Seahawks continue offensive line overhaul, release Justin Britt

SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks on Monday officially announced that they have released center Justin Britt and guard D.J. Fluker.

Britt was one of Seattle’s longest tenured players after having been drafted in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of the University of Missouri.

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He played right tackle during as a rookie, left guard in his second year before playing the last four seasons as a center.

Britt was a Pro Bowl alternate in 2016.

Britt started eight games for the Seahawks last season before tearing his ACL in a win against the Atlanta Falcons.

Joey Hunt replaced Britt in the starting lineup for the remainder of the season.

“Although I wish it could be longer, the reality is your best days are ahead of you,” Russell Wilson said to Britt in an instagram post.

Britt’s release comes as the Seahawks also announced that they have moved on from guard D.J. Fluker.

Fluker signed with the Seahawks two years ago – reuniting with offensive line coach, Mike Solari, who he played for with the New York Giants.

Fluker started 23 games for the Seahawks over the last two seasons.

He took to Twitter Sunday night to thank head coach Pete Carroll, general manager John Schneider and all of the 12s for their support.

Fluker said he plans to continue to make his home in the Pacific Northwest.

Fluker’s release became more likely when the team selected guard Damien Lewis in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

After taking Lewis, Carroll said the rookie would compete with Fluker for the chance to start.

“He (Lewis) won’t take a backseat to anybody. He’s going to come in and battle for it. That’s part of the reason we took him. We wanted him to come in and battle to play and all of that competition will make us better,” Carroll said.

Britt and Fluker join Germain Ifedi as starter’s from last’s offensive line who are no longer with the team. Backup tackle/tight end George Fant also left in free agency.

To help fill their voids, the Seahawks have added B.J. Finney, Cedric Ogbuehi, Brandon Shell and Chance Warmack, while also re-signing Jordan Simmons.

Mike Iupati, who started 15 games for the Seahawks last year, has agreed to a one-year deal to return.

Releasing Fluker and Britt also opens up valuable cap space for the Seahawks and comes as the NFL has passed its compensatory deadline.

As of 1 p.m. Monday, any free agent signed will not count against a team’s 2021 compensatory draft pick calculation -- creating a potential market for players who remained unsigned as the Seahawks did with the signing of Ziggy Ansah last year.

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