Do you remember Niko Koutouvides?If not, don’t feel bad. He was drafted a year before Lofa Tatupu in 2004, started two games at the end of his rookie season, then backed up Tatupu until the Broncos picked him in 2008.
What stands out about Koutouvides is dazzling special teams play. During his rookie year he recorded a team high 16 special teams tackles, and was a serviceable backup when Tatupu took a break (which was rarely). He even earned special team captain honors.
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Koutouvides was recently waived by the Broncos due to his starter-worthy contract. The Broncos brought him over to Denver with the hopes that he would start at middle linebacker, but he was beaten out in training camp by veteran Nate Webster.
Once free agency hits, the Seahawks have a chance to help solve some of the inconsistency on special teams by picking up Koutouvides, for the right price of course.
While he might not have been a dominating force at middle linebacker, he had a knack for special teams play. He accumulated impressive numbers on the unit because he would absolutely fly to the ball carrier and hurl his body at him without much thought for his own (23 tackles in 2007, 60 total with the Seahawks).
Only problem is (if you can call it a problem) linebacker depth is strong with the likes of the versatile D.D. Lewis, Lance Laury and David Hawthorne.
Lewis happens to be a free agent, and if he were to leave then Koutouvides would seemingly be a natural backup to Tatupu. The LB position is likely to be shaken up if Leroy Hill leaves Seattle in free agency, so who knows what will happen.
We all saw what could happen with under-prepared special teams (see 2008 Bills game), so perhaps signing Koutouvides at the right price could help improve the unit and the team.
