Seahawks tender Fant, Jefferson; agree to terms with K Myers, LB Kendricks

Wild Card Round - Detroit Lions v Seattle Seahawks

RENTON -- The Seahawks have tendered restricted free agent contracts to tackle George Fant and defensive end Quinton Jefferson.

Additionally, the team has placed tenders on 10 exclusive rights free agents ahead of the start of free agency.

The Seahawks placed a second-round tender on Fant, which carries a contract value of $3.095 million for the 2019 season. Jefferson received an original-round tender worth $2.025 million.

Fullback Tre Madden was not tendered as a restricted free agent and is now an unrestricted free agent.

Seattle would be entitled to a second-round draft pick from any team that elected to sign Fant to an offer sheet. Jefferson would net a fifth-round pick since the Seahawks drafted him in the fifth-round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Teams can negotiate with restricted free agents and sign them to an offer sheet. The Seahawks would have the right to match any offer sheet and would be entitled to the corresponding compensation should they decline to match.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks also tendered contracts to guard Jordan Simmons, center Joey Hunt, linebackers Austin Calitro and Emmanuel Beal, running back J.D. McKissic, wide receiver David Moore, defensive end Branden Jackson, cornerback Kalan Reed, safety Shalom Luani and long snapper Tyler Ott.

Safety T.J. Mutcherson and defensive end Ricky Ali'fua were non-tendered and will become unrestricted free agents. Safety T.J. Green, who retired from football after signing with Seattle last season, also was non-tendered.

Free agency news & notes:

The Seahawks have been relatively quiet during the first two open days of negotiation for free agency. They were not tied to anything going on during the first two days of the negotiating period before reaching a deal with Pro Bowl kicker Jason Myers on Wednesday morning. The deal with Myers is reportedly a four-year deal worth approximately $16 million.

Myers spent last offseason with Seattle before losing out in the kicking competition to Sebastian Janikowski. Myers moved on to the New York Jets and made the Pro Bowl roster in the AFC. He converted 33 of 36 field goals and 30 of 33 extra point attempts with the Jets. He also converted six of his seven tried from 50-plus yards.

NFL Network also reported that linebacker Mychal Kendricks is re-signing with the Seahawks on a one-year deal worth $4 million. Kendricks agent, Doug Hendrickson, tweeted a celebratory message with Kendricks tagged right before the reports came from NFL Network.

Kendricks is due to be sentenced April 4 after pleaded guilty to charges of insider trading last September. Kendricks has already served an eight-game suspension for the transgression and should be clear to play with Seattle as long as he's not in jail.

The team also re-signed cornerback Akeem King - who was set to be a restricted free agent - to a reported one-year deal worth $1.4 million with a $400,000 signing bonus on Sunday prior to the start of the free agency process.

The Seahawks have seen several players depart in free agency. Free safety Earl Thomas agreed to a reported four-year, $55 million contact with the Baltimore Ravens.

Thomas had a falling out with the team after asking for a new contract and holding out throughout training camp last year. Thomas then broke his leg in Arizona in Week 4, gave the middle finger to the Seahawks bench while leaving the field on a cart, and was placed on injured reserve in the days afterward. Thomas was the second draft pick ever made by Pete Carroll and John Schneider with the Seahawks in 2010. He spent nine years with the Seahawks and was named to the Pro Bowl six times with three first-team All-Pro selections.

Backup quarterback cornerback Justin Coleman (Detroit), guard J.R. Sweezy (Arizona), backup quarterback Brett Hundley (Arizona), running back Mike Davis (Chicago) and defensive tackle Shamar Stephen (Minnesota) have all reached agreements to move on to new teams over the last two days as well.

Photo Credit: SEATTLE, WA - JANUARY 07: Doug Baldwin #89 of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates with George Fant #74 after scoring a 13-yard touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions in the NFC Wild Card game at CenturyLink Field on January 7, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)


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