Seahawks Reportedly Sign Ex-Bucs Safety Bradley McDougald to 1-Year Contract

Defensive back Bradley McDougald reportedly reached an agreement Wednesday with the Seattle Seahawks on a one-year, $2 million contract.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports first reported the signing. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network relayed the financial details of the deal.

McDougald went undrafted out of Kansas in 2013 and played a limited role as a rookie while splitting time between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Since then, however, he's developed into a reliable starting safety.

The 26-year-old Ohio native is coming off the most complete season of his career with the Bucs. He racked up 91 combined tackles, 10 passes defended, two interceptions and a fumble recovery across 16 games, all of which he started.

After the season came to a close, McDougald told ESPN.com's Jenna Laine that he, along with the rest of the Tampa defensive backfield, used outside criticism to fuel their play.

"All the backlash that we got from being the 'worst secondary,' the 'most unathletic guys'—we kind of just put it in [our] back pocket, just remembered what people said and just went back to work," he said. "This is our profession. That comes with it—the media, social media—it's everywhere we look, we don't have a chance. Sometimes fans come to our pages and write these things to make sure that we know."

John Kosko of Pro Football Focus listed McDougald among the most under-the-radar players hitting the free-agent market this offseason:

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Not particularly great in any one area, McDougald is a solid all-around safety that isn't a liability on the back end. The former Kansas Jayhawk has allowed just three touchdowns in his career, and has seen his allowed-catch percentage drop each season, despite seeing the most targets in his career in 2016.

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The Buccaneers ultimately decided to go in a different direction. Although McDougald showed progress over the last two years, the unit still finished 22nd against the pass in 2016. His departure does leave a key void the team hopes to fill with the addition of J.J. Wilcox.

Meanwhile, the safety gives the Seahawks an insurance policy as starters Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor both work their way back from injuries. At the very least, he'll serve as a solid reserve option to those key secondary members once the 2017 regular season gets underway.