The Seattle Seahawks continue to turn over their defense this offseason as they parted ways with veteran defensive tackle Al Woods on Monday. Woods, who had two different stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, will now be looking for a new team just shy of his 36th birthday.
Woods, who was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of LSU, has been with numerous teams over the years including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, and Indianapolis Colts.
Last season, Woods started 14 games on his way to recording 39 tackles, two sacks and five tackles for loss while primarily serving as an early-down run defender in the middle of the Seahawks’ defense. He logged just 375 defensive snaps in 2022 and after playing 619 in 2021.
Pro Football Focus has Woods with a 75.4 overall grade for his 2021 play and a 68.2 grade for his 2022 play.
Woods previously had two stints with the Steelers. In 2010, he was a member of the Steelers’ practice squad after being waived by the Saints. The Buccaneers, however, signed Woods off the Steelers’ practice squad in November of 2010.
Woods found himself back in Pittsburgh in November of 2011 after being claimed off waivers from the Seahawks. He spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons with the Steelers but managed to log just 246 total defensive snaps during that span. He left the Steelers for the Tennessee Titans as an unrestricted free agent in March of 2014.
At this point of his career, Woods is just an early-down player in the middle of the defensive line and is mostly a run stuffer. Following his release from the Seahawks, he might have to settle for a one-year veteran benefit deal that would come with a chance of making a 53-man roster.
Will the Steelers be interested in bringing Woods back for one last hurrah? While you probably can’t completely rule out the possibility of that happening, the Steelers are likely looking to get a tad younger in the middle of their base defense, not older.
We’ll keep our eyes peeled just the same when it comes to Woods’ future, especially with the Steelers needing some experienced defensive linemen on their roster as free agency enters the slower period.
Prior to his Monday release, Woods was scheduled to earn a base salary of $3.25 million with the Seahawks in 2023.
