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- Mar 20, 2019
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With Frank Clark now playing in Kansas City, the Seahawks are looking for other players to generate their pass rush during the 2019 season.
They signed one in Ziggy Ansah and drafted another in L.J. Collier, but the search also includes a holdover from last year’s team who will be playing a new position. Barkevious Mingo played defensive end at LSU and was the sixth overall pick by Cleveland in 2013 off that production, but has spent his NFL career playing linebacker.
Seattle’s moved him back to defensive end this year in a move that head coach Pete Carroll said is designed “to see if we can make him a really good rusher that can be a factor.” Mingo is all for it.
“That’s what I came into this league to do,” Mingo said, via the Seattle Times. “I came into this league to rush the passer. And teams I’ve been on before, they’ve had a different idea of what they wanted me to do. And that’s OK. It’s their team. They can play their players how they want to play them. But looking back at it, I’m happy I get to go back and do it. I wish it would have been a little earlier in my career. But still, I’m just excited for the opportunity to go out there and just help the team.”
With Ansah still recovering from shoulder surgery and Collier out with an ankle injury, Mingo should get plenty of chances to show the shift is a step in the right direction. The Seahawks would save $4.1 million in cap space and $3.4 million in salary if they parted ways with Mingo before the start of the season, so he’ll need to make the most of it to keep his spot on the roster.