“Should absolutely do this” - Mina Kimes urges Seahawks to sign former Bears OL for Sam Darnold

According to NFL insider Mina Kimes, the Seattle Seahawks' priority should be adding a former First-team All-Big 12 guard. He believes the NFC West team must improve its pass protection next season.

On Friday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that free-agent guard Teven Jenkins will meet with the Seahawks on Monday to discuss potentially signing. Kimes believes that’s a sensible move.

The Bears drafted Jenkins in the second round of the 2021 draft, and the former All-Big 12 guard out of Oklahoma State signed a four-year, $8 million contract, which included a bonus of over $3 million.

Jenkins started 14 games for Chicago in 2024, allowing four quarterback sacks while being flagged for four penalties. He also gave up one quarterback hit and seven pressures.

Chicago’s first overall pick from the 2024 draft, Caleb Williams, was under duress often behind centre last season, taking 68 sacks, as the Bears finished with a record of 5-12. In April 2023, Jenkins announced that he’d be moving from left to right guard after the Bears had signed Nate Davis from the Tennessee Titans.

Seahawks must protect Sam Darnold

Sam Darnold had a nice bounce-back season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024, guiding them to the playoffs and making the Pro Bowl for the first time in his NFL career. The former first-round draft pick by the New York Jets joined Seattle this week on a three-year, $100.5 million deal.

The man born in Dana Point, California, is often criticized for struggling when under pressure, which was evident down the stretch of the 2024 campaign. In their regular season finale versus the Detroit Lions, Darnold completed just 41.9% of his throws (18 of 41) in a 31-9 loss. In his playoff debut, he was sacked nine times by the Los Angeles Rams while also losing a fumble in the Vikings' 27–9 defeat.

Darnold was dropped behind the line of scrimmage 48 times during the previous regular season, a career-high for him as an NFL quarterback. At the same time, the Associated Press nominated him for the league’s Comeback Player of the Year, putting up 4,319 yards passing and 35 touchdowns.

Seattle wasn’t great regarding pass protection in 2024, as its starting quarterback, Geno Smith, was sacked 50 times. Smith had only taken 31 sacks in the previous campaign.