Category Archives: The roster

No more big deals on Hawks’ horizon

July 31, 2019 cc Leave a comment

Bobby Wagner’s signing pretty much ends Seattle’s big-money deals for the foreseeable future. Now the Seahawks find themselves in wait-and-see mode, just like John Schneider and Pete Carroll’s early years in Seattle.

The Seahawks acquired and developed a lot of talent from 2010 to 2013 and were able to pay all of the top guys: Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Marshawn Lynch, Richard Sherman, K.J. Wright, Russell Wilson, Wagner, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Doug Baldwin.

The Seahawks are still counting on Wilson, Wagner and Wright — all of whom got third contracts this year. But the team now needs to see which players, if any, become the next generation of stars in Carroll’s program.

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Contracts, The roster

Why Wagner and not Thomas & Clark?

July 29, 2019 cc Leave a comment

The season is still over a month away, but the Seahawks already have tallied a bunch of W’s — Wilson, Wright and now Wagner.

With his $54 million deal, Bobby Wagner joined Russell Wilson ($140 million) and K.J. Wright ($15.5 million) as rare “keepers” for a Seattle club that has undergone some major changes over the past two offseasons.

The Seahawks were wise to hand third deals to all three W’s, but some wonder why they got paid and Earl Thomas and Frank Clark didn’t. Why pay a middle linebacker $18 million a year but refuse to pay your star safety and pass rusher, leaving you with no other established standouts on defense?

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Contracts, The roster, Training camp

Camp begins with the Wright stuff

July 26, 2019 cc 1 Comment

One of the few recent feel-good moves by the Seahawks was the somewhat surprising re-signing of K.J. Wright, the longest-tenured Seahawk at eight years and counting.

The wise old vet disseminated some great wisdom and leadership on the first day of camp, offering some inside optimism about Bobby Wagner’s status, plus some level-headed logic about the Earl Thomas snit and some funny introspection.

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The roster

Reed’s odd suspension means Hawks need to add two D-linemen now

July 22, 2019 cc 2 Comments

The Seahawks have done nothing but go backward on their defensive line the past two years — and Jarran Reed’s bizarre six-game suspension has basically completed the retreat to mediocrity.

Over the past two years, the Hawks have lost Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett and Frank Clark from a once very strong D-line. Ziggy Ansah, signed to fill the hole left by Clark, is no sure thing to be ready for the season opener, and now Reed — the top defensive tackle — will miss nearly half of what probably will be his final season in Seattle.

The Seahawks already needed another defensive lineman. Now they need two. And they need to sign them before camp begins this week.

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Contracts, Injury report, The roster

How long will Ansah, Wagner be out?

May 22, 2019 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks do not expect Ziggy Ansah to be ready for the start of the season, and Bobby Wagner does expect to be the highest-paid linebacker by next year.

Those were the top two takeaways from the second day of Seattle’s OTAs, which are missing a number of guys recovering from surgeries and injuries.

Wagner, whose OTA activity consists only of coaching younger players, said he wants to surpass C.J. Mosley’s $17 million a year. “That’s the top (of the) linebacker market,” Wagner said. “That is the standard. And so that is the plan: To break that.”

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Free agency, NFL draft, The roster, Trades

Hawks could have had Clark and Ansah, plus basically the same draft

May 10, 2019 cc 4 Comments

What if we told you the Seahawks could have had Frank Clark, Ziggy Ansah and pretty much all of the same draft picks (just a different pass rusher) and still have room for more, like they do now?

A lot of people are buying Seattle’s claim that the Clark trade to Kansas City enabled Seattle to turn four picks into 11, in what looks to some like an ingenious draft for the ages. Pete Carroll called the trade “the key to kick-start this thing.” And John Schneider said, “That draft choice with Frank definitely helped us.”

But the reality is: Clark became L.J. Collier, and Schneider did what he always planned to do with pick No. 21 — flipping it over and over until it became a six-player pancake. One had nothing to do with the other. And, as much as we love to see an aggressive move from Schneider, he didn’t have to trade Clark to do anything he has done since that deal.

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Free agency, The roster

Ansah’s a good bet, but Hawks need more

May 9, 2019 cc Leave a comment

One down, two to go.

The Seahawks needed three veteran defensive linemen. They got Ziggy Ansah, the best pass rusher available (if healthy), so now they need two more.

If healthy, Ansah will be a good investment — reportedly $9 million, with $3.75 million in incentives. The Seahawks obviously think he will be available for the full season. But he reportedly won’t be ready until mid-August, and some apparently think he might miss the first month of the season.

For that reason, the Hawks need to add another outside rusher to go with Ansah and the run-stuffing tackle they also need.

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Contracts, NFL draft, The roster

Hawks, Wagner preparing for possible separation

May 4, 2019 cc 1 Comment

The Seahawks used the draft to try to address immediate needs of replacing Frank Clark and Doug Baldwin, but they also sure looked to be hedging their bets on Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright by drafting two linebackers for the first time in seven years.

Wagner wants to stay in Seattle beyond 2019, but he has seen plenty of guys leave and knows he might join them.

“I want to retire a Seahawk, but I understand it’s a business,” Wagner told NFL Network’s Omar Ruiz on Saturday. “I’m preparing like this is my last year as a Seahawk. If it is, I want to make sure I go out with a bang and make sure I give the city something to remember.”

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Free agency, The roster

Like 2013, Hawks need three vet D-linemen

May 1, 2019 cc 2 Comments

Pete Carroll says this roster feels as deep as the ones in the Super Bowl years. But he and John Schneider know they have one major weakness still: Their defensive line.

The Seahawks are pretty much in the same spot with their defensive line that they were in 2013, and they need to do the same thing they did then.

In 2013, they had Chris Clemons coming off an ACL injury, so they needed pass rushers next to run stoppers Red Bryant and Brandon Mebane. John Schneider somehow managed to add both Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett. The GM also signed Tony McDaniel to start inside next to Mebane. The result: They were the No. 1 pass defense and the No. 7 unit vs. the run.

Now, with Avril, Bennett and Frank Clark all gone and another vacancy at tackle, Carroll and Schneider need another veteran trio. They have the cap space to do it (at least $22 million), and they need to use it.

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NFL draft, The roster

Another volume draft, but what are the odds these guys stick?

April 29, 2019 cc 4 Comments

John Schneider is getting all kinds of accolades for turning four draft picks into 11 last week, in keeping with his mantra that “the more picks you have, the better your chance of improving your team.”

That’s not necessarily true. And Schneider needs only look at his own team to see it. So, what are the chances of these new guys making this club — especially given recent history?

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