Seahawks 90-Man Profile: Quinton Bohanna Returns With Eye on Reserve Nose Tackle Gig
With their offseason program all wrapped up, the Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC on July 23, meaning the start of the upcoming season will be here before fans have a chance to blink.
In preparation for year number two under coach Mike Macdonald, I’ll be detailing every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, dishing out fun facts, exploring best and worst case scenarios, and predicting what to expect from each player entering the 2025 campaign.
A seasoned veteran with extensive starting experience, can Quinton Bohanna bounce back from a tough 2024 campaign and re-emerge as a capable interior defender for the Seahawks?
Quinton Bohanna
Height/Weight: 6-4, 360 pounds
2024 Stats: No statistics (One game played)
Part of a stacked defensive line at Kentucky, Bohanna pitched in 60 tackles, 31 pressures, and two sacks in four seasons with the program, leading to the Dallas Cowboys investing a sixth-round pick in him in the 2021 NFL Draft. Seeing significant snaps in his first two seasons, including starting 10 games during that span, he produced 29 tackles, a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit. But Dallas moved on from him before the 2023 season, thanks in part to the addition of first-round pick Mazi Smith, eventually signing with the Detroit Lions on their practice squad.
Receiving game day elevations off the practice squad, Bohanna played in three games with Detroit and pitched in two tackles for loss in those contests, drawing the attention of Tennessee, who signed him to its active roster to suit up in the last three games of the season. Starting three of six games for the year, he recorded 10 tackles and seven run stops. However, the Titans chose not to keep him after training camp last August and after being waived, the Seahawks added him to their practice squad and reunited him with defensive coordinator Aden Durde, calling him up for a single game and re-signing him to a future/reserve deal in January to compete for snaps as a backup nose tackle behind Johnathan Hankins.
Fun Fact: During his time with Detroit and Tennessee in 2023, Bohanna produced a rock solid 9.5 percent run stop rate, which would have ranked 24th among qualified NFL defensive tackles according to Pro Football Focus.
Best Case Scenario: Possessing his own orbit at north of 350 pounds, Bohanna resumes his role as a space plugging nose who is near impossible to move off the line of scrimmage in the preseason and adds three run stops at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield, beating out Brandon Pili for the final defensive line spot on Seattle’s roster.
Worst Case Scenario: A true early down nose tackle with little to offer as a pass rusher from the interior, Bohanna mostly plays in the second half of exhibition games and isn’t as productive overall as Pili, leading to his release and a return to the practice squad as a proven insurance policy.
What to Expect in 2025: At one time, Bohanna looked to be on the way towards being a potential top-10 nose tackle in the league with two promising seasons in Dallas to open his career. But since being ousted after Smith’s arrival, he has bounced around with three different teams and he played a grand total of six snaps last season, so it’s safe to say his star has lost its luster. He isn’t near athletic enough to provide much punch as a pass rusher away from occasionally bullying a center or guard on a bull rush and he’s not going to excel at playing the ball down the line, which makes him vulnerable against the excellent zone running schemes in the NFC West.
With that said, Bohanna’s massive size and strength still counts for something and after waiving Cameron Young this spring, Seattle has major needs for a rotational nose who can take some pressure off of the aging Hankins. He also has a strong familiarity with Durde, who coached him with the Cowboys during his two strong seasons to begin his career. For those two reasons, he shouldn’t be counted out to get over the hump and return to the active roster, but he will absolutely have to outperform Pili and show that he can do more than occupy blocks by making a few plays in the preseason, particularly in the run game where his skill set should benefit him the most.
