Is B.J. Finney the precursor to the Seahawks signing two stud pass rushers?
They reportedly will sign the versatile lineman, who can play center, to a two-year deal worth $8 million (and up to $9.5 million). And that could be the way they bump expensive Justin Britt, which would save them a net $5 million in cap space on the exchange so they could sign Jadeveon Clowney and another pass rusher (Everson Griffen or Devon Kennard?).
John Schneider and Pete Carroll are smart enough to agree with the rest of us: Their biggest need this offseason is the pass rush.
“We’re looking to improve in some really critical areas. Pass rush is something that we’re really focusing on,” Carroll said at the Combine. “We really like the way we turned the ball over last year. We got the ball a lot, made some nice plays and stuff that gave us a chance, but we need to do some things more consistently — and that’s rush the passer.”
Continue reading Seahawks bosses agree: Pass rush is priority
“Yo @gregolsen88 welcome to the PNW!! TE room is going to be dangerous this year!!” — Will Dissly, welcoming Greg Olsen to the Seahawks
If Will Dissly and Greg Olsen are both healthy, the Seahawks will indeed be dangerous at tight end in 2020.
Imagine the matchup nightmares Dissly, Greg Olsen and Jacob Hollister could create for Russell Wilson. Forget a third receiver — these guys could help Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf take the top off defenses even more easily.
Of course, that is the best-case scenario.
Continue reading Olsen is insurance, but if he and Dissly are both healthy …
Pete Carroll has never been afraid to reunite with former players — usually after their big-money days are done and they have reached the points in their careers where they are role players.
Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin were the most recent examples, returning to help Carroll’s battered backfield late last season. This week, everyone has been talking about the possibility of Michael Bennett coming back.
While anything is possible, that seems unlikely. But what about some other former Seahawks?
Continue reading Bennett is not the only reunion to consider
As the countdown to the new league year and free agency drops under six weeks, NFL fans are salivating over the thought of which players their teams might sign to help them improve.
Seahawks fans know the team needs to focus on the defensive line above all else, and pretty much everyone is hoping John Schneider will break form and pay Jadeveon Clowney the outrageous fortune pass rushers like him make these days.
But what if Schneider doesn’t? Despite having around $50 million for free agents, what if he doesn’t break his MO at all, refusing to splurge on any “superstars” as Russell Wilson suggested he needs to?
Continue reading What are options if Schneider doesn’t pay Clowney?
The Seahawks lost a chunk of cap space this week as a few players got 2020 pay hikes.
Per OverTheCap.com, instead of a projected $63 million, the Hawks now are forecast to have $54 million (counting cap savings for Ed Dickson’s expected release). That would give Seattle more like $47 million for veterans between now and the start of the season.
The players whose cap numbers all went up include Tyler Lockett ($2 million), K.J. Wright ($1.5 million), Chris Carson ($1.4 million), Shaquill Griffin ($1.4 million), Tedric Thompson ($1.4 million), D.J. Fluker ($750,000) and Duane Brown ($250,000) — for a total of close to $9 million.
John Schneider is living his own version of Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day.”
A year ago, he had to decide whether to pay his best pass rusher. He didn’t, so now here he is again, in the exact same situation.
As the Seahawks entered last offseason off a terrible playoff loss in Dallas, their biggest need was to fortify their pass rush. Schneider didn’t want to pay $20 million a year to Frank Clark, though, so the GM made a move that was unprecedented for him: getting great draft value for a star in his prime.
Now, a year and another playoff loss later, Schneider is in the exact same spot — with Jadeveon Clowney now in Clark’s seat and Seattle still needing a second pass rusher as well because Ziggy Ansah did not work out.
Continue reading Will Schneider pay his top pass rusher this time? And who else?
(Updated 1/21) The Seahawks had been on an uphill climb for over a month, as injuries whittled their roster, so it was no surprise they finally succumbed, losing 28-23 in Green Bay to extend their losing streaks to nine games in Green Bay and on the road in the divisional round.
They certainly had their chance to win — especially if they had taken the first half more seriously. But, it probably was about as far as they could expect to get in a year in which they led the NFL in games lost to injury, at various points losing their starting tight end and center and their top three running backs while using six offensive line combinations and never really playing with a full deck on defense.
As the Seahawks return to John Schneider’s home state to face his first NFL team, it is a good time to give the general manager some credit for his recent work in Seattle.
In March 2018, we called out Schneider for a mostly poor five-year run that helped lead to a slow decline of the franchise — from Super Bowl champs, to Super Bowl losers, to playoff losers, to playoff watchers.
Schneider definitely had a rough 2013-16 — in the draft, trades and free agency — but he has been very aggressive the past three years while trying to make up for previous mistakes, to replace departed stars and to keep a competitive roster for Pete Carroll.
He did especially good work this year, helping the Hawks win 11 games despite the NFL’s highest injury rate. They would not have gotten this far if Schneider had not made three really good trades for veterans and found a few draft picks who were able to contribute as rookies.
Marshawn Lynch said he is coming back to the Seahawks because he has “unfinished business” and simply wants “to help them go ahead and get the Super Bowl that they should be playing for.”
The 33-year-old knows he is not going to be able to do the things he did for Seattle during their Super Bowl runs in 2013-14. But he also still feels the sting of not winning Super Bowl XLIX and wants to try to rectify that major miss.
“We got history there. We got unfinished business,” he said in a YouTube video posted by Beast Mode Productions on Monday.
Continue reading Lynch on his return: ‘We got unfinished business’
