Continuing to open up financial flexibility for the start of free agency next week, the Seattle Seahawks announced they have released veteran nose tackle Bryan Mone.
One day after cutting safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams as well as tight end Will Dissly, Mone's release shouldn't come as a surprise. The former undrafted signee out of Michigan sat out the entire 2023 season recovering from a torn ACL and with a cap hit north of $5 million, he became an expendable asset.
Following the move to cut Mone in addition to Tuesday's trio of transactions, Seattle now has $41.61 million in salary cap space according to OverTheCap.com.
Prior to his knee injury suffered in a Week 15 loss to the 49ers during the 2022 season, Mone developed from a practice squad player into a productive contributor on the Seahawks defensive line. After dressing for four games in his rookie season, the massive 345-pound defender appeared in 37 games from 2020 to 2022, including eight starts, registering 69 tackles, two sacks, two pass deflections, and three tackles for loss.
Viewing him as part of their future plans in the trenches at the time, general manager John Schneider rewarded Mone with a two-year extension worth up to $12 million in June 2022. Unfortunately, with Wednesday's expected news, he didn't play a down for Seattle after the extension kicked in.
While it's possible Mone could return to the Seahawks if healthy on a cheaper, team-friendly deal, for now, they will move forward with second-year defender Cameron Young as their primary nose tackle in the middle. The team also re-signed former undrafted signee and Tacoma native Matthew Gotel to a future/reserve contract in January as extra depth.
With a new head coach in Mike Macdonald now in charge and implementing a new scheme, Seattle likely will look for an upgrade at the nose tackle spot in free agency and/or the upcoming draft. As defensive coordinator with the Ravens, his unit had a talented space plugger in Michael Pierce anchoring their front line and 338-pound reserve Travis Jones providing valuable snaps behind him, so improving the position will be a priority.
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