah, we love our guys, but there’s somebody that’s sitting there staring you in the face, like, why would you not add to that crew?
“Again, like the D-line room, man, you can never have a deep enough D-line. You’re never going to go into the season like, ‘Yep, we’re good D-line.’”
What about Uchenna Nwosu?
It remains to be seen what Lawrence’s arrival means for Uchenna Nwosu, though Macdonald indicated at the combine there remains a place on the 2025 Seahawks for Nwosu.
The 28-year-old edge rusher played only 20 snaps from the start of last regular season into December while going on Seattle’s injured-reserve list twice. He injured his knee getting cut-blocked by Cleveland guard Wyatt Teller in the final preseason game in August. Then in his return for his season debut against the New York Giants in early October, he injured his thigh.
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (10) reacts to a chopblock that left him injured during the preseason game against the Cleveland Browns.
Nwosu has this year and next remaining on his contract. He has been scheduled for a salary-cap charge of $21.17 million this year. It’s the highest on the Seahawks now that they’ve traded Geno Smith and DK Metcalf, and cut wide receiver Tyler Lockett. Nwosu’s is the 12th-highest in the league among edge rushers. General manager John Schneider recently confirmed the Seahawks pushed back a trigger date of Feb. 15 on which Nwosu’s $6 million injury guarantee would have vested into a full guarantee for 2025.
The Seahawks still have time to decide how to proceed with Nwosu’s contract, now that they’ve added Lawrence, re-signed middle linebacker Ernest Jones to a three-year, $33 million deal, brought back defensive tackle Jarran Reed on a three-year, $25 million contract and signed new quarterback Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million free-agent deal.
At the combine a couple weeks ago, Macdonald sure sounded like he loves the idea of Nwosu pass rushing for the Seahawks again in 2025.
“If you think of the Minnesota game (late last season), games even like, what, two reps in the preseason, it’s like, ‘Man!’ It was a bummer,” Macdonald said of Nwosu’s injuries in 2024, “because you just saw what he could be, a force on the edge. He’s a great game runner. You just feel the toughness. The physicality, intelligence.
“It’s been awesome having him in the film room and being with the guys all the time. But to be able to do it on the field with the guys to take it to that level…”
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