Category: Main (Page 2 of 93)

It was with a great deal of interest that I saw Albert Breer suggest “this could just be time” for the Browns to negotiate a Myles Garrett trade.

Breer is connected. He isn’t explicitly saying here that Garrett will be moved — but it’s at least a little bit of a separation from the persistent media messaging that the Browns are not interested in a deal.

When his contract was adjusted earlier this year, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realise the situation had shifted. There was no obvious reason for doing that, other than it made it easier to trade him if they wanted to.

It would make sense for the Browns to consider this the right time.

They are reaching the point of no return in terms of trade value. Garrett turns 31 in late December. His value is still very strong off the back of a record-breaking 23-sack season in 2025. They can realistically still expect to get multiple first round picks in return for Garrett, despite his age.

This might be the final time they can do it, though. Even if he had, say, a 12-15 sack season this year, the numbers would be declining as the age grows. The Browns will never again have as much leverage as they have right now.

Multiple teams have positioned themselves to plan for the 2027 draft. It is expected to be rich in talent at the top end with depth at quarterback too. The Jets have three first round picks. Others, like the Cardinals and Dolphins, appear to be embracing a struggle in 2026 to benefit in the long term.

The Browns have 10 picks next year but they only own their original selections in the first three rounds. Seven of their picks are set for day three.

They have an uncertain future at quarterback and multiple needs across the roster. With a new Head Coach, they appear to be embracing a reset of sorts.

Trading Garrett would secure additional stock. They could use their most tradable asset to set themselves up for the long haul. Moving Garrett would also — if we’re being honest — sufficiently weaken the team to give it the best chance of being bad enough to pick very early.

They’re planning to open a new stadium in 2029. Surely the goal has to be to spend the next three seasons preparing to enter the new arena with a strong overall roster? Keeping Garrett, continuing to be a bad team with one legendary player, and not gaining additional draft stock makes no sense.

Setting the table for a trade this summer would be entirely appropriate for the Browns, even if it would be painful for a long-suffering fan-base. They have to do it though. They have to at least try and build a new, younger foundation with 2029/2030 in mind.

Heck, look at the Seahawks. They embraced trading Russell Wilson. That worked out well, even if many fans feared the worst at the time.

Curtis Allen brilliantly laid out a blueprint for why a move to Seattle is possible and could be appealing to Garrett. I would highly recommend reading that article.

There are pro’s and con’s to the Seahawks making this deal.

On the one hand, acquiring Garrett would terrify the NFL. A defense as excellent as Seattle’s gaining a player of his quality would be a mouth-watering prospect for the Seahawks. Imagine the unit suddenly having an unstoppable force working the edge — one of the all-time great game-wreckers.

That’s also part of the dilemma. I think you can forget his age. This would be a rare opportunity to acquire one of the best players to ever feature in the NFL. Even if you’re only possibly guaranteeing another 3-4 years of top-end performance, the price-tag in a deal will be astronomical.

I think it’ll take three first rounders. So you then have to weigh up the idea of gaining three cost-effective young players over the next three seasons, when you’ll need to replace some key ageing elements of the roster, versus having one proven, sure-thing, legendary talent who can maximise a wide-open Championship window.

Would a Godzilla-sized trade have a negative impact on the carefully crafted, ‘MOB’ mindset the Seahawks have? Would inviting in one the biggest of big names, not to mention biggest contracts, upset the dynamic at all? After all, the Seahawks won a Super Bowl without Garrett and will expect to be strong again in 2026 without any further additions.

Alternatively, a move for Garrett could be as exciting for his new team-mates as it would be for fans. It’d certainly make life easier for the other defenders who get to play with him — and would give the players in Seattle further opportunities to both win and max-out their own earning potential.

You also have to think about another team in the NFC getting him instead, and how you’d feel about that. The Browns will very likely want him out of the AFC.

I think Garrett being as good as he is, and with sufficient talent already on the roster, plus a front office capable of finding players in the draft outside of the first round, the Seahawks could justify making a huge splash.

I’d look at it this way. The 49ers blew three first round picks on Trey Lance and survived. They remained competitive.

I think the Seahawks could do the same even if a move for Myles Garrett ultimately didn’t pan out. They have a quarterback, weapons, young talent on both lines and good defensive players at every level. They could be unstoppable with him — and still really good if he got injured or if his play suddenly regressed.

With that in mind, I’d seriously consider it if the Browns really are thinking it’s time to do a deal.

They’d be creating a 3-5 year window to try and add at least one more Super Bowl, creating a legendary era of Seahawks football.

There’s no other trade that could move the needle quite like this would.

This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…

One of the most intriguing storylines this offseason has been the relationship between Myles Garrett and the Browns.  Far too many of the clues leading to the idea that a trade is a possibility are being brushed aside by the media in general.

If he truly is available, the Seahawks – and the thirty other NFL teams – will be very interested.

Decoding some of the clues and looking at his fit will help us discern if pursuing Garrett makes sense for the Seahawks.

Why He Might Be Available

After publicly demanding a trade in 2025, the Browns convinced Garrett to stay by signing him to a massive contract extension.  He promptly turned in a monster season, breaking the all-time record for sacks and winning the Defensive Player of the Year award, while the team around him limped to a 5-12 record.

The Browns fired Head Coach Kevin Stefanski and hired Todd Monken, prompting Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz – whom Garrett had endorsed as his choice for the head job – to quit.

Monken recently said that he has not had any contact with Garrett this offseason.  At all.

By avoiding the voluntary portion of offseason workouts, he is putting a $1 million workout bonus in jeopardy.  While that is not a major financial hit to Garrett, it should be noted that it is one of the highest workout bonuses in the NFL.  The Browns clearly want Garrett onsite in the offseason.

However, the biggest clue that a trade may happen came earlier this year in March, when Garrett and the Browns agreed to a very intriguing contract adjustment.

The initial contract had included a March trigger date for a $29.2 million option bonus and both parties agreed to move that date almost six months out to September 1.

This makes Garrett tradable this summer.  Let me explain.

Garrett already has $41 million in signing bonus money on his contract that would become dead cap should he be traded.  If the $29.2 million option bonus had triggered in March, that number would have ballooned to $70.2 million, making him untradable.

It is not the dead cap number preventing the trade, it would be the cap hit.  The Browns’ 2026 available cap space would have dropped by an astounding $46 million, putting them so far over the cap they would have no mechanism to create enough room to be cap compliant (the Browns have leveraged a bunch of contracts already and still have almost half of Deshaun Watson’s disastrous $230 million contract to account for on the cap).

By moving the trigger date to September 1, the Browns now have the option to trade Garrett, absorb only $41 million in dead cap (as the new team would be responsible for the $29.2 million option), as well as splitting the dead money over 2026 and 2027 due to being a post-June 1 trade.

The Browns would pick up around $8 million in cap space by trading Garrett after June 1.

However, if Garrett is a Brown on September 1, the trigger hits and he once again becomes untradable.  Even a deal at the trade deadline is off the table.

Therefore, there is a three-month window to trade Garrett this offseason, from June 2 to September 1.

Browns’ General Manager Andrew Berry refuses to explain the reasoning behind the adjustment and would prefer not to talk about trading Garrett.  It does give the team a little more cash flow flexibility but it also kicks the door wide open for a potential Garrett trade.

Here is the kicker though: to adjust the contract, Garrett and his agents had to agree to it.  What possible reason would there be for Garrett to agree to moving a trigger date for $29.1 million from March to September?  No one has been able to explain why and this angle seems to have gone largely unexplored.  Players do not agree to contract concessions that large without something big in return.  They just do not.  And much less immediately after recording one of the all-time great seasons of play in NFL history. 

Garrett does get some money from this adjustment in 2029 and 2030 a bit earlier due to converting some salary to $8 million in roster bonuses — but that is peanuts in the grand scheme of things and three years away.

There can only be one obvious conclusion:  Garrett agreed to this adjustment to facilitate a trade.

This is all reminiscent of the saga between the Seahawks and Russell Wilson in 2021 and 2022 that led to him being traded to Denver: a public leak by the player discussing a potential trade, followed by a smoothing over by the team.

In the following year, stringent denials by the team that the player is on the trade block, with the bulk of the local media and fans parroting the team’s public position on the player while denying there are columns of smoke billowing out of team headquarters.

Regardless of what the Browns are saying publicly, the 31 other teams can discern from the signs:  Garrett is available for the right price.

Trade Compensation

So, what is the right price?

Three first-round picks are the general cost bandied about among pundits and commentators.

I would argue that Garrett can be had for less than that.  Why?

Micah Parsons was traded for two firsts and Kenny Clark last year.  He was 26 years old.

Khalil Mack was traded to the Bears in 2018 for two firsts.  He was 27 years old.

I think we all can agree that Garrett is superior to those two players.  But he is 30 years old.  Those three or four prime years that have already passed can cap his trade value to a package similar to what Dallas and Oakland received for their superstar rushers.

There is also another factor that can keep the trade compensation in an earthly realm:  Garrett’s last extension included a full no-trade clause.  He can pick his next team.  At the very least, he can keep a moderate lid on an all-out bidding war by limiting the number of teams he will accept a trade to.

Granted, we do not know what teams and cities appeal to Garrett.  But it is not hard to imagine that a team like the New York Jets – armed with three first-round picks next year and hungry to make a splash – would likely not be a preferred destination for Garrett.  In pure football terms, going from the Browns to the Jets would simply not appeal.

For the Seahawks, would first-round picks in 2027 and 2028 along with say a third-round pick in 2027 get the deal done?  They might have to stretch that far to get a deal over the finish line.

Softening the blow is the Seahawks are set to have eleven picks in 2027.  Trading a first and third would reduce that to nine picks (there is still an opportunity to add 2027 & 2028 picks should Nolan Teasley and Aden Durde get top jobs with other teams).

There is an easy argument to be made that adding the best defensive player in the NFL and still having nine picks in a strong 2027 draft is right in John Schneider’s wheelhouse.

It also would serve as an effective hedge against a potential talent drain in 2027 at Defensive Line, with Leonard Williams and Uchenna Nwosu as Free Agents and DeMarcus Lawrence potentially retiring.

Another argument in favor for pursuing a trade is to keep Garrett from going to a rival team.  Very likely the Browns would want to trade him out of the AFC and teams like the Eagles, Niners and Rams would surely line up to get a shot at him.

It is very believable that the Seahawks could pursue a trade of this nature.

Even more so when you consider the salary cap and cash implications.

The Financial Impact is Very Appealing

The team acquiring Garrett inherits this contract:

Just look at those cap hits for the first three years.  $46 million for three years of the best pass rusher in the game.  And if you want to consider the cap space “saved” by trading two firsts and a third in, that number drops to about $34 million.

None of those cap hits will inhibit the Seahawks in any way.  They can look to extend other players without having to make any very tough decisions until 2028 or 2029.

However, one of the ‘team rules’ they will have to break to make this happen is to acquire a contract with five years left on it.  The benefits secured would make it a very palatable exception but it must be weighed as a factor.

When you consider the excellent salary cap shape John Schneider has the team in, this structure and cost is almost too good to be true.

Of course, this is assuming the Seahawks have assurances that Garrett is happy with his contract.  Last year he signed a deal worth $40 million AAV and now has five players making more annually than him, led by Will Anderson Jr’s recent extension valued at $50 million.

It would be an open question if Garrett would accept his current contract at face value – now and well into the future – in order to facilitate a trade.  A deal could easily be scuttled if Garrett will want annual raises that keep him at the top of the pay scale.  There is a reason the Seahawks’ cap situation is so good – they don’t wreck their cap structure for one player.

The other financial consideration is the cash money spent.  The Seahawks currently sit at #15 in the NFL and that ranking will rise if/when extensions for Devon Witherspoon and Derick Hall are reached.  With those two extensions, they may have reached their budget ceiling for cash spent in 2026.

What would picking up this Garrett contract as-is mean for cash outlay in 2026?  About $19-20 million.  Joel Corry has the details of the payment plan on the $29.2 million option that triggers on September 1:

— $12 million due Nov 1

 — About $5 million paid in the 2026 season in weekly payments

The balance of the option is paid in 2027 – a new budget year.

That is on top of the $2.3 million in salary and Per Game Bonuses paid in 18 game-check installments.

It is very flexible.  Still, when you have already committed a whopping $336 million in cash – and probably another $40-60 million for the Witherspoon and Hall extensions – another $19-20 million may just be a bridge too far.

John Schneider would have to be convinced that this move is for the team’s best interest and would need to propose some extra cash be allocated for this acquisition (possibly foregoing his annual trade deadline deal to make this happen).

One consideration that could make this cash spend a little more palatable:  at this moment in time, we still do not have a definitive answer on DeMarcus Lawrence’s status.  If he decides to retire a champion, that opens up $9.5 million in cash and cap space, effectively cutting in half the requirement to fund a Garrett acquisition and nicely filling Lawrence’s role on the defense.

So overall, the acquisition is a slam dunk on the salary cap side but some work would need to be done on the cash side.

One more piece of the puzzle needs to be explored.

How Would Garrett Fit in Seattle?

This might be both the biggest factor and the biggest unknown.

For years, Garrett has been a lone wolf in Cleveland.  The undisputed leader and best player on the team.  He has faced constant double-teaming and fought through them with great success.

Has that mindset ingrained itself so deeply in Garrett’s play psyche that he may not be adequately able to adapt to Mike Macdonald’s constant ‘all-for-one and one-for-all’ play style?

In 2026, Garrett personally out-sacked the three best Seahawk pass-rushers (Murphy, Williams and Nwosu each had 7 sacks) 23 to 21.  Yet the Seahawks fielded a fantastic defense, predicated on unselfish line play to keep the uncertainty of ‘where is the rush coming from’ alive.

To be fair, Garrett is regularly praised by his teammates and coaches for his relentless work ethic and example on the field.  His fellow defensive players regularly express gratitude that he makes their lives easier by his dominant play and he obviously did not let his public trade request last year effect his play – quite the opposite in fact, raising his game to another level.

But can Garrett go from being the unquestioned Alpha in the Browns’ locker room to fully adopting the “M.O.B.” mentality in Seattle?  Does he grasp the concept of ‘earning’ his pass-rush opportunities by consistently setting the edge in the run game and regularly stunting to set his teammates up with opportunities?  Will he agree with occasionally dropping in coverage to allow a schemed-up Ernest Jones Jr or Nick Emmanwori to blitz effectively?  Would Garrett’s affection for Jim Schwartz – a tough, demanding and aggressive coach – translate easily with Mike Macdonald’s style?

And as discussed above, could he do all of that while regularly being out-earned by other pass rushers over the next 3-4 seasons?

Put another way, is he ready for a different phase of his career?  One where money, personal stats and singular attention mean less and winning regularly, playing meaningful football in December and competing for championships mean more?

These questions are hard to answer.

I would dare say that John Schneider and the Pro Personnel arm of the franchise would spend just as much time getting confident answers to those questions as they would negotiating the trade with the Browns.

That said, one big factor in favor of a trade is this:  Garrett’s no-trade clause means he would have to choose to come to Seattle.  As long as he understood up front the team-first pay and play implications, the pathway for a trade could be clearer than we realize.

On the whole, exploring a Myles Garrett trade definitely has merit.  The trade and salary cap cost are well within an acceptable range.  The cash budgeting aspect is an obstacle that can possibly be overcome.  And if the team and player can gel on their philosophies, this could be a blockbuster of epic proportions that could propel the team to dynasty-levels of success.

When Geno Smith was the starting quarterback in Seattle, some people repeatedly tried to tell you he was a top-10 player at this position.

When the Seahawks traded him to the Raiders for a third round pick, the same people reacted with shock and disbelief.

What a move by the Raiders! What are the Seahawks thinking!

Twelve months later the Seahawks were Super Bowl Champions and the Raiders were picking first overall. But there’s probably 17 reasons why none of this was Geno’s fault. Or Pete Carroll’s, for that matter.

I’ve always been confused as to how Smith earned such vocal, passionate backing on social media. It was a ridiculous hill to die on — yet many charged up the incline, leaping chest-first onto the sword of average-to-bad quarterback play.

There was a real air of arrogance around the folks who held this position. They acted like anyone who didn’t share their admiration for Smith was a complete imbecile. The phrase “you don’t know ball” became synonymous with the movement — partly because they loved to say it and partly because many of us loved to ridicule the line.

The reality with Smith was that he had clear physical talent and could make some extremely impressive throws. He was streaky — having good and bad spells in Seattle. The turnovers and redzone problems were legit. He wasn’t anywhere near as bad as some on the internet claimed — but he was also nowhere near as good as ‘top-10 quarterback’ crowd claimed either.

The opposing extremes were two cheeks from the same arse — both combining to release a problematic level of flatulence.

The discourse genuinely made following the Seahawks a lot less fun. The anti-Geno crowd were easier to ignore though. Not as self-assured, not as patronising. Just wrong — but in a more palatable way.

Having experienced the last year, I’m willing to confess. Smith and the Raiders turning into the worst team in the league and the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl was even more enjoyable because it showed up a lot of people who thought they knew better than everyone else.

I don’t think this collection of individuals truly owned how wrong they were either. It was so in your face, so lacking in self-awareness. It takes more than a reply on X to ‘eat crow’ in this instance.

Nevertheless, the Seahawks are still Super Bowl Champions. So who really cares? We’d all moved on. Until today.

Blame Jeff Simmons and Curtis Allen for bringing to my attention a podcast by two of the biggest members of the Geno Smith appreciation society — Mina Kimes and Benjamin Solak.

Remember, this is the same Ben Solak who said the Raiders had the ninth best coaching staff in 2025 (the Seahawks were 16th), stating:

“It required an unspeakable amount of personal control to not put the Raiders in the top five. There are few head coaches I have more faith in than Carroll, who consistently does the following: gets great performance out of rookies; prepares backups well (and accordingly coaches around injury); and adjusts his defensive scheming to the players available, protecting them from their faults. There are few better culture coaches in football, but his scheming — much lauded in the early 2010s — has become underappreciated.

“I also have a huge amount of faith in Kelly. An offensive coordinator role suits him better than the head coaching jobs (Eagles and 49ers) that overwhelmed him in the mid-2010s, as he won’t have control over personnel. Indeed, his offense over the past few years (in college at UCLA and Ohio State) has become far more oriented to heavier personnel and a diverse running game — the sort of stuff that’s cooking in the league right now.”

He also said the Vikings had the third best off-season a year ago, and the Seahawks were ranked 31st — claiming:

“Seattle’s approach of downgrading at quarterback while loading the roster with aging veterans simply does not jibe.”

Kimes, meanwhile, called the Smith trade to the Raiders, “flat out terrible” for the Seahawks, adding, “Chances of upgrading are extremely low.”

Let’s also not forget the tone of this video, which really optimises the smug, too-clever-by-half attitude some had to Smith’s performances in Seattle.

Kimes and Solak took turns on their latest pod to pick quarterbacks to produce a joint ranking. The objective was to consider a three-year window — so there’s some wiggle room for projection.

Even so…

Sam Darnold came in at #19. Ahead of him in the ranking was:

Kyler Murray
Fernando Mendoza
CJ Stroud
Jayden Daniels

Shall we say it? Maybe, “they don’t know ball”

It’s a list so bad, ESPN should consider forcing them to watch highlights of the 2025 Raiders on repeat for a whole 24-hour cycle as a punishment.

Darnold is far from flawless. His 14 interceptions were the third most in 2025. He’s thrown 27 in the last two seasons. It’s a problem.

Yet within those two seasons he’s also thrown 66 touchdowns (including playoffs). He’s thrown 68 ‘big time throws’. The Vikings and Seahawks have won 31 games with him under center.

He had huge performances against the Rams in week 16 and in the NFC Championship game. He is still only 28 and appears to be showing he’s a really good quarterback in the prime of his career.

He’s also now a Super Bowl Champion.

How can you possibly have Kyler Murray ahead of him? Or CJ Stroud?

Whatever potential Jayden Daniels showed as a rookie, how is he nine places ahead of Darnold?

Then there’s Fernando Mendoza. A rookie.

Even though I don’t agree, you might be able to argue a case for the Jordan Love and Trevor Lawrence types, if you just happen to believe completely they will eventually rise to the level Darnold has shown in the last two seasons.

Murray and Stroud though? A rookie who hasn’t played a down in the NFL?

It’s a list so bad it also deserves to be traded to the Raiders.

The Jets are paying Breece Hall $15.25m a year on his new contract. That makes him the third highest paid running back in the league based on average salary.

Eventually he’ll be overtaken by Bijan Robinson, who will likely become the top paid runner in the league on more than $21m a year. Jahmyr Gibbs will also probably move above Hall when he gets his new deal.

Ken Walker is currently the fifth highest paid running back on $14.35m a year. He’s two spots ahead of Jeremiyah Love, who will earn a guaranteed contract worth $13.3m a season.

Jadarian Price’s rookie deal will pay him an estimated $4.2m a year. That will likely place him as the 33rd highest paid runner in the NFL.

Provided running production doesn’t suffer a dramatic drop-off based on what you had over the last four years with Walker working with Zach Charbonnet, that will be a bargain. There’s also the possibility that he could even be more successful, making this an even better move.

The Seahawks are in a healthy cap situation as Curtis Allen brilliantly laid out last week. Yet when you’re in a position where you’ve already paid Charles Cross and Jaxon Smith-Njigba big money, you will extend Devon Witherspoon’s contract in the coming weeks or months, you will eventually hope to give Derick Hall a new deal and you face the prospect of talking to players like Sam Darnold, Byron Murphy and AJ Barner in the next off-season, while potentially having to replace some of your experienced D-linemen, you have to find savings where you can.

Building a NFL roster is like piecing a puzzle together. The Seahawks won a Super Bowl because they did a better job than any other team creating a depth of balanced talent across all three units.

The best way to maintain that is going to be calculated gambles to save money where you can. Not keeping Walker and pivoting to Price is a good example. There will be similar challenging decisions to come in the future — possibly including at quarterback, depending on how the next season plays out.

The Seahawks appear very aware of these challenges. There’s no guarantee they’ll get all of the big decisions right but it should be seen as encouraging that they are detaching emotion from the situation and are reviewing each call with a nod to the present and future.

For everyone wringing their hands about spending the 32nd pick in a mediocre draft on a running back — they’d be better off acknowledging that rather than making a massive investment at a position they see as fungible, the Seahawks actually made a very calculated move to limit their investment at running back because they know they’ll need the cap and cash dollars down the line.

This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…

The Seahawks stand in a very good position with their salary cap.  They currently have a Zen-like balance on the roster — featuring a mix of productive young players and veterans who set the pace for the team while carrying cap numbers that are not debilitating.

Added to that, they have cap space to pay the bills and add or further retain talent without putting much strain on the company credit card.

To be in such an advantageous position right after winning the Super Bowl is a major testament to the way John Schneider and the rest of the Front Office have coalesced with the coaching staff.

A brief overview of the near future bears that out.  We will start with the basics and then talk about options and decisions that need to be made.

The 2026 Salary Cap

OvertheCap.com currently has them with $32.74 million.  They estimate it will cost them about $3.4 million to sign their draft class, leaving them with a little over $29 million of room.

Earmarking the standard $10 million for the Practice Squad and injury replacement players, that leaves them with about $19 million free and clear to spend.

The addition of Dante Fowler Jr for a reported “up to” $5 million number is a brilliant depth move that effectively replaces Boye Mafe in terms of production at a very reasonable cost.

If we count the full value of that contract towards the cap, that takes the number down to $15 million ($5 million cap hit + $1 million they get back for kicking player #51 off the top 51 that count towards the cap).

The other primary move that most likely will happen is the extension of Devon Witherspoon.  The Seahawks picked up their fifth-year option for 2027 at $21 million and intend to work out a contract extension.

Witherspoon currently accounts for $10.13 million on the 2026 cap.  As a #5 overall pick, his cap number is a healthy one for the fourth year of his contract.

As an exercise, I took the Trent McDuffie contract (4y/$134m), gave it to Witherspoon and modeled it after Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s deal:

So even if he becomes the highest-paid corner in the league, with the Seahawks structuring his contract similarly to Smith-Njigba’s, it will only eat about $2 million more for 2026.

That leaves the Seahawks with about $13 million to spend.

One option to explore if they wish: They can easily pick up another $8.25 million or so in cap room with a simple restructuring of Sam Darnold’s contract.  This could be for a specific purpose, or just to give John Schneider the capacity to make one of his patented in-season value trades to address a need.  If they do not use that space, they can just roll it into 2027 and apply it as they wish.

Just to reiterate: Bringing back every critical element from your Championship team, extending your core players, drafting to fill key needs, collecting compensatory picks, adding that one-more-veteran from the marketplace and still having cap room left over for the year is tremendous work.

The 2027 Cap

Currently OTC has the Seahawks’ number at $54.58 million with 35 players under contract.

That number does not include:

— Any cap rolled over from 2026

— The 2026 rookie class salaries

— Any cap adjustments resulting from the Witherspoon extension

— Any new contracts or adjustments made this summer or fall

The cap charges for the ’26 rookie class will be about $12 million in 2027.  That leaves about $42.5 million left with 43 players under contract.

Another draft class will likely clock in around the same, about $12 million.  That leaves about $30 million of room with the full 51 players.

(As a side note – let’s just tuck the projected eleven draft picks for 2027 – twelve if Defensive Coordinator Aden Durde is hired as a Head Coach – in our back pocket for now.  Having that many choices in a strong draft with a roster already loaded is like playing with a whole extra pile of money.)

To know:  that 2027 number includes a $21 million cap hit for Witherspoon’s fifth year option.  From the above, I estimated the team saves about $8.7 million with the extension and structuring, so call that about $38 million in cap room before the September costs for the Practice Squad.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents include Leonard Williams, Derick Hall, Uchenna Nwosu, Dante Fowler, Zach Charbonnet, Anthony Bradford and Jason Myers.

Jalen Sundell will be a Restricted Free Agent.  The Seahawks will almost certainly tender him barring something drastic happening this year.

Also — DeMarcus Lawrence is under contract but his 2027 is undetermined.

That $38 million can be used to extend or replace nearly all those players.

They also have levers they can pull to create much more cap space.  Two straightforward methods: Extending or restructuring Sam Darnold’s contract and Cooper Kupp has $14 million in non-guaranteed money on his 2027 number.  They could more than double their available space with moves on these two players alone.

Later in the year, they can consider extending Ernest Jones Jr and Julian Love, both of whom will still be under age 30.  That will make a healthy portion of salary cap room.

This is a snapshot of what will be on the menu when 2027 comes around.  Much can and will change between now and then.

Conclusions

The Seahawks are in a very sweet spot.  They have a championship roster, featuring a Quarterback on a bargain contract, an Offensive Line that is both young and team-controlled for the near future, a Wide Receiver coming off an Offensive Player of the Year campaign, a defense blended with a mix of youth, experience and toughness led by a Head Coach who is confounding some of the league’s best offensive minds.  It is all tied together by a reasonably-priced depth chart that is one of the NFL’s best Special Teams units.

In years past, Seahawk teams were loaded down by ‘comatose cap space’ — players on the roster with sizable cap hits that could not provide the value they were signed for.  Those days are done.

The team ethos, the blend of talent, the coaching, and the contract constructions are working together beautifully.

Would it be ideal for the team to have more cap space?  Sure.  More cap space is fun.

But this saying comes to mind: ‘A ship is safe in the harbor but that is not what ships are for.’

Having a large bank of cap space on a spreadsheet is fun.  But that is not what cap space is for.  Its purpose is to be spent wisely on quality players.  It is a ‘good problem’ when you must maneuver your cap space a bit and choose between bringing back players or taking the compensatory pick because of having so many quality players on your team.

That is where John Schneider has led the Seahawks.

And we can trust he will continue to recognize core needs for the team and successfully address them.

Speaking of core needs…

The Challenge of the Defensive Line in 2027

It has not escaped anyone’s notice that as of this moment, Leonard Williams, Derick Hall, Dante Fowler and Uchenna Nwosu are not under contract for next season.  Add to that the uncertainty over DeMarcus Lawrence and that Jarran Reed may need to start rationing snaps to stay fresh and it is currently an area of real concern.

If Lawrence decides to retire that will open $20 million in cap space ($9.5m this year, $10.5m next year) that can be directly applied to filling his spot.  I think everyone involved or interested in the team would rather have Lawrence than the cap space but the situation still needs to be played out.

Nwosu played his first full season after back-to-back injury-shortened years and played well but seemed to fade a bit down the stretch, recording only 1.5 sacks and eight pressures in the last nine games of the season (although he did clinch the Super Bowl win with a huge play).

John Schneider indicated to Brady Henderson that the team will not work to adjust his contract this year, perhaps feeling they want to wait and see how he responds to a ‘finally healthy offseason’ and then decide what to do.

That leaves Williams and Hall.  If those two were secured beyond this season, that would lend a great deal of stability and continuity to the defensive front.  The team would not need to rebuild one of the most important position groups on the roster and could rather focus on only supplementing it with further moves.

Assuming both are agreeable to signing extensions and Williams wants to continue playing, could the team work out something with both that is equitable and makes sense with their current cap situation?

Absolutely yes.

In fact, rather than being a burden, extending Williams could provide the opportunity to improve the Seahawks’ cap outlook for this year and next year.  Let me illustrate.

Earlier this year, I proposed a two-year $40 million extension for Williams.  You can read my reasoning on it here.

Currently, Williams has a big $29.6 million cap hit for 2026 and $9.37 million in 2027 for dead money that hits the cap when his contract voids on February 20 (more on that in a minute).

An extension retains a core player, evens out the cap burden and – maybe most importantly – is cash-neutral for 2026.  It also provides the kind of flexibility and options that the Seahawks need to continue to make beneficial moves as they see fit.

Have a look:

The $40 million is split between salary for 2027-28, the per game roster bonuses and a $15 million roster bonus that hits early 2027.

We convert the bulk of Williams’ 2026 salary to a signing bonus and add two void years to spread out the cost.  That takes his cap number down by $11.6 million this year, giving the team the flexibility to use that for further moves or to simply roll it into 2027.

Currently, the cash layout for Williams this year is $16.65 million ($15.8 million salary and $850k for PG roster bonus).  This extension keeps the layout the same amount, just changes the proportions ($1.3 million salary, $14.5 million bonus and $850k for PG roster bonus).

This is important to the team, as they have spent a ton of cash this year and will very likely end up in the top-three in the NFL once Witherspoon’s extension (and maybe Hall’s as well) is worked out.

2027 is also set up nicely.  A juicy $15 million roster bonus is there as a nice carrot for Williams to consider when deciding whether to keep playing.  It also could help the Seahawks’ offseason planning, since a roster bonus comes with a trigger date.

It also takes advantage of the $9.37 million in void money and spreads it out to even out the impact.  If they can agree to this extension before February 20 (or mutually agree to push out the void date like the Eagles did with Dallas Goedert’s contract), they can defer $4.68 million to 2028 and lessen the cap charge.

The result is an impact to the cap of “only” $23.06 million in 2027.  If you consider the  cumulative change to the cap in both years, the additional impact is $11.46 million.  A small price to pay for a player of Williams’ stature.

And further, the Seahawks can easily convert the 2027 Roster Bonus to a Signing Bonus and split out the impact over the rest of the contract, making 2026-27 nearly cap-neutral:

In this scenario, if Williams retires in 2028, $24.6 million dead money is left and can be split between 2028 and 2029.  The Seahawks pick up about $14 million in 2028 cap room.

The point being the Seahawks can retain Williams without significantly impacting their ability to make other moves.  It just takes both parties to work together to make it happen.

Compared to Williams, Derick Hall’s contract is straightforward.  He will be coming off his rookie contract, and the Seahawks can easily make it workable for both parties.

I gave Hall a three-year, $70 million contract with an $18 million signing bonus.  Boye Mafe got $60 million over three years from Cincinnati in Free Agency and it is clear the Seahawks value Hall more than Mafe.  A nice bump helps him sign now and not be tempted by a crazy market in 2027.  He also lines himself up for another very healthy contract at age 28 or 29:

As you can see, the cap impact to 2026 is easily affordable for the team.  2027 is not terribly prohibitive and even 2028 is not too heavy.

Getting Williams and Hall to sign extensions would be another very good day’s work for the team.  It would build continuity on the defense and ensure that key players like Devon Witherspoon, Byron Murphy and Nick Emmanwori can deliver the maximum impact possible.

All of this is possible due to the strategic handling of their cap and contracts, married to a coaching staff that knows how to deliver the best from the players provided to them.