The Seattle Seahawks have signed defensive end Cassius Marsh to a one-year deal.
The Seahawks are turning to a familiar player to help address what may be their biggest need. Marsh was a fourth-round pick by Seattle in 2014 and spent three seasons there before he was traded to the New England Patriots for fifth- and seventh-round picks in 2017.
He was released by New England in November of that season and landed with San Francisco, spending a season and a half there before he was released after the 49ers traded for Dee Ford.
Because he was released by San Francisco, Marsh's signing won't affect Seattle's compensatory pick formula. The Seahawks are projected to have four comp picks in 2020.
Marsh, who turns 27 in July, has 11.5 sacks in 68 career games. That includes a career-best 5.5 last season.
He made headlines last offseason when he told the told the San Francisco Chronicle that he did not enjoy his nine-game stint with the Patriots.
"They asked me to do a bunch of stuff that I had never done: covering running backs and receivers and basically almost never rushing the passer, which is what I did in playing defensive line," Marsh said. "They don't have fun there. There's nothing fun about it. There's nothing happy about it. I didn't enjoy any of my time there, you know what I'm saying? It made me for the first time in my life think about not playing football because I hated it that much."
The Seahawks are also signing defensive end/outside linebacker Nate Orchard.
The 26-year-old Orchard was a second-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2015. He spent three years in Cleveland, producing five sacks and 65 tackles in 34 games, and was released before the start of last season. He appeared in three games for the Bills and one for the Chiefs. Like Marsh, Orchard won't affect Seattle's compensatory picks in 2020 because he was released by the Chiefs.
The Seahawks also visited with Aaron Lynch and Nick Perry as they look for a defensive end to play opposite Frank Clark. Lynch recently re-signed with the Chicago Bears.