Bradley Sowell healthy, but George Fant stays at left tackle
Bradley is no longer the starting left tackle for the Seattle Seahawks. Strong and unexpected things happened while he was injured.
Bradley Pip? Wally Sowell? Call him whatever you want, just don’t call him Seattle’s starting left tackle anymore. Bradley Sowell is healthy once again, but he won’t be returning to the starting lineup.
That is because George Fant has supplanted him at left tackle. The same George Fant who was exclusively a college basketball player 18 months ago. He’s also the same George Fant who hadn’t been a starter in a football game since 8th grade.
Ultimately, athleticism and strength won out. Fant may lack experience of any kind, but he can do things athletically that Sowell simply isn’t capable of. Once he showed he understood the complexities of the scheme, the job as his.
It doesn’t help that Sowell was never actually good. All of his “veteran experience” never resulted in good results on the field. knowing who to block and getting himself in position doesn’t matter much if the defender just goes through him like he wasn’t even there.
Ultimately, that is what this decision comes down to. Sowell will never improve athletically. Fant’s knowledge and technique will only get better with experience.
For now, Sowell will become the “swing” OT who will be the backup on both sides. He’ll also be given the chance to push Gary Gilliam at RT for that job. Either way, Sowell will remain as important depth on the Seahawks going forward.
Fant’s ascension and the return of a healthy Sowell means bad things for overpriced veteran J’Marcus Webb. The veteran was terrible when starting for Ifedi to start the season. That he couldn’t win the starting LT job over a basketball player when Sowell got hurt was an indictment on Webb’s future with the team.
Webb’s contract is fully guaranteed, but at this time he is just a waste of a roster spot. The team no longer trusts him enough to play him, even when depth is needed. I would not be surprised to see him cut next Tuesday and a practice squad player (Terry Poole perhaps) called up to replace him.
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