Dwight Freeney Released by Seahawks After 4 Games with Seattle

The Seattle Seahawks released veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney on Tuesday after four games with the team.

Freeney, 37, signed with the Seahawks in October as they searched for pass-rush help. He recorded three sacks in his first two games before failing to record a defensive statistic the last two weeks.

The Seahawks made no corresponding roster move, which leaves them with 52 men on their active roster. That makes Freeney's release a bit unique, as teams typically like to carry the full 53—especially at this late point in the season.

Freeney is second among active players behind Julius Peppers with 125.5 career sacks and ranks 17th on the all-time list. A 2002 first-round pick, Freeney has been named to seven Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams. The Seahawks were his fifth NFL team, joining the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons.

"His preparation. How long he takes. Practice starts at 2 p.m., he's going to take an hour-and-a-half to get ready for that practice," Seahawks pass-rusher Frank Clark told Tim Booth of the Associated Press (h/t Washington Post). "I'm not sure if that's because of his age, I'm not sure if it's because he's 16 years in, but at the end of the day it has something to do with why he's played 16 years. I'm sure it didn't just come overnight. I'm sure it's something he's going to continue to do."

If this is the end of Freeney's NFL career, he'll go down as one of the greatest pass-rushers of his generation and be a good bet for the Hall of Fame. 

Even with the lack of production over the last two games, it's hard to call his short run with the Seahawks a bust. His three sacks rank only behind Clark (4.5) and Michael Bennett (6.5) for the team lead.