The Seahawks’ roster is about to undergo some big changes.
Just as the Hawks likely lose Will Dissly for the season again, they are getting back Jarran Reed. Basically, they are trading one big loss on offense for one big addition on defense.
They also might soon add rookie guard Phil Haynes and/or veteran tight end Ed Dickson — who both could offer some useful depth.
“We’re trying to go somewhere. It takes everything we’ve got.” — Russell Wilson
Despite making their share of errors in a game full of mistakes by both teams and the refs, the still-developing Seahawks showed their resilience yet again as they continued their super start.
The Seahawks took the ball away four times — five if you count a blocked punt — as they won a mistake-filled game in Cleveland, 32-28, to improve to 5-1 for the third time in franchise history.
The last time they were 5-1, they won the Super Bowl. The Hawks also improved to 3-0 on the road, their best such start since 1980.
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?
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.
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.”
Continue reading Hawks, Wagner preparing for possible separation
The return of K.J. Wright means there will still be two members of Seattle’s famed Legion of Boom defense on the field in 2019. But make no mistake: That unit is now officially gone.
Wright’s re-signing was a pleasant surprise after Earl Thomas’ long, slow goodbye finally ended with him heading to Baltimore for $13.75 million a year.
With Thomas gone, Wright and Bobby Wagner are the only ones who remain from Pete Carroll’s vaunted defense that helped lead the Seahawks to two Super Bowls and put together one of the most spectacular half-decades in league annals.
But the end also is in sight for Wright, who sounds like he’s going to retire after this two-year contract. And there is no guarantee Wagner will be around beyond this year, the final of his deal.
Continue reading Wright’s back, but Legion of Boom can take a bow
As the league year dawns, the Seahawks already have lost six players and seem set to lose at least one more. None of it is unexpected though.
The Seahawks have long made it obvious they didn’t want to pay Earl Thomas or K.J. Wright, and they were never going to spend much on any of their other UFAs either.
The Seahawks already have roster replacements for Justin Coleman, Mike Davis, Brett Hundley and Thomas. So the club’s top priorities should be to re-sign D.J. Fluker, add a pass rusher and replace Shamar Stephen and Wright (assuming he leaves, too).
Continue reading Current options for four priority positions
Here are the key statements from John Schneider at the Combine today:
The GM expects Frank Clark to be a Seahawk but does not yet know whether he will end up using the franchise tag on him by Tuesday. (Or, if he does, he is not saying.)
Schneider has talked to Russell Wilson‘s agent, Mark Rodgers, about an extension, but that is not a priority at this stage of the offseason. Schneider also said he gets the impression Wilson wants to remain with the Seahawks. “I have no reason to believe otherwise — other than Internet rumors.”
Russell Wilson could be guaranteed $100 million and Frank Clark $50 million in new deals, according to contract expert Joel Corry, who also laid out the possible markets for several other Seahawks in a conversation with John Clayton on 710 ESPN.
Per Corry, Wilson figures to hit $35 million APY (as we projected) if he signs an extension this year, Clark will aim for $20 million (if not franchised at around $17 million), K.J. Wright could get more than $7 million, and D.J. Fluker, J.R. Sweezy and Justin Coleman all could merit around $5 million on the open market.
All of those amounts, except Wilson’s, would be more than the Seahawks are expected to be willing to pay. But the markets for Wright, the guards and Coleman might not hit those figures either, Corry acknowledged.
It was a long shot anyway, but the Seahawks almost definitely won’t have Mychal Kendricks in 2019.
His sentencing for insider trading was bumped back from late January to April 4. Considering the absolute minimum prison time he is expected to get is eight months, that seemingly removes him as a 2019 option. (Some hold out hope that he will get no time at all, but that would be a serious break with legal precedent for his kind of crime.)
If Kendricks ends up with no more than 15 months, it is possible Pete Carroll and John Schneider would want to bring him back in 2020.
Continue reading Looks like Kendricks won’t be an option in 2019
CHAWK TALK: Everything being said about the Seahawks 