We’ve learnt too much about Pete Carroll’s Seahawks to give up with games to play. However underwhelming this season has been so far, it’d be unwise to tune out before the last pass, run or kick of Seattle’s season.
After all, this is a year where Case Keenum’s Minnesota Vikings might get the #1 seed. Jared Goff might be the NFC’s representative at quarterback in the Super Bowl. Keenum or Goff could be facing off against Nick Foles in the NFC Championship.
It’s not just possible it’s actually very realistic.
If you want a cause for optimism, there it is. The Seahawks had one of three quarterbacks being talked about as a MVP candidate last week. Tom Brady’s in the AFC, Carson Wentz has an ACL injury and that leaves Russell Wilson in the NFC.
If he’s in form, the Seahawks can beat anyone in the conference.
This is important to note before going into a critique of where the Seahawks are. The season isn’t a write-off. Not yet. It might be in a week, or two weeks. But not yet.
Now having acknowledged that it’s time to look at this with some honesty.
I don’t know when you started to have serious doubts about this season but for me it was during the Tennessee Titans game. Something didn’t feel right. The Seahawks, three games in, were starting games ice-cold on offense. They were giving up unusual plays on defense. They couldn’t run the ball at all.
It was easy to square it away as just a typical stodgy Seahawks start to the season. Something we’ve come to experience over the years, 2013 aside.
Yet as the weeks went on these issues were never truly rectified. Instead of finding solutions, the Seahawks changed tact and became aggressive. A big trade was made to get a left tackle, the offense shifted to Russell Wilson in a way it hadn’t previously.
An off-season spent talking about lost runs, getting the running game going again, becoming what they once were. Now they were changing their shoes mid-marathon. Pass-centric, Wilson-centric.
And then the injuries started. And continued. And thoughts turned to the future and whether players would ever return.
It unravelled, re-set, unravelled and now they’re facing the prospect of potentially needing to win all three remaining games to make the playoffs.
Has it ever truly felt like a Super Bowl year? Last season didn’t after Wilson’s injury and then Earl Thomas’ broken leg. There was still hope, sure. But when things finally concluded miserably in Atlanta it felt inevitable.
Unfortunately, it feels like that is the destiny for this team now. We know they’re capable of beating anyone. Philadelphia toiled to get 10 points in Seattle last week. They put 43 on the Rams yesterday. Yet we’ve also seen too many games like the one in Jacksonville. Mistakes, penalties, a bad offensive start, more injuries.
It should be noted it’s unusual for an 8-5 team to be faced with potentially needing to win out just to get a wildcard berth. In the AFC currently, the 7-6 Baltimore Ravens look like a fairly decent bet to make it. If not, the LA Chargers (who started 0-4) could make it in as either a wildcard or the AFC West Champs.
The NFC is unusually strong considering the lack of reliance on quarterbacks. Ten wins got Seattle comfortably into the playoffs in 2015 and 2016. Ten wins might not be enough this year.
We’ve spent two years talking about identity and the Seahawks still seem to be seeking to reclaim theirs.
In 2013 and 2014 there was no hiding what Seattle was, what they did well, who they could count on. Now it’s a lot more blurry.
And it’s hard to work out where they’ll go when this slightly stressful, difficult season eventually ends (assuming it isn’t the Super Bowl).
Do they go all-in on becoming Russell Wilson’s Seahawks? Does that mean more investment in the O-line, keeping Jimmy Graham (Russell’s BFF) and Paul Richardson? Does it mean difficult decisions on defense to bankroll making the offense the strength and the passing game more of the identity?
Do they use their first round pick on a weapon — a running back, a receiver?
Do they persevere with the long-established Pete Carroll plan and just seek for better fortune next year (with injuries, with running backs)?
Were the aggressive and bold trades for Sheldon Richardson and Duane Brown indicative of a team that feels this had to be the year for this group? Are they facing a major turnover of talent in the off-season? Is it now time to go through the kind of change Pittsburgh went through a few years ago, moving away from an ageing formerly great defense to put more focus on Big Ben and the offense?
For a team that so often has refused to stand still and just ‘hope for the best’ — is minimal cap room and just one pick in the first three rounds of the draft enough to initiate the kind of recharge needed for 2018? Especially if they can’t afford to keep Graham, the Richardson’s and Joeckel? Do they need to make some tough decisions to recoup cap and picks and maybe mix things up?
Or do they let this group have one more crack at it?
It feels like there are more question marks with every passing season. Last year was a big off-season. That was acknowledged with the moves they made and the risks they took to try and get back to the top.
This upcoming off-season could be even bigger.
Maybe it’s time to trim some of the fat? The Seahawks have a loaded, big name roster. Do they need to be selective now, hand-picking the guys who can be the core for another 3-4 years and try to get younger everywhere else? Is it now about the likes of Wilson, Wagner and Earl rather than the great big long lists of star names?
After all, look at the Patriots. Consistently there every year. They may well win another Championship this year. They have Belichick and Brady and the rest is a near constant churn. Do the Seahawks need a bit more of that? Is keeping things fresh, the message on point — is that more important than retaining a big, established roster?
Are they a bit too long in the tooth, too established and world weary? Is there enough brash fearlessness about this group? Isn’t that what made this team great in the first place? The cocky attitude, the swagger, the ambition, the drive.
Have the Seahawks become the team opponents love to prove themselves against, rather than the side looking to do the proving?
Is it even possible to get back to that now?
There are a lot of questions that are hard to answer. You can probably think of even more.
It’s been a long time since we’ve had this lack of clarity about the direction of the team and what comes next. Rather than being able to focus on a draft need, a tweak, an improvement here or there — this off-season feels bigger, more significant.
Hopefully there’s still life in the 2017 season and the seeming inevitability that this will end in a somewhat similar fashion to the previous two years will prove to be inaccurate.
Meanwhile in draft news, Florida’s Taven Bryan officially declared for the draft today:
đđđ pic.twitter.com/wzOseyD1kD
— Taven Bryan (@tavenbryan93) December 11, 2017
For more on Bryan here’s a post I wrote from early October.
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Great write up Rob. You really nailed all aspects of my concerns moving forward. This is the “danger” of being a good team; you hang on too long thinking you are going to turn the corner.
Next offseason might be a great time for some serious churn. I’m thinking the likes of Bennett, Avril, and possibly Kam being let go. Perhaps it’s a good time to explore another trade for Sherman and even someone like KJ Wright? It might also include not resigning Joeckel, Graham, and Richardson. I think the idea is that you gear up for a full bore 2019 Offseason with picks and cash. There’s a chance that Seattle ends up with a bevy of Compensatory pick in ’19. To me, it just makes sense.
Bottom line; at some point the Hawks are going to have to make very hard decisions and it *may* behoove them to get the pain out of the way in 1 year not taking little chips over several years. Russell is still young and we hate to see a waste/rebuild year, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that it just might be necessary.
I fully understand that this will not be popular, but I just see this team as needing a cleanse/reset.
Some churn might be necessary. It’s tricky though because if you do too much you gut the team, create holes and as frustrated as fans are now, they’ll be even more so if they drift into a Baltimore Ravens style 8-8 type team. They can’t do everything in one off-season but they can maybe start some moves. To some extent with the emergence of McDougald and players like Coleman the churn has already begun.
I could for sure see some churn but Im not guessing a lot. But who is the churn? This off-season maybe Avril? Next year I think could be the interesting one. Bennett, Chancellor, KJ, Sherman. They could all be gone. This off-season should in deed be interesting though.
I think the two you mentioned Mcdougald and Coleman have been incredibly pleasant surprises and must re-signs. Coleman is the best slot corner they have had in the PC era.
What could we likely get for bennett this off season? I highly doubt JS/PC would trade him, just because the way they are, but i think not only his lack of stats, and all around decline, he has kind of been a cancer. He used to be the guy that was happy and got everybody all jacked up! When he would ride the bike around the stadium. Back when this defense was more of a brotherhood. Recently, this year and part of last, he has been just a divisive person that is never energetic, and with the amount of influence he has, i think that might be treason why this team just does not feel the same. Does not feel like a brother hood anymore. Its just a group of players. Pete Carroll’s philosophy and how he runs the program needs the enthusiasm and excitement in order to thrive. The team has lacked that extremely this year. In my eyes at least.
I think the turning point in the season in my eyes, was when Sherman hit mariota, and Lewan came un glued to back up Mariota. I have doubts on whether that was a bad play by sherman, i think it was on the line, but not blatant. But the way Lewan had his QBs back, reminded me of how we do not have that anymore. There is not that connection on our team. I can’t see anyone on our line coming unglued if russ gets hit. Some players are mouthy and hot headed, but thats not the same thing. They do it for themselves, not for the team. We need to get back to being a team, and i think trading Bennett might be a key element in achieving that.
My offseason goals for the team:
Sign Richardson to a reasonable deal (he is 26, and i think could play as part of a “family”)
Sign McDougald, again to something reasonable and team friendly.
Let Kam and Avril retire, they deserve to retire as Hawks, and coming from someone who can’t walk right due to injuries, they need to look after their health.
Trade Bennett
trade 1st pick (maybe even a couple times) for more picks, giving more chances to hit.
Somehow find a way to draft Ronnie Harrison, Damien Harris, a G, and toliver from LSU (no specific order, just players that i have really come to like)
They might get a day three pick for Bennett. He’s 33 next year.
Iâve just been embarrassed by all of the negative attention he brings and the complete lack of production this year. The constantly off-sides Bennett went to far yesterday as well. I donât think he giving us much of a return for the money or trouble. I would like to see us move forward.
Bennett is playing injured and his play is impacted because of it. A defensive lineman can play for a long time and I wouldn’t give up on him or think that just because this is a down year (perhaps injury related) that he cannot come back and be an integral and important part of our defensive line. I personally think Bennett is a big part of the team and although he lost control at the end of the Jags game he plays with passion and is Seahawks nominee for Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. He may not be as articulate as Doug Baldwin but he great humor and his comments are generally reasoned and thought out. I think he is a very important leader on the team and I would love to see him ultimately retire as a Seahawk.
Agreed. I thought it was a total cheap shot/dirty play at the end of the Jaguars game and I’d have no problem with Bennett being suspended as punishment for it. But I also think he’s one of the better players on our DL and despite the occasional hotheadedness, he’s never indicated any behavior that was divisive to the team. If anything, he’s shown through the years that he’s very much a team/brotherhood player and unless his play falls off a cliff, he’s a player I’d still want on this defense.
Andrew,
You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I believe this season was lost from the moment playerâs political views creeped unto the field. I put this on Goodell for not having a rule in place like the NBA, but I also put a portion of it on Bennett. Do your social justice bit in the offseason. I will support you 100% in the off season, but not during the SEAN. Compound that with the what occurred at the end of the game yesterday (this is the 3rd time weâve seen him do crap like this: Pats Super Bowl, Falcons playoffs last year and yesterday). It is a poor, pathetic way to represent yourself, your tea, your city and your fans. His actions yesterday is not LEADERSHIP. It is buffoonery and throwing a temper tantrum. Last year he complained about the Falcons tackle taking him out at the knees (along with his comments about feeding his family, etc.) and here he was engaged in the
same activity. Trade him or cut him, I donât care.
D lineman are easier to find in the draft and with all the good athletes playing that position more and more in high school and college, you can draft a quality lineman easier. I wouldnât resign Graham, P Rich or Joeckel or Lacy. Graham is a wide receiver masquerading as a TE. He canât block to save his life. P Rich, has a history of injuries and is one injury away from being done for a year or two. Let him walk and get a compensatory pick for him. Joeckel is ok, but if he wants big $$$, let um walk and get a compensatory pick for him as well. Youâve got Odiambho and Roos he may do just as well. Lacy, no need to comment.
McDougald needs to be resigned. He can play multiple positions and has shown he is very capable. Shermanâs injury puts both him and the Hawks in a tough spot. If you trade him now, maybe you get a 4th round pick if youâre lucky. All the teams will use his injury as leverage to drive down the Hawks asking price. I would cut Cliff (if he doesnât retire) for one reason: Frank Clark has shown heâs much better on rushing the passer from Avrilâs side. Sheldonâs post game comment about whether he will resign with the Hawks yesterday say one thing to me: he wants to get paid and paid well. His asking price may be super high, so if we canât afford it, let um walk and get the compensatory pick in return. I would love to keep him, but it may be super tough to nearly impossible.
In conclusion, Rob, this is a massive off season like you say, but it is also an opportunity to get younger and better. I agree with you, PCJS need to make some tough choices, not only about players but also on coaches. I like your idea of having 3-4 core guys rather than a long list of core guys. I would also like to see a change in our DC coach. Iâm over Richard. I read an article where our defense ranks dead last in 3rd and 10 or longer. He shares a lot of the blame. Our defense has gone from great to good to barely cracking the Top 10 under him. I would like to see the Hawks bring Bradley back or go in another direction. I hope Richard is offered a head coaching opportunity this off season to make it easy on all of us.
I totally disagree. I think this season, and the last few seasons were lost when the O-line became an after thought, the place to save money, and the attitude almost any body off the street will do on the line. Football is a game of force, of imposing will. If you want to push opponents around, you invest in O-line and D-line, but we seemed to forget about one side of the ball.
I think the acquisition of Brown, and the result, have turned the think of the coaches and front office around. I hope so.
We also let ourselves get old without a plan to address it, with the thought that with the same names, we’re still the same old Seahawks. It’s just not true. Kam is no longer what he was. He’s lost a good deal of speed and doesn’t make plays the way he used to. He is at times a liability out there and frequently gets lit up by good tight ends. I’ll miss the leadership, but he hasn’t been what we came to expect pretty much since his holdout.
Sherm is also a tad slower, and who knows what he’ll be like after the ruptured achilles. I think one could assume he won’t be better.
Thomas and Bennett still have it, but for how much longer. Once Thomas loses a little speed, he’ll just be an undersized safety, not the do-everything safety net we’ve come to expect. But we have so much money tied into these aging vets that I don’t know what the team can do about cap space.
It’s time to move on from what we were. It’s time to start relying on our youth. Take away Bennett and Avril and we still have a strong line. And it looks like we have a start on a new Legion of Boom in Griffin. We need to keep building on it. Build the O-line and running game. Spot fill where age is creating a need. Some tough decisions are coming, and some fan favorites are going to fall by the wayside, even if a year too late.
Do it, it’s time addition by subtraction.
That was in response to Rob about a day 3 pick for Bennett.
I’ve criticized the organization alot the last couple years on this blog, (and tried to be positive and give credit when due). Criticism like signing Lacy, going cheap on free agency on the Oline etc, and the main response from ppl is “i guess you know better than JS/PC or trust in the front office” but lets be real; the FO hasn’t had a real solid draft since the alltime GREAT haul of 2012 and haven’t signed any impact FA’s since Bennett and Avril. I like Frank Clark and Shaq Griffin but this roster is about to need a big turning over. I hope they get it right.
It was never realistic to expect the drafting form of 2010-12 to continue. Plus they’ve been picking later in each round since, there’s been some pretty bad drafts too. They’ve had some good picks. Of course I wish they would’ve just kept finding hall of famer’s on day three but we have to be realistic about it.
Fair points Rob.
I think with the Seahawks playing well into the playoffs over the last few years it seems some guys are going right over the cliff and are having abrupt ending or shortening of their careers which makes life tougher on the FO.
Als it is easier to hit on drafts when the cupboard is bare. When you have an established roster the holes are much smaller as well as the chances of hitting on players.
Except it seems like the cupboard is never full of in some positions like guard or left tackle. It’s gotten a little better but still. Last year they had Glowinski playing left guard and Fant at left tackle. This year they tried and gave up on Glowinski and Aboushi and probably Hunt too. Surely after multiple guard picks they can come up with someone.
Pocic is a step in the right direction, except everyone says he isn’t strong enough yet. Anyway the team is littered with guards who aren’t going to be starters.
You hope for Odi and Pocic at the 2 guard spots. Just get Pocic on a nice 6 week cycle and get that boy beefed up.
I think this offseason I’ll be most perplexed with the question of the DL.
Yesterday’s game was an abomination of pass rushing from a truly talented group. Zero sacks, and one QB hit, which if memory serves was more of a late hit than a play-changing type hit.
Bennett has 1 sack in the last 5 games. He seems perfectly content to be ridden out of the play by the Tackle down after down.
Avril’s career might be over.
Sheldon has 1 sack all season. Has been dominant against the run though but is that something you pay $12m/year for?
Clark needs to be extended.
I hate to keep crying over spilt milk but all this just throws in sharp relief how much McDowell has blown it. He had a chance to be an emerging force on a great defense. Get some real playing time his rookie season and have the familiar break out 2nd season. And now if the Hawks make some tough choices soon, they’ll have to account for the strong possibility they’ll never get a snap from the guy.
I think it came down to a desire to focus on the run and put it on Bortles. They seemed to rush four and be cautious about gap control, a familiar trait with this defense under Carroll. The problem was having thrown the gauntlet down to Bortles, he had the best game of his career.
I havent seen much pressure from him at all this year. If he is here to stop the run there is much cheaper versions of that. 1 sack and not really a lot of pressures either. Maybe our defense isnt built for DT’s to get sacks? I know McDonald got 6.5 but that was a one off. Just a thought.
PC called the lack of pass rush disappointing.
If you can’t get at least some push from Sheldon, Clark, Reed and Bennett that’s a real problem, not a scheme issue.
It can be a scheme issue if they’re being told to focus almost exclusively on gap control and run discipline. You’re not going all out to rush.
DL is beat up like the rest of the roster. No depth left, Bennett hobbled, likewise Clark & Jones, Avril out … no surprise they will struggle
DL comes down to coaching and scheme/gameplanning
I agree it’s perplexing. You have mega talent there. Cut them loose. Why hold back and restrict your most talented unit?
Cut em loose. Let them do what they do. They have the talent to be absolutely fearsome if Pete takes the training wheels off.
Hindsight is 20/20. You think PC/JS thought we would have these injuries? Did we ever in our wildest thoughts think that Avrill, Chancellor, Sherman, Mcdowell, Carson, Fant and now Wagner & Wright would be out? Nope. We can’t just give up and start a rebuild. We don’t have enough draft capital or cap space to do so. Tough decisions are coming but we still have RW and that’s the most important part. Considering the circumstances I think PC/JS and yes even Bevell have done admirably. If I were to tell you that all of these players were going to be injured at the start of the year….with our schedule what would you think our record would look like? 7-9…8-8?
Great write up Rob! Summed things up perfectly.
JS clearly went all in this year with the Richardson and Brown trades. Then the injuries came. It is unfortunate because it has really hamstrung the team this off season. It will be an interesting end of season and I really hope Russ gets hot.
I think you nailed it Rob when you said perhaps it is time to build around Russ, Wags, Earl and I would add Bladwin, Clark and perhaps Richardson as other corner stone pieces and really focus on getting back to what made this organization great ( youth and competition on the roster).
If the Hawks decide to make the tough decision and go young is there any market for thier aging stars (Bennett, Kam and Sherm if healthy)? It would be a nice way to get back some draft capital but I tend to believe with all 3 the market would be almost non existent at thier current price tag.
Maybe 3rd-4th rounders would be my guess. But your right, with those prices it might be out of the question. I could see all 3 of those guys gone next year. Maybe keep Sherm and hire Kam as a coach.
These times are when you can test the stones of your GM. Does he cut Avril? Lane would be easy. In 2019 you could see Kam, Bennet, KJ, Avril, Sherman all being gone daddy gone.
I think that the obvious cuts may happen (Avril, Lane). I really don’t know about anyone else. I just cant see Pete and John cut Kam, Sherm or Bennett for better or worse. Pete is old school loyal. And his system has always been about players doing the normal things exceptionally well. That’s why i don’t think they will ever fully churn the roster like the Patriots. Honestly, no one can do what they do. As long as they have Tom and BIll and other warm bodies to fill out the roster they will always compete. That comes down to flexible game planning and execution. That’s not Pete’s philosophy and as long as he is coach some things won’t change. Now i can see the focus changing from Offense to Defense like the Patriots or Steelers did as Tom and Ben progressed. I think we are seeing it right now. A lot of big decisions though.
Interesting that so many people question extending Sheldon Richardson while pounding the table for Frank Clark. Clark runs really hot and cold as evidence yesterday. Jimmy is a far harder decision than that. Besides draft and free agency more importantly the development of the red shirt guys needs to come through. Shaq, Naz, Pocic, D Hill, Q Jefferson, Carson, Darboh, Vannett, and so on need to take the next step like many before them.
I think JS has done an exceptional jobless of building depth es where injuries have struck.
Sure, where they chose to go cheap/ inexperienced has hurt but welcome to the NFL. CANT have it all
Fantastic article Rob. I’ve been thinking along these lines and about this in some fashion for two seasons now. This appears to be the final go for many on this team, especially on defense. This offseason is about keeping the future core, parting ways with the old core, and drafting to keep this team young, especially on defense.
I know I have said for a few years, cut the fat the patriot way. I really think that includes coordinators. If it’s Wilson, Thomas and PC, that works for me.
2018 FA to sign: McDougald/Shead
2019 FA to extend: Thomas/Brown/Clark/Wright
Cut: Lane/Ryan/Prosise
Trade: Sherman/Bennett (2nd and two 3rd would work for me)
Draft: Trade back multiple times for offensive playmakers (RB/TE/WR) and defensive playmakers (DL/CB)
2nd (trade backs) RB
2nd (Sherman trade) WR
3rd (Bennett) DE
3rd (Sherman) CB
3rd (Richardson comp) OL
4th (trade backs) TE
4th (original) LB
4th (Graham comp) DT
Not sure you get a 2nd and a 3rd for a 30 year old corner coming off Achilles. Also Graham and Richardson comps would be the following year. Maybe a 3rd for Bennett.
And then what happens?
You can’t get a second rounder for either of those guys.
Comp picks are the following year.
That was a terrible hypothesis @Ed
NO team is giving Paul Richardson enough money to warrant the seahawks a 3rd round comp
If John Schneider did what you are proposing he would be dooming us for a series of 8-8 and 7-9 seasons
CJ prosise has only been in the league 2 seasons. He is massively cheap and still has 2 years yet you dont cut him now, he flashed his rookie year, they arent going to give an undrafted rookie in Thomas Rawls 3 years to prove himself but then turn around and give a 3rd rounder only 2 years to prove himself. They already let Alex Collins walk and look how that turned out.
I’m going to chime in with my two cents. This is a terrible year to compare team performance because of all the injuries. And I’m sure Pete Carroll and company are coaching their asses off to get those new guys onto the field.
Long term I think there are problems with coaching. Pete gives them a lot of reasons to celebrate and few reasons not to screw up. Maybe this team is great because of his coaching style. Maybe without the freedom to be who they are, the Seahawks wouldn’t have gone to the Superbowl twice.
But there are a lot of negative things that came with it. Starting with penalties and fights. Its just undisciplined. And what about his star recruit last year? Left alone to waste his life away – I guess the Seahawks are lucky it isn’t an even more high profile issue like Johnny Manziel. While I won’t say the Seahawks are responsible for him = maybe he should have had a trainer bird dogging him.
And what is with the conservative slow starts? Is it play calling or the team not capable of scoring in the first half? It isn’t championship behavior. Nor is spending the first quarter of every season trying to find their identity. I’m tired of excuses like they play vanilla so they won’t give away their big plays. NO They play vanilla because they don’t dare to be more than vanilla. When they finally cut loose with a 2 minute drill it’s spectacular.
Last thing about coaching. They need someone to design the passing plays. They are okay = but could be better.
It was the Washington game for me where the doubts of the season began bubbling up. I forgave the early road loss against the Titans as a misnomer game, where new talent on the defense was adjusting in Wilhoite, Sheldon, Naz, and Griffin, and the offense was still searching to find itself. The tree game win streak against the Colts, Rams, and Texans made me feel that this team was poised to roll. Then the Washington clunker happened, and home field suddenly felt questioned.
IMO, I think this has been Russell Wilson’s team since the mid portion of 2015, but maybe it’s taken some portion of the fanbase to come around to that. That said, I don’t think it was the 2017 plan for 83 % of the offensive production to go throw Wilson. I think the team felt that someone out of Lacy, Rawls, Prosise, and Carson was going to emerge as the new featured back, and for a brief spell, it looked like Carson. I think there might need to be some self scouting to figure out why they missed on Lacy, Rawls, and Prosise. Is there something with the new RB coach where he didn’t mesh with Rawls?
I think it’s pretty spot on to compare this organization with that of Pittsburg. This could be an 8-8, 9-7 year where they don’t make the playoffs. They could also go 10-6 or 11-5 and get back in it. Of the remaining games, I feel good about them bouncing back against the Rams, and I like them against the Cardinals. That game in Dallas could be really tough to win.
Moving forward, I kinda sense that this is most likely the end of Cliff Avril and Jeremy Lane as Seahawks, and possibly Kam Chancellor. Chancellor is tricky because he has no financial incentive to retire, and if he is unable to play in 2018, he could sit the whole year out on the PUP and collect his millions.
I don’t think they cut bait with Michael Bennett or Richard Sherman in 2018. They’re level of play and leadership is still too important. Beyond 2018, I think there is a chance they are gone, possibly KJ Wright, as well.
Seattle has club control of Mike Davis, Thomas Rawls, JD McKissic, Dion Jordan, Justin Coleman, Quenton Jefferson, DJ Alexander, Brandon Jackson, Josh Forrest, and Joey Hunt. So some cap is going to be spent there depending on who they keep. My guess is most of those guys come back.
I’ve thought all along that Jimmy Graham, and Sheldon Richardson are locks for extensions. I’m growing less sure about Sheldon Richardson. I think that they were willing to deal a R2 pick knowing that, at worst, if that can’t work out a deal, they will get a R3 comp in 2019. I think there is a chance they are really happy with Naz Jones, and that he might have exceeded expectations as a pass rusher as a rookie, and they would be happy to roll with him and Jarran Reed next year with the idea that Q Jeff and Malik McDowell can factor in, if a team friendly deal isn’t found with Sheldon.
My hunch is that they would look to extend Jimmy Graham, and Luke Joekel, and try to hang onto PRich, if they can. If they like Joekel, and he likes it in Seattle, I think they make something work to finally settle the line.
In terms of the line, I think the future is bright for extending Brown, and developing Pocic and Ifedi on the right. Britt is solid at center. It almost screams to extend Joekel, if the $ is right.
I also think Bradley McDougald is making a case for himself to be a priority re-sign, if they can afford him.
I would be shocked if they don’t use this draft to address the running back situation. They might likely look to trade back to acquire a day two pick to also find another edge pass rusher, they might even go edge rusher first, but they have got to land something dependable at RB whether it is Harris, Freeman, Penny, Michel, Johnson, or whoever. I would almost expect them to draft a couple runners.
As much as this is Russell Wilson’s team, only have to look at his idol Drew Brees and see what the Saints finally did for him with Kamara. The Saints are still Brees, they just final got him a ground game.
I don’t think Pete Carroll is going anywhere else anytime soon. I think the offseason is about building more balance for the offense, and add a few young pieces to the defense. On the defensive side, I think the future is bright on the DL, and portions of the LOB with Griffin, and possibly Delano Hill.
This has been a great era of Seahawks football. I think it’s more reload than rebuild, but it won’t be wholesale changes. Russell, Bobby, and Earl will be the guys leading it.
I was willing to cut them some slack in the early season as they are NEVER good in early season. So I just expect it to be raggedy and am happy if they are 2-2 after first four games. I am in total agreement that it was the Washington game that changed my mind about superbowl runs. If you can’t beat Washington = who can you beat?
With all the injuries its been a tough season. Lets look at where they are right now. Defensively they are still holding up okay. The defensive line isn’t getting enough pressure on opposing QBs. Two new replacements at linebacker will affect any defense, the linebackers and safeties make the most tackles. I expect the new guys to learn the position over the next few weeks and look pretty good in the playoffs. The secondary has been okay also, a few blown coverages. Growing pains, but at least they have players coming back off injuries.
Offensively, the line has seen a lot of rotation, lots of injuries and players coming back. They have a solid three out of five, a fourth coming on, and a fifth that will be cut at end of season. So perhaps 3.5 out of 5 playing well. Running back situation is a disaster with injuries galore, not helped by poor blocking. McKissic is a diamond in the rough. Receivers are good, mostly speed and route running guys with a couple decent size tight ends. And scrambling, gambling Russell Wilson. Good for some exciting plays, also good for one bone head what the heck play per game.
Overall, they look like a team that could make the playoffs and even win one game. Or get sent home with their lunch box next week. Tough year for the Seahawks with all the injuries.
Also I have a hunch Kam will hold onto the money whether he plays or not. He won’t do anything to jeopardize his last big payday. So it would be better for everyone if he can finish his contract on the playing field.
I pretty much concur with all this.
In fairness to the DL, there has been games where theyâve brought nice pressure, but theyâve also dealt with being pretty dinged up. Loosing Avril hurt. Just when it looked like Dion Jordan was set to get going, he had another setback. Theyâve played the last two games without perhaps their most productive interior rusher in Naz Jones. Bennett has been playing through foot injury. They cut Freeman with the hope of bringing him back, but Detroit claimed him. Just havenât gotten that steady flow like they have in 2013 like years.
Thanks for the good write up, Rob. A lot of questions to be asked.
The annoying part of being a fan of this team is that every single time they lose, the narrative of “this team doesn’t have it anymore/the sky is falling” rhetoric begins. According to the media, the team has been on the decline for the last 3 years! Always on the decline! Yet the record stays fairly consistent. Every team seems to want to have its “prove it” game against the Hawks.
The Seahawks have been a wildly inconsistent team as long as I have been a fan (about 15 years). Never really bottom of the barrel, never really the best in the league. (outside of 2013) The inconsistency is a bit aggravating, but at least we’re not the Browns. I would say that the fanbase is fairly entitled, and expects everything to go their way and when it doesn’t we throw tantrums like children.
The point of my rambling is that we have a fun football team to watch with lots of likable players, and we should be thankful for that. Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the season brings. In the future, I’d like to see the team take on another form, as it seems the model we’ve been running on is wearing a bit thin.
In the last 15 years, there is has been one consistently strong team, the New England Patriots. That’s an amazing stretch.
There have been the Steelers, the Packers, the Giants, Ravens, Saints, and Seahawks. That’s not a bad group to be mixed in with.
Then there’s been the Colts, Falcons, Bengals, Cardinals, Eagles, Panthers, 49ers, Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos, Texans, Vikings, and Cowboys. That’s a little more frustrating group to be mixed in with, but still not too bad.
Then there’s been the Rams, Raiders, Titans, Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Redskins, Jaguars, Lions, and Bucs. Football purgatory pretty much.
Then there’s been the Cleveland Browns. Football Hell.
I’m pretty grateful being a Seahawks fan. Having Paul Allen as an owner helps tremendously. I like this team moving forward.
Well Iâd fire John Schneider for Rob in a heartbeat. Haha why canât you be our scout at least?
“Is it now time to go through the kind of change Pittsburgh went through a few years ago, moving away from an ageing formerly great defense to put more focus on Big Ben and the offense?”
100% yes. It’s long overdue. If you have a franchise QB, you build the franchise around him, and you hope you can hit on enough defensive draft picks to win the SB. If you build around the defense, and you start losing players, then the defense craters. We saw the Seahawks be able to withstand the loss of Sherman, Chancellor, and Avril, but they’re a shell of their former selves now, and can’t even stop BLAKE BORTLES. If role players start getting injured on the offense, then you plug in a new guy and keep rolling. As long as the QB doesn’t get hurt, you’re still good.
“Are they a bit too long in the tooth, too established and world weary? Is there enough brash fearlessness about this group? Isnât that what made this team great in the first place? The cocky attitude, the swagger, the ambition, the drive.”
When I looked at the Jags, I saw the Seahawks of 2012 and 2013. Young, hungry, putting 110% into every play. They were FLYING out there! When I look at Kam, Sherman, Bennett… were they even giving 80% of what they used to be this year? Sure injuries took a toll on them, but they don’t have the FIRE IN THE BELLY to be who they once were. Mike Tyson said it best – it’s hard to get up and put the work in when you’re sleeping on silk sheets.
To be fair, just addressing your last paragraph, they were able to look like the Hawks of 2012/13 because they spent the decade prior being absolute garbage. They are loaded with first round talent on the defence, have a top-10 draft pick running back, and were able to bring in some star free agents because of the cap space. It’s how the league is designed to work. In four/five seasons time when they’re all on second or third contracts, free agency has gutted the coaching staff, boys are starting to get a bit banged up and motivation is fading… They’ll be pretty lucky if they look as good as the Hawks currently do.
Thank you for this reminder. Many teams that fans point to as up and coming should franly be that, up and coming, the jags this year perhaps the Rams, I mean the absolute definition of mediocre forever at some point good picks should pan out.
Part of the trouble last game was rookies filling in for two injured linebackers – they probably did have a fire in their belly but just too inexperienced to be thrown in mid season. Given 3 more games they might be good by playoffs.
Russell has suffered enough. Stop surrounding him with inferior lines who canât run the ball ornprotect him consistently. Build up the line and running back spots and then reassemble the defense. We have some young pieces, but they arenât super star players yet. Clark, Naz, Griffin, who knows if the young safeties can play? We also have Reed. Avril, Bennett are either on the way, or close to it. Get the offense settled with some young talent at guard, (our current guards are just not great), allow Pocic and Reese battle it out for that last guard spot, and hopefully Fant comes back and pushes Ifedi. If they run the ball better, they will help the defense out immensely. If Russel can rely on a ground game, he will be even more dangerous. Sherman has to come back healthy, and he and Earl can help usher in the young guys and make sure they grow up. And again… K and Punter are ripe for a refresh.
Do some fans have this fantasy that teams will hit or have to hit on every draft pick? You can just fill ALL your needs in one fell swoop?
I think the mid round magic this team had for a few drafts inflated fan expectations. That said, Iâve been pretty darn impressed with the drafting of Shaq Griffin and Naz Jones this year in R3. If those guys had been taken a round sooner, there would be more hype around them. Solid.
I remain pretty hopeful about Pocic, Hill, Carson, and Darboh, as well.
Pretty pessimistic about McDowell. Carroll was kinda grim about him today. I have my doubts whether he plays a snap for the team.
Off the previous year, love the picks of Ifedi, Reed, Vannett, and QJeff. Have my doubts about Odhiambo and Prosise.
If busts are McDowell, and Prosise, those were were high risk/ high reward swings for the fences. I can respect going for it on occasion.
Pocic I’m digging this year. Has acquitted himself nicely on the line. I really don’t know about darboh. I’m truly intrigued about Delano Hill next year.
Rob really warmed me to the idea of malik but it’s got a serious vibe of him being a first round bust.
Ifedi nest year will be a more fair evaluation if he stays in the same spot and learns to just stone and maul fools who grab his face mask and not get so worked up.
Iâve been happy with Pocic as well. Want to see him get stronger in the offseason.
If Ifedi can get down the hotheadedness, I think heâs going to be a good player at RT. IMO, his biggest issues are containing his temperament, and right now, itâs been big problem.
I think Griffin and Jones have upside that could be pretty special. I was watching Jones in pass rush drills during training camp, and was surprised by his moves. Key for him is to continue learning how to play low, I think he has the makeup to grow into a pretty good player if they let Sheldon go. Griffin is just special.
If the team doesnât extend McDougald, it could signal they see bright things for Delano Hill. Kam was kinda stashed his rookie year, so itâs something to consider.
I think Darboh could be something. Golden didnât do much as a rookie. Again, if they donât extend PRich, might mean they like what they have with Darboh.
I wonder if they keep Mcdougald and play hill next year. I read Mcdougald was lining up at Lb recently and last off season it seemed there was reason to believe that Seattle was going to start playing more big nickel and other 4-2-5 looks. With injuries it seems they have stayed in a more conventional 4-3 more often this season.
Moist of Ifedi’s problems are with his head and attitude. Physically he has what it takes, but he forgets the snap count, isn’t paying attention so misses his assignment, doesn’t play through the whistle. Then he gets mad when he’s picked on or taunted and draws laundry, while the rest of the time he lacks the fire to get after opponents.
He’s so massive he should be dominant, but he plays too high and loses leverage. All those hands to the face penalties this week were a signal, that’s was all about playing too high. As big as he is is, he stands so tall you can hit him high and bum rush him right back to the quarterback.
.
He needs better coaching, and he needs to figure out if he really has a love for the game, and a desire to get better
Unrealistic expectations set by a couple of all time great drafts.
I mean, what are you doing if you can’t find multiple All-Pros in the middle rounds of the draft every single year?
Yup. Your only going to get 3-4 immediate impact players and probably an UDFA.
Lets look at it strictly from a statistical standpoint. The best players go on average in the first round and have around 60% chance of playing after 5 years. The odds go down from there. By the fourth round they have a 20% success rate. As fans we are used to seeing them trade back, and gather picks. But the quality overall will never be as good as the first round. So maybe they should think long and hard about this strategy of trading back. Especially if your looking for a game changer.
Having said all that, I like the Seahawks mid round picks this last draft. LOL
I knew this world was full of human garbage, but the trash just keeps building up.
Now its come out that a former NFL network employee is allegedly saying that Marshall Faulk, Warren Sapp (huge surprise there I know), Ike Taylor, Donovan McNabb, and another shocker *it ain’t* Heath Evans have sexually assaulted her. Stay tuned football fans. This league just keeps getting better. *it don’t*.
I said it after the Henry Weinstein bombshell, itâs just going to be the tip of the iceberg of whatâs to follow, and there are going to be people accused of this BS who you would never think it possible. Woman have been dealing with pigs in the workplace for decades.
Jesus Christ. It shouldn’t be a surprise, and yet… I really don’t know what is wrong with some people.
It’s almost a daily occurrence now. This behavior is so pervasive in our culture and so long standing that I’m not surprised by any of this. I’m only surprised by some who are accused of doing these things. Truly awful!
Wow you folks have already convicted these guys, why don’t you wait for the facts to come out. Is this one women alleging all of these men assaulted her? I would find that some what suspect just from face value myself. If they did something then fine off with there heads, were so damn quick to jump to conclusions now a day. enough from me as I would just as soon talk about football.
There is a reason this new movement is being called the “ME TOO”. I hate to sound like a jerk and I am totally against people being assaulted, but speak up when it happens. Jumping on the bandwagon and coattails of 100s of others convolutes the real victims that have suffered crimes.
So who’s Seattle’s guy this year that they’ve been tracking for the past season or two? Probably gonna be a big name guy coming into this season that fell off a bit or had a down year.
Or who’s the red flag guy that blows up the combine?
Derwin James?
LSUs tolliver
DE Marquis Haynes
What happened to the narrative that RBs from ‘Bama weren’t any good?
I’m watching Kenyan Drake tear it up, Mark Ingram has been solid his whole career (he’s had some ball security issues admittedly), Derrick Henry is a god damn super hero, there’s another rookie RB that’s lit the league on fire who was at ‘Bama, and now this year they got Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough. Bo won’t be a workhorse IMO, but should be a great thumper and an effexcrive short yardage/goal line specialist.
And didn’t we have a guy at RB from there who was the league MVP?
I want Damien Harris in Seattle.
I’m pretty high on Harris as well. As per Alexander I was just reading his wiki bio and man I miss how good that dude was. Soft or not, that dude could flat out move for about five seasons on the team.
His east/west style was fun to watch.
silky smooth. check the td’s for his best five seasons in seattle: 14 td’s, 16 td’s, 14 td’s, 16 td’s, 27 td’s….Imagine Seattle today with literally half of that on the ground
We have one LOL
I like his style but Iâm a little concerned about his market share numbers. They donât portend great success in the nfl. Rashad Pennyâs numbers on the other hand, outstanding.
How so? is this in reference to the YPC numbers in relationship to total carries? I do like Penny quite a bit and I do like how he has a season being a total work horse and yet only did it one year so as to not put a ton of miles on himself.
Yardage as a percentage of the teamâs total yardage. Typically a good indicator of nfl success. Penny had a monstrous 43% of the teamâs yardage – hits a multiple pro bowl player threshold.
thanks for that
Doesnât bother me, personally. Seattle seems to hone into college backs with little tread on the tires. Alabama has been mixing their backs more this year, but Harris has clearly been the most explosive. Why they are mixing backs is a legit thing to consider. Maybe there are durability concerns. Maybe Saban thinks a Pete Carroll USC style of mixing backs is the best way for his offense to win him another championship.
Remember back in the day when the largest and strongest O-line in the country wasn’t in the pros, it was at the University of Nebraska? And how they turned out running back after running back who’d be approaching 2,000 yards rushing a year? And how those running backs were a bust in the NFL. Running behind that line you never knew how good they really were. In college they ran through holes you could drive a U-Haul through. Those holes are almost nonexistent in the NFL. Most of those Nebraska backs were huge, and had blazing speed, and that was all it took in college. It was all they needed at Nebraska. What they didn’t have was vision and wiggle. At Nebraska and behind that line, all you had to do was run where the play was designed to be run, and the entire expanse of the Great Plains would have been opened up by that line.
Alabama the last bunch of years has been like that. Though with Damien Harris, he has the wiggle and vision, speed and power. Everything he’ll need at the next level. And have you seen him pass block? He’s ready for the pros on that count to, one of the things that commonly holds promising backs out of the line-up when the get to the NFL.
The team is in desperate need of consistency.
Week to week the offensive game plans either appear confusing or poorly executed. That is on the coaching and the personnel they have decided to put together.
The defense cannot create consistent pressure. they peaked in 2015 and have rapidly declined since then. This team needed a pass rusher which I think showed in the selection of McDowell, who was by far the best pass rusher in that range. Creating pressure with 4 rushers is essential for their style of defense
The O-line is still not quite there yet it but it’s moving in the right direction. Too many good drives are completely destroyed by a single bad play. Personally I think Joeckal, Pocic and Britt (to a lesser degree) combined just don’t offer enough power for a consistent inside running game. I’d love to see what they could do with another C convert in Frank Ragnow. He started the year being touted as equally good as Billy Price. A high ankle sprain took him out for the season and he has faded out of attention. He played RG in his first year and looked good doing so. Would probably be the best overall line prospect they have drafted since Okung
This team is having an issue with drops. Currently they are dropping passes at a 65% higher rate than last year. They have 20 drops already this year which as a raw number is significant when you consider they haven’t more than 15 drops since 2012. The main culprits are Jimmy Graham and Paul Richardson. It’s also deflating Russel’s completion% which would be above 63%, much closer to his career average.
Side note: Wilson is so inexperienced by elite QB standards. At a minimum he has half the years as a starter as all the elite QB’s except Rodgers who sat for 3 years.
Heard an interesting thing from Nate Burleson on drops. It’s fairly anecdotal but his contention is that when you see a player with a good amount of drops he often thinks it’s their eyes that are letting them down not the hands.
Also and I found this sort of shocking but at the combine for all the testing they do, no one performs an eye exam on the players. again fairly anecdotal but interesting if true,
Sure no problem. Honestly Iâm just parroting information from a guy who has put out some analytic work. He has a website – draftcobern. Heâs also posting info regularly on twitter. Iâd say heâs a bit hyperbolic at times but I do find some of his info to be pretty interesting. For example, shaq griffin hit pro bowl level thresholds according to his analysis last year. So it was neat when we drafted him in the third.
Sorry this was meant to be a reply to Peter above
He’s an interesting follow.
Thanks for the info on “draftcobern,” I’m big into data/numbers so it seems like it will be right up my alley.
If the hawks wanna keep this defense and slowly purge till its completely new, we have to realize this defense isn’t making the plays it used to cause it’s aging, so the offense has to take up the slack and minimize it’s time on the field., sherman will be hard to trade cause of the significan’t injury that he suffered, on defense we have richardson, and Clarks contract’s up at the end of the season, who would you keep?, if we keep one of them or both, Bennett, or avril, will for sure have to go, I think avril might be done due to his injury.
Clark has one more year.
If anyone wants to move on from Sherman, just watch Bmax trying to tackle the guy who just caught a pass for a first down. Be careful what you wish for.
I think Avril is done, with his injury and his contract is easy to move on from.
Lots of Bennett bashing, but he has been injured all year, still plays. They will not move on from him.
But more youth is needed on D. Older guys do get injured more, just normal. Speed at LB, CB and edge
Hi Vol
Any thoughts on DJ Moore? I jus see that he had a ridiculous 50% of Marylandâs receiving yardage those year.
*this year
Love him. Think he’s a Golden Tate clone. Heard he’s getting day 2 grades and is gonna run a sub 4.45 and a 37″ vert.
Thanks. Yikes, if he is going day 2 then unlikely he will be a seahawk.
+37
How great is it that non-cardio, cigarette smoking Jay Cutler just beat Tom ‘won’t even eat a Strawberry’ Brady?
Cutler gives hope to degenerates like myself. Sometimes you can fall up.
And what in the hell was this?
https://mobile.twitter.com/recordsANDradio/status/940443126384259073/video/1
i checked in on that game in 2nd half, just to see how badly Miami was getting beat down. Imagine my surprise when I saw the score and a frustrated Tom Brady. Loved it. Schadenfraude is a guilty pleasure. Used to enjoy watching the 49’rs lose under Harbaugh. Had to switch that up.
and if anyone thinks Brady is doing so well at age 40 because he does not eat strawberries, or tomatoes, or mushrooms, I have a bridge to sell them. All time great QB, but all signs point to him having some special help to be so effective at an age when others are done.
Thanks Rob for capturing key ?s. Agree the real core is smaller then some of us thought a few weeks ago. IMO the cornerstones: offense = Russell and D is a combination of Earl and Bobby.
Lock in O line and build around Britt + Brown. Eager to get Fant back!
Last draft JS found special players with Griffin, Carson and Naz…. We don’t know about Hill and Darboh but seem promising ..Who knows Thompson & Tyson may surprise us. Griffin is 1st of that DB draft class to emerge but there will be more it was a very deep draft and PC is DB guru.
McDougal and Coleman priority resigns +Sheldon if he’s not too pricey.
Draft to regain speed + build depth at LB, RB, edge and bulk up at Guard
I think Cliff and Kam will step away due to health. Hope Kam will coach and/or do more than ride the bench. I think he has tons to offer the team.
Secret wish =draft the other Griffin brother at LB. For his grit – plays with 1 hand and because being special often runs in families ( The Watts)
Bennett seems distracted/distracting likely to retire and do other things…
Bennet will not retire, and he is still valuable. If we trade him for a pick of for picks that is one thing, but he is signed to a team friendly deal for what he brings to the table, so he is not the problem on this team. He is however, one of the only players on our team that would net a good pick in a trade scenario, but be careful what you wish for because he is not easily replaceable.
Avril is also a good value guy, it will be hard to replace him as well, but if he retires I wish him luck in his next adventure in life. If he comes back I think he makes our team better. No need to move on, unless someone offers a crazy trade package for him.
Sherman believe it or not seems to be replaceable. Not because of his play but because of the play of the other corners. We will miss his interceptions though immensely, as the other CB’s on the team do not seem to have good ball hawking skills, but Sherman is a master at it. To bad he got hurt because he would have netted a pretty good draft choice, but now he will be playing for us next year.
Bam Bam Kam is the problem here. He is paid a lot of money and being injured now does not help him or us. I love the dude he has been an amazing player for us, but at his price point it may be time to move on. The only problem is we would need to find someone who is willing to trade for him. That would have been very tough before his injury because of his salary, but now it will be near impossible, he will be a Seahawk next year. He still has a lot of value though, so hopefully he and the team can find ways to help him be effective in coaching or role playing situations.
The bottom line is we are strapped for cash and the players we have are not playing like they used to. I don’t expect much to happen next year, except for more steady decline. We could bring in guys to help the offense, but defense still wins championships, unless you are the Patriots, but at this point we have proved we are not. Hopefully JS and PC can create some of the early years draft magic they had this coming year, but with the picks we got, there is little hope for that.
On the bright side though, we still have a legit MVP candidate, and we still have a legit DPY candidate, and we got ET, we will be OK in the future, but it may take a couple of years to right the ship. GO HAWKS!!!!!
I would also like to take this time to thank all the players and the management, who will never read this, for making this team respectable and a national brand. This truly is a good time to be a Seahawk fan, I think it just is ending faster than we all hoped it would.
I dont see him retiring either. His contract is pretty team friendly. I just think they need to cut his snaps down. He is playing 85% of the snaps which is to high for an aging player. We need to get him closer to 70% or even lower.
Yes Greg Haugsven, Bennet always played better when his snaps were limited. He is still a very disruptive player when he is fresh.
The report that Kam’s wife was at headquarters meeting with JS/PC the day after the injury makes me think Kam’s career is in jeopardy. I have a feeling he will retire or be cut because of it.
I think the Hawks will prioritize keeping the DL/OL intact because they always prioritize the lines.
Lets keep in mind that you get very little in return for aging players in trades during the offseason. I just don’t see any team that would be willing to give up a second round pick for an aging player in the offseason. Hopefully I am wrong on this.
I was curious about his contract and what happens if he gets cut. As best I can figure out the Seahawks will be on the hook for the rest of his signing bonus of 7.5 million. A few details :
Contract Notes:
â˘$13M guaranteed at signing (signing bonus + 2017 salary)
â˘2018 salary fully guarantees on 2/10/2018
â˘$5.2M of 2019 salary fully guarantees in early 2019
â˘2017 Per Game Bonus: $20,312 ($325,000, 12 LTBE)
â˘2018-2020 Per Game Active Bonus: $31,250 ($500,000)
â˘2020 Roster Bonus: $1M
â˘2017 Incentive: $100,000 (pro bowl + playoffs, NLTBE)
Based on the notes, the Seahawks will have to make a decision in February on his health for next year. It would really be better if they could wait, but that’s how it breaks out.
He has a $12 million injury guarantee in his contract. If he gets cut he gets $12 million and it goes straight to the cap which will destroy it. If he retires he forfeits that $12 million so Im not sure he wants to do that. I dont see them cutting him and I dont see him retiring so I think he will be on the roster. If I had to pick one I would pick him retiring.
And give up 12 million dollars? NOT a chance that he will retire. Wouldn’t that 12 million be included in his first year pay and signing bonus??
No, its a guarantee for injury only. If the cut him he would be paid $12 million and that money plus his $7.5 for remaining signing bonus cap hits would be $19.5 million.
Option 1: He retires
He loses his $12 million injury guarantee (not happening)
Option 2: They release him
His cap hit for 2018 would be $19.5 million (7.5 for remaining signing bonus and $12 million for injury guarantee)… (not happening)
That really only leaves 1 option that he will be on the active roster next year.
Whether he plays or not would be up in the air. Kind of a stalemate there.
This was previously discussed. He isn’t walking away and leaving $12M on the table. We won’t cut him and risk needing to pay him anyways due to the injury guarantee. Hopefully he’s healthy enough and mentally in the right frame of mind to play next season.
That’s all we can hope for at this point unless they come to some kind of agreement.
If Kam won’t return to play next season, he will become the best paid assistant coach in the NFL letting the the Seahawks off the hook cap wise. Thank you in advance, Paul Allen.
Very true. I know people have reached settlements in the past and like someone also stated, him staying involved with the team would be great
All good questions,Rob, and must be discussed.
The problem is, these problems are not new. This team has lacked identity since the SB years, and have done too little since, coaching-wise and player-wise. What has always been loosey-goosey about Pete/John remains so. There are both strengths and weaknesses to The Way, but they waited too long to bolster the positives, and refresh and change it.
The Patriots persist because their coaching and personnel teams are consistent and above average. Disciplined, consistent, even in lesser seasons. They lay eggs too, such as last night, but there are no chronic problems, because they are brutal about addressing those quickly.
We never seem to know what version of the Hawks we get from week to week. Yes, “anything can happen”, but they need to string a series of consistent (that word again) performances. This crew doesn’t seem to do that well.