We’ll never know whether the Dallas Cowboys would have put together a deal for Earl Thomas this week if the Seahawks’ star safety had not been lost for the season.
Instead, the Cowboys sent a first-round pick to Oakland for Amari Cooper, who joined Carlos Hyde and Eli Apple as starting players already changing teams as the trade deadline nears.
There’s surely more to come before next Tuesday, but will the Seahawks be one of the teams in the action?
The Seahawks have had a few big injury issues this camp — missing Dion Jordan, Doug Baldwin and Ed Dickson, among others — and now we can add Rashaad Penny to the list.
Along with a handful of guys coming off surgeries and a bunch of short-term ailments (at least seven hip flexor issues), it seems like the Hawks have had a lot of injuries. But the good thing — even in the case of Penny — is that very few of them are big deals. And the roster is getting healthier.
After injuries helped derail the past two seasons, Pete Carroll and John Schneider have made a big deal about having a much healthier roster this year. So it’s disappointing to see that Dion Jordan is still having injury issues — and it could mean the Seahawks really have few pass-rush options beyond this year.
Among several injury moves as camp started Thursday, the Seahawks placed Jordan on PUP. Carroll said he would be out “a few weeks,” and the PUP move means the Hawks think this could stretch into the season.
Continue reading Jordan’s injury leaves Hawks looking at other pass-rush options
When the Seahawks put together the best run in franchise history, winning 36 games and a Super Bowl from 2012 to 2014, they did it with about two dozen core players — a third of them named Pro Bowl players during that time.
After “resetting” the team this offseason, the Seahawks have just six players left from that Super Bowl core — and a couple of those guys might not be long for the roster.
That brings us to the No. 1 goal this year, aside from trying to contend for the Super Bowl (we put their O/U at 10 wins): John Schneider and Pete Carroll need to establish the new core for the next championship window. It all starts Thursday when they begin training camp.
The Seahawks are working hard to refortify their defensive line. And it looks like it might all hinge on what they think of Ndamukong Suh.
Seattle secured four linemen Wednesday, retaining Dion Jordan, Quinton Jefferson and Branden Jackson on tenders and adding Barkevious Mingo, who is expected to fill Bruce Irvin’s old role as a linebacker and pass rusher. The team also set up a visit with defensive tackle Quinton Dial.
But the Seahawks are after bigger fish, if they can get one. The D-tackle market has been relatively slow to move, and the Seahawks obviously hope to take advantage of that as they talk with Suh and Sheldon Richardson.
John Schneider is getting ready to make a couple of big moves next week.
That’s the only explanation for him wanting to cut Richard Sherman’s $11 million salary.
The question: Whom is he targeting?
One NFC personnel exec thinks he plans to spend on offense. By lopping high-priced defensive players, “they could allocate money to the offense, get Russell (Wilson) some help and some protection,” the pro personnel director told SI.com.
Continue reading Is Schneider planning big offensive additions?
The third bird was a charm.
The Eagles managed to do what their feathered NFC friends the Falcons and Seahawks could not — finish off the Patriots in yet another high-flying Super Bowl. And now we are officially on to the NFL offseason (which has started with a bang thanks to Josh McDaniels).
The Seahawks, of course, have been finished for a month — enough time for Pete Carroll to perform a major shakeup of his staff (eight coaches gone, five arrived). Now it is John Schneider’s turn.
After two days of talking by the players and Pete Carroll, we’ve learned a few tidbits about the Seahawks’ personnel and upcoming decisions as they sit out the playoffs for the first time in six years.
A lot of people think the defense is in complete disarray and has to be rebuilt almost from scratch. Don’t tell that to Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman, Frank Clark, Jarran Reed, Nazair Jones and Shaq Griffin. Those eight are all under contract for at least 2018 and figure to key a resurgent Seattle defense next season.
Carroll said he views it like 2011-12, when he was developing his Super Bowl core.
“There is a young nucleus and a new nucleus of guys that have come to us,” he said, referencing Bradley McDougald, Dion Jordan and Terence Garvin. “They’re part of that (2017 draft) class (which included Jones and Griffin) as well and the class from last year. These are good groups of guys now, so we’re very optimistic about the roster.”
Pete Carroll and John Schneider have made some head-scratching decisions this week.
First, Carroll made a string of admitted errors that helped his team lose at home to Atlanta on Monday. And now Schneider is backstepping on a key move he made a few weeks ago, dropping Dwight Freeney because the Seahawks decided they can no longer afford him.
Schneider chose to drop the productive 37-year-old pass rusher because the Hawks suddenly ran into a big injury storm — losing Richard Sherman and possibly Kam Chancellor for the season. Schneider could have gone to another vet, perhaps Bobby Wagner, for some cap relief. But, the Hawks had 11 defensive linemen and Dion Jordan has played well in his two games, so Schneider decided to lop one of his few luxury players.
Continue reading Head-scratching moves by Carroll, Schneider
The Seahawks are picking up the scraps of the Miami Dolphins and figure to get some good work out of them the rest of the year.
Just a few days after Dion Jordan made his long-delayed season debut, the Seahawks brought back former Legion of Boom original Byron Maxwell (2011 sixth-rounder).
Jordan is another case of the Seahawks’ patience seemingly paying off. Nurtured back by the Seahawks after missing two and a half years due to a suspension and a knee injury, Jordan got off to a great start in Arizona last Thursday — notching a sack and three quarterback hits. He could come in very handy as the Hawks play without Cliff Avril and Malik McDowell and with a bunch of banged-up linemen — Michael Bennett, Sheldon Richardson, Frank Clark, Marcus Smith, Jarran Reed — down the stretch.
“He’s got a big upside now,” Pete Carroll told 710 ESPN on Monday. “He is a big, physical tough guy with a lot to prove.”
Assuming Jordan stays healthy and plays well enough, the Hawks could easily retain him in 2018. Jordan will be a restricted free agent, meaning the Seahawks will have the right to keep him via tender.
