Defense spending at an all-time high

If Seattle's defensive front isn't improved this season, it won't be for a lack of effort or spending or draft picks.

If the Seahawks don’t get pressure off the edge of their defense this season, it won’t be for lack of trying.

Or a lack of money. Or a failure to use draft picks.

When Seattle begins training camp on Wednesday, it will be with Uchenna Nwosu signed to an extension that will add three years and a reported $45 million to his existing deal. Looked at individually, this is a textbook approach under general manager John Schneider.

The Seahawks liked Nwosu, who had 9.5 sacks with the Chargers over the final two seasons of his rookie deal. Offer him a shorter-term deal at a healthy salary, which in Nwosu’s case was two years, $19.75 million. If he plays his way to the front of the depth chart, look to sign him long-term.

It’s how Seattle landed Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett in 2013, extending Avril the following year and re-signing Bennett. It’s also the approach the Seahawks used with players most people have forgotten about like Jason Jones and Alan Branch. Those were a pair of free agents the Seahawks signed in Schneider’s first two years, neither of whom stuck with the team beyond the initial contract.

Now, the downside with this approach is that it seldom lands a top-of-the-food-chain free agent. Those guys get longer deals that guarantee more money. The upside is that if the player doesn’t mesh with the team or fades with age, the team isn’t stuck with him.

But Nwosu’s extension is part of a bigger picture question along Seattle’s defensive front.