The Seattle Seahawks placed restricted free agent tenders on defensive end Dion Jordan and cornerback Justin Coleman, and finalized the trade of defensive end Michael Bennett to the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday as free agency officially gets underway.
Seattle tendered Jordan with a first-round pick and Coleman with a second-round pick. However, there is a pretty sizable caveat with Jordan.
Since Jordan was a former first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins, Seattle only needed to tender Jordan at the lowest RFA tender amount. The "original round" tender for Jordan is the first-round, allowing the team to tie him to the team for just $1.907 million. Coleman, meanwhile, will get $2.914 million with his second-round tender.
Other teams can negotiation with and sign either player to an offer sheet. If Seattle declined to match, they'd get the draft pick in return from the signing team as compensation.
Jordan racked up four sacks in five games for Seattle last season as he flashed the potential of a former first-round pick. Coleman had two interceptions that he returned for touchdowns last season after being acquired in a trade with New England right before the start of the regular season.
Jordan could be a vital part of Seattle's future with Bennett being traded and Cliff Avril's career in jeopardy due to a neck injury.
Seattle also kept running back J.D. McKissic, center Joey Hunt, long snapper Tyler Ott, defensive end Branden Jackson and defensive end Quinton Jefferson with exclusive-rights tenders.
The Seahawks also completed the trade of Bennett to the Eagles upon the start of the new league year at 1 p.m.
Seattle acquired wide receiver Marcus Johnson and a fifth-round pick from Philadelphia in exchange for Bennett and a seventh-round pick. The deal was reported last week when the agreement was struck between the two teams. It could not become official until the new league year.
"Michael was a foundational block of our success," the team said in a statement. "We appreciate the energy and passion with which he played and the leadership he brought on game day. We will always be grateful for his fun-loving spirit that endeared him to 12s, and for his commitment to the community."
Photo Credit: SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 31: Defensive end Dion Jordan #95 of the Seattle Seahawks nearly tips the ball out of the hands of quarterback Drew Stanton #5 of the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field on December 31, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. The Arizona Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks 26-24. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)