93 Ciera possible flywheel

93 Cutlass Ciera 6 cyl.

Had starting issues. The starter would not engage every start and sometimes it would take a few cranks to make it engage (ongoing issue before the car was given to me).
I put a new starter in it the other day and a new battery today. When I turn the key, I can feel the starter trying to engage with enough amperage because the car jolts slightly as if something had hit the flywheel but it didn't move.
My questions are...does this sound like a locked up motor to you guys?
Is there anyway to check/free up the flywheel without tearing the motor out?
Thanks for any and all suggestions.

Well, it's a flexplate, not a flywheel....semantics....

You can manually rotate the crank bolt with a large wrench to check the engine...

You can remove the inspection shield on the tranny and manually rotate the flex plate with a short pry bar, to check the condition of the teeth on the flexplate....