The Seahawks sign JR Sweezy’s one-day contract

JR Sweezy, who spent five seasons of his eight-year career with the Seahawks, signed a one-day contract with Seattle Friday that will allow him to retire with the franchise that drafted him in 2012.

The Seahawks drafted Sweezy, a defensive lineman out of North Carolina, in 2012 with the goal of moving him to the offensive line. This unorthodox move paid off hugely for both Sweezy and the team, as he went from being a little-known pick in the seventh round to being the right starting guard for a team that went to back-to-back Super Bowls.

Sweezy, along with players like Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson, Bruce Irvin, Robert Turbin, and Jeremy Lane, was part of the best draft class in franchise history and one of the best players in recent NFL history. After spending most of his rookie season in a backup role, Sweezy became a regular starting player in 2013 and started 46 games over the next three seasons before signing with Tampa Bay to a free agency in 2016.

After two seasons in Tampa Bay, Sweezy returned to Seattle in 2018, starting 15 games in the left guard. Swayze finished his career in Arizona, starting 26 games and playing 29 of them in 2019 and 2020, then spent a training camp with New Orleans in 2021.

“I feel at home,” Swayze said when he re-signed with Seattle in 2018. Now Sweezy could be retiring with the franchise that looked like his home back in 2012 when a defensive lineman was trying to learn a new position, where he would have had a career for nearly a decade.