Al

Woods

Jets head coach Robert Saleh confirmed the Achilles injury and said Woods would miss the remainder of the season. Woods, 36, is a major loss for the New York run defense. With Woods in the lineup, the Jets have given up 3.1 yards per rush. Without him, they’ve allowed 4.8 yards per carry. It’s something to note for upcoming running back matchups against the Jets.

Woods visited with the Jets at the beginning of April but did not sign a contract. The team was likely doing some groundwork on free agents before the draft. GM Joe Douglas likely made the call to ink Woods after drafting no defensive lineman a week ago. Despite being 36 years old, Woods was a reliable starter for the Seahawks in 2022. He started all 14 games he was healthy for and logged five TFLs plus a pair of sacks in the process.

The Seahawks parted ways with Woods in late March, leaving the 36-year-old tackle in search of a new home for next season. Woods has started each of the 30 games he appeared in over the last two seasons, totaling 89 tackles and nine TFLs over that span while also registering 3.5 sacks. Given the struggles they had against the run last season, Woods would probably find more playing time along the Browns’ defensive line.

Woods ranked 32nd in interior defensive line rankings by Pro Football Focus in 2022 but continued to play heavy snaps for the Seahawks in his 12th NFL season, including serving as co-defensive captain. He started all 30 healthy games for the Seahawks over the previous two years. Entering his age 36 season, it could be difficult for the once-dominant defensive tackle to find a new home.

Woods went down in the first half and has not returned since. The team has yet to officially rule him out, but it’s safe to assume Woods is done for the day. Woods has two sacks and 35 combined tackles this year.

35 later this month, this will be Woods’ fourth season with the Seahawks and his third consecutive. He’s finally found a home it appears. Woods is a pure lane-clogging run-stuffer up front and received Pro Football Focus’ fourth-highest run-defense grade among interior defenders last season. He played a career-high 619 snaps in 2021.

Woods has started every game for the Seahawks this year. He has 1.5 sacks and three batted passes. Woods is a free agent at the end of the year.

The 34-year-old will also receive a $750,000 signing bonus. Seattle moved on from DT Jarran Reed after refusing to convert a chunk of his salary into a signing bonus but quickly landed his replacement in Woods, who most recently took the field in 2019 after opting out of last year altogether. He’ll be used as a rotational run-stuffer in the middle of the team’s trenches.

Signed to a one-year deal this offseason, 33-year-old Woods played 42% of the defensive snaps for the Seahawks last season. He was expected to help stop the run on early downs for Jacksonville.

Woods turns 33 Wednesday. He played 42% of the snaps on the interior of the Seahawks’ defensive line last season, picking up a sack and recovering the first two fumbles of his career. Woods is a run-plugger at 6'4/330.