Grant to Move from Free to Strong Safety

It looks as if a position change is coming for Seahawks safety Deon Grant, who said to NFL Network Tuesday that he would be moving from free to strong safety for the team this upcoming season.  Grant has played only free safety throughout his career with the Panthers and Jags, and said he would be “bulking up” to play with the Hawks at the strong safety spot. Right now Grant is listed at 210 pounds and stands 6-foot-2.  He said that the position switch first came up when Jags strong safety Donovin Darius broke his right ankle and missed the last six games of the 06 season.

Grant has been a steady workhorse, playing in 96 straight regular season games since 2001. “I’m going to put a little weight on (and play strong),” Grant said to the NFL Network. “I guess they (the Seattle coaching staff) saw enough (on film) last year. I never really had to play in the box before, but when Donovin got hurt, Gerry (strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh) and I switched it up, and there’s enough there to really show them that I can go down there and get in the box, also. I always wanted to play in the box, but I never had the opportunity.”  With Grant moving over, it looks as if Brian Russell, another offseason free agent, will play free safety.

Grant was signed to a six-year contact in March worth just over $30 million.  He also got an $11 million signing bonus, the highest for any safety in league history.