Hawks full of (good) surprises in first week of free agency

March 18, 2023 cc 1 Comment

John Schneider and Pete Carroll were not kidding when they declared they were going to get better on the defensive line this offseason.

They surprised everyone by breaking out of their frugal free agency routine when they gave Dre Jones the biggest deal they have ever given an outside free agent: $17 million per year over three years. It was a stunningly aggressive start to what has been a surprising free agency period in several ways.

Jarran Reed unexpectedly returned. The Hawks got a good veteran center for much cheaper than expected. Linebackers went fast, but the Hawks added Devin Bush — and Bobby Wagner remained unsigned through this publish, giving Quandre Diggs and many fans hope that he might yet return. The Hawks also added a good starting safety at a bargain, creating all kinds of questions and possibilities at that position.

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Free agency

Setting up free agency

March 11, 2023 cc Leave a comment

As free agency looms, a big trade on Friday shook up the top of the draft and essentially guaranteed the Seahawks will have a shot at one of the top two defensive players.

The draft is still over a month away though, and the Hawks always like to fill their starting spots with vets before they get that far.

To the delight of many around the league (but not all Seattle fans), the Comeback Player of the Year came back this week: Quarterback Geno Smith signed an incentive-heavy three-year deal.

Seattle also addressed right guard, with Phil Haynes returning and Gabe Jackson leaving. Those moves followed the re-signings of special-teams stalwarts Jason Myers and Nick Bellore.

The Seahawks still need a center, two inside linebackers, a No. 3 receiver and upgrades across their defensive line — though the latter probably will come in the draft.

Let’s first look at the salary cap situation in the wake of Smith’s deal and then the positions they need to tackle next week and beyond.

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NFL Combine, NFL draft

Should Hawks play the lottery and use No. 5 pick on a QB if possible?

March 5, 2023 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks’ draft position improved Saturday.

No, they didn’t make a trade. But Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson’s record-setting performance at the Combine seemed to vault him into the top five of the draft.

That put the Hawks in an even better spot at No. 5, with the top five players now expected to be, in some order, Richardson, Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud, Alabama QB Bryce Young, Alabama OLB Will Anderson Jr. and Georgia DE Jalen Carter.

So the Hawks will have their choice of a top QB or an elite front-seven player – a winning proposition however you slice it.

Last year, after the Hawks traded Russell Wilson, a QB in this draft seemed a no-brainer. But then Geno Smith put together a Pro Bowl season, and there is a real debate now about whether they should take a QB at 5 — especially knowing it is a 50-50 bet or worse.

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NFL Combine, NFL draft

Experts on draft’s top four defensive ends

February 28, 2023 cc 3 Comments

At the Combine today, Pete Carroll said the Seahawks are “totally connected to the quarterbacks coming out” in the draft.

However, other teams are likely to scoop up the top two guys, Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, in the top three picks. That’s OK, because the Seahawks really need to use their top pick on the best combination defensive lineman they can find – a guy who can set the edge against the run and rush the passer from both inside and out.

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Free agency

Wagner return unlikely, but Hawks have other options

February 25, 2023 cc Leave a comment

Q&A series: We take a look at some big questions about the Seahawks’ salary cap situation and roster.

Today’s question: Should the Seahawks bring back Bobby Wagner?

Bobby Wagner reportedly will be a free agent when the new league begins March 15, and plenty of Seattle fans (and former teammates) would like the Seahawks to bring him back.

That does not seem likely, even though the Seahawks do need two inside linebackers.

Even if Wagner were to forgive the way he was unceremoniously dumped by Seattle last year, the issue remains the same: Money.

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Contracts, The roster

2023 is make-or-break for $70M man Adams

February 20, 2023 cc Leave a comment

Q&A series: We take a look at some big questions about the Seahawks’ salary cap situation and roster.

Today’s question: Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs are the highest-paid safety tandem in the NFL and have the largest cap hits on the team in 2023. How is that hurting the team? And how long will that continue?

Recent salary guarantees for Seattle’s top-paid players served as the latest occasion for some fans to grouse about the team’s overinvestment in its safeties.

The Seahawks having the highest-paid safety duo in the NFL is nothing new. Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor once held that distinction, too.

But Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs are no Chancellor and Thomas, and plenty of fans are understandably irked over Seattle’s waste of resources at the position – they have the highest cap hits on the team in 2023 at $18.1 million each, ahead of star receivers Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf.

Some who don’t understand capology – or the way the Seahawks operate — want the rehabbing Adams to be cut. That won’t happen, especially after part of his salary was guaranteed on Feb. 17. But you can bet 2024 will be a different conversation, if he does not play up to his $70 million contract in 2023.

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NFL draft, The roster

No. 3 receiver is not high on the need list

February 11, 2023 cc 2 Comments

Q&A series: We take a look at some big questions about the Seahawks’ salary cap situation and roster.

Today’s question: Should the Seahawks prioritize a No. 3 receiver with one of their top three picks?

Because Dee Eskridge has been a bust, there is a hue and cry by some for the Seahawks to prioritize a No. 3 receiver again this offseason — preferably with one of their top draft picks.

Should that really be a priority though? Over the front seven and interior offensive line?

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Contracts, NFL draft

Smith a better value than top-five QB in 2023

February 4, 2023 cc Leave a comment

Q&A series: We take a look at some big questions about the Seahawks’ salary cap situation and roster.

Today’s question: Instead of paying big money to Geno Smith, should the Seahawks draft a QB or go with Drew Lock and use cap space on other positions?

There remains a subset of fans and media who think the formula for winning the Super Bowl is a quarterback on a rookie contract and a team built around that player.

The main data point for their argument is the fact that no team has won a Super Bowl with a QB who has taken up more than 13.1% of the team’s salary cap. Russell Wilson, a former third-round pick with a cap hit of $681,000 when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, is the bellwether for that theory.

The fact is that, in the salary cap era (1994 to now), 75% of the time the Super Bowl-winning QB has been in the top three in team cap percentage, according to a 2022 study by Bookies.com. Three QBs on rookie deals have won it in the past 11 years, but most of the winners fell in the range of 10.6% to 12.3% of team cap.

In other words, there is no rhyme or reason to the trend.

If the Chiefs beat the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, Patrick Mahomes will become the first QB over 13.1% (Steve Young in 1994) to win it. Mahomes took up 17.2% of the Chiefs’ cap this season.

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Free agency, The roster

‘A dream opportunity’: Roster review and offseason to-dos

January 29, 2023 cc Leave a comment

Pete Carroll and John Schneider clearly were happy they defied most expectations and put together a playoff team in 2022. But they know they have work to do, both citing the 49ers as their paragon as they enter the second half of a two-year franchise build using high draft picks.

As Schneider told Seattle Sports Radio, the 49ers are “the biggest, fastest, most physical football team in the National Football League. And we gotta get back to that. No questions asked. … We know what we need to do to attack this thing and take the next step.”

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Contracts, Free agency

Cap situation makes franchise tag for Geno Smith unlikely

January 21, 2023 cc Leave a comment

While the franchise tag seems like an easy fallback option for the Seahawks to retain Geno Smith, a close look at their salary cap situation reveals that they probably are not going to use it – or, if they do, it won’t be for long.

If they do not use it by the March 7 deadline, they would have until March 13, when free agency discussions with other teams can begin, to get a deal with Smith.

Here’s why.

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