The Seattle Seahawks have signed 26-year old DT Alan Branch to a 2-year, $8 million dollar deal.  Branch played in all 16 games for the Cardinals last year and he had 35 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 1 pass defensed.  Branch has now played in 47 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 68 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 3 passes defensed.  This signing will help the interior of the Seahawks’ defense while hurting the division rival Cardinals at the same time.

The Seahawks have signed 24-year old WR Sidney Rice to a 5-year, $41 million dollar deal.  Rice played in 6 games (5 starts) for the Vikings last year and he caught 17 passes for 280 yards (16.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Rice has now played in 48 games (26 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 146 passes for 2,129 yards (14.6 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  This was an excellent signing for the Seahawks as they now have a legit #1 WR.  The bonus is that he has played his whole career so far with new Seahawks’ QB Tarvaris Jackson.

The Seahawks have signed 31-year old OG Robert Gallery to a 3-year deal.  Gallery is a giant at 6’7″, 325 pounds.  He should help the interior of the Seahawks’ offensive line.  Gallery played in 12 games (all starts) for the Raiders last year.  He has now played in 92 games (91 starts) in his first 7 years in the NFL.  Gallery will reunite with offensive line coach Tom Cable who was his head coach in Oakland.  This is a good move for the Seahawks.

The Seattle Seahawks have signed 28-year old QB Tarvaris Jackson.  Jackson played in 3 games (1 start) for the Vikings last year and he completed 34 of 58 passes (58.6%) for 341 yards with 3 TD passes and 4 INTs (63.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 7 times for 63 yards (9.0 ypc) last year as he is a very good runner.  Jackson has now played in 36 games (20 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has completed 354 of 603 passes (58.7%) for 3,984 yards with 24 TD passes and 22 INTs (76.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 119 times for 535 yards (4.5 ypc) with 4 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Jackson is 10-10 (50%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  The terms of his contract have not been disclosed yet but he’s likely to be the Seahawks’ starting QB in 2011 providing he can beat out Charlie Whitehurst for the job.

UPDATE:  (7/28/2011) – Jackson’s contract is for 2 years and $8 million bucks.

The Seattle Seahawks have released 30-year old OT Stacy Andrews.  Andrews played in 13 games (12 starts) for the Seahawks last year.  The offensive line was a sore spot for the Seahawks last year and Andrews was a big part of the problem.  Andrews has now played in 85 games (46 starts) in his first 7 years in the NFL, but he appears to be losing it.  It will be interesting to see if a team gives him another chance in 2011.

The Seattle Seahawks took 24-year old OG John Moffitt out of Wisconsin with the 75th overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Moffitt is 6’4″, 314 pounds and he’s a very physical player.  Moffitt can handle either guard spot and he also started one year at center in college.  He played in 13 games (all starts) for Wisconsin last year and he played in 45 games (42 starts) in his four years there.  I think he will compete for and likely win a starting job in 2011 at one of the guard spots.  This was a good pick for the Seahawks who are rebuilding the offensive line.

The Seattle Seahawks really reached last night by taking 22-year old G/T James Carpenter out of Alabama with the 25th overall pick of the NFL Draft.  Carpenter is 6’4″, 313 pounds, so he has the size to handle either guard or tackle in the NFL.  But, he’s likely going to take some time to develop and the coaches are going to have to get on him to keep him focused and motivated.  Carpenter played in 13 games (all starts) for Alabama last season.  He played in 47 games (all starts) in his four years with Alabama and Coffeyville Community College.  The Seahawks need help on the O-Line right now and I think they should have took someone else and waited a round or two before picking Carpenter.

The Seattle Seahawks have released 31-year old TE Chris Baker.  Baker played in all 16 games for the Seahawks last season and he caught 9 passes for 116 yards (12.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Seahawks will likely be looking to upgrade behind John Carlson at TE.  It will be interesting to see how the Seahawks decide to do that…..by trade, signing a free agent or drafting at TE.  They shouldn’t miss Baker too much, if at all in 2011.

The Seattle Seahawks have placed TE Chris Baker, OG Chester Pitts and RB Chris Henry on I.R. ending their seasons.  31-year old Chris Baker has a hip injury that will cause him to miss the playoffs.  He played in all 16 games for the Seahawks this year and he has caught 9 passes for 116 yards (12.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  31-year old Chester Pitts will miss the playoffs due to a concussion.  Pitts played in 7 games (5 starts) for the Seahawks this year.  25-year old RB Chris Henry will miss the playoffs due to a leg injury.  He played in 1 game and he didn’t touch the ball while making 1 tackle.  None of these guys are key players so the Seahawks should be o.k. without them.

The Seahawks have released 29-year old RB Julius Jones.  Jones played in 3 games for the Seahawks this year and he carried the ball 12 times for 30 yards (2.5 ypc).  Jones played in 32 games in his three years with the Seahawks and he carried the ball 347 times for 1,391 yards (4.0 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 49 passes for 308 yards (6.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs for the Seahawks.  The Seahawks won’t miss Jones even if he hooks on with another team as they still have Forsett and Washington to go along with the newly acquired Marshawn Lynch.