Terence Garvin Signs With Seattle Seahawks After One Year With Redskins

Terence Garvin unsurprisingly left the Washington Redskins in free agency. This appeared to be a foregone conclusion.

Last offseason, the Washington Redskins made a move to sign a restricted free agent away from the Pittsburgh Steelers. At the time, not many had heard of Terence Garvin. The former West Virginia linebacker had seen action on special teams for three years, but in 2015 had not recorded a single counting stat. Some were skeptical of whether or not Garvin would have an impact on the Redskins.

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Upon joining the team, Garvin became a part of the special teams unit. Teaming up with Houston Bates and Deshazor Everett, Garvin helped to strengthen that unit, and his relentless effort, decent athleticism and toughness made him a good player. Garvin also saw a little bit of action at linebacker as a depth guy, playing 57 snaps and recording 0.5 sacks.

Though Garvin appeared to have some upside, it was pretty clear that he was never going to get the chance to succeed in Washington. The team had a weakness at linebacker, and despite that Garvin never got higher than fifth on the depth chart at the position. He did flash a bit in the preseason, but the fact that the team’s coaching staff was never truly willing to take a chance with him in the lineup signified that they were moving on.

Since Garvin had signed a one year deal, it was assumed that he would be gone. Once the Redskins signed special teams player Chris Carter in free agency, that only solidified that notion. On Friday, Garvin’s departure was made official by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo:

Signing with the Seahawks was a smart move by Garvin. The Seahawks like to have toughness on their defense, like Garafolo mentioned, and Garvin can give them just that. Though he will likely play mostly on special teams, he could get a chance to fight for a backup spot.

Since the Seahawks run a 4-3 alignment, they are likely to carry more linebackers than the Redskins in the 2017 season. Also, Garvin projects to fit better in a 4-3 defense, as he can play an outside linebacker position that will allow his physicality to be on display. He could have success as a rotational player on the outside, as he is capable in coverage, though his main strength is his physical run-stopping ability.

This move is one with upside for the Seahawks. They brought Garvin on to compete with recently signed Michael Wilhoite and former Oakland Raider Dewey McDonald for potential backup jobs. If Garvin pans out, that is great. If not, they are risking very little.

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For the Redskins, they lose practically nothing. Garvin was a good depth player, but he was never going to be much more in Washington. He was playing out of position at middle linebacker in a 3-4, so he was always going to move on. The Redskins have already signed a potential replacement, and could continue to upgrade their linebacker position in the 2017 NFL Draft.