DeMarcus Lawrence and the Seattle Seahawks have agreed to terms on a three-year deal worth up to $42 million, with $18 million guaranteed, a league source confirmed Wednesday.
Lawrence, who turns 33 next month, was the No. 27 overall player and seventh-ranked edge rusher on The Athletic’s updated top 150 free agents.
Lawrence started each of the Dallas Cowboys’ first four games in 2024 — recording 14 tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks and five quarterback hits — but was placed on injured reserve following a foot injury in Week 4 and did not play the rest of the season. The four-time Pro Bowler had back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons for the Cowboys in 2022 and 2023, starting all 17 regular-season games each year and each of Dallas’ three postseason games across those seasons.
Through 141 career regular-season games, including 123 starts, Lawrence has 450 tackles, 97 tackles for loss, 61.5 sacks, 21 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries, two interceptions and two defensive touchdowns. He has also appeared in all of Dallas’ nine postseason games since the 2014 season, starting the most recent six games.
A second-round pick by the Cowboys in the 2014 NFL Draft, Lawrence is now set to join Seattle after spending his first 11 seasons with Dallas.
How he fits
Lawrence rushed the passer only 83 times in 2024 before his injury but generated a pressure rate of 10.8 percent, which was slightly above the league average for players with at least 80 pass-rush snaps, according to TruMedia. When fully healthy during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, his pressure rate was 13.8 percent, which ranked 29th out of 180 defenders (min. 400 pass-rush snaps). He made the Pro Bowl in each of those seasons and recorded 10 sacks..
The Seahawks ranked third in pressure rate and eighth in sacks last season, and they’re returning nearly all of their key contributors up front with the exception of Dre’Mont Jones, who was released. Edge rusher was not an urgent need, but it never hurts to add players capable of affecting the quarterback. Lawrence gives them that, as long as he’s healthy.
Cap update
Lawrence’s average annual salary doesn’t crack the top 20 among edge rushers, which speaks to how expensive it is to find capable players at that spot. His $18 million guarantee on a three-year deal matches what 34-year-old Khalil Mack just received on a one-year deal to remain with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Lawrence’s deal could be structured to create a manageable Year 1 cap hit that doesn’t prohibit Seattle from making other moves. For instance, when safety Quandre Diggs signed a three-year, $39 million deal in March 2022, his first-year cap hit was just $5.8 million.
Outlook
The Seahawks are improving what was an already strong element of their team. That’s a positive, but it doesn’t drastically alter the team’s short-term outlook. To play complementary football the way coach Mike Macdonald envisions, the defense needs to be supported by an efficient offense. Building that type of offense requires a run game and an above-average offensive line. It remains to be seen whether the Seahawks will be able to check either of those boxes in 2025.
(Photo: Michael Owens / Getty Images)
