What other trade can the Seahawks make?

The deal for Carlos Dunlap brought relief. At least the Seahawks weren’t going to try and press on with what they had.

One 31-year-old defensive end is unlikely to elevate a horrendous defense into a passable unit — but at least it’s something.

Yet suddenly, there was a flicker of hope for more.

Jason La Canfora initially linked the Seahawks to a pair of moves — touting Washington’s Ryan Anderson as a possible target to go with Dunlap.

Then Adam Caplan tweeted something similar:

La Canfora has broken stories about the Seahawks in the past and seems to have a source in the front office. Caplan posted a series of tweets yesterday that seemed to infer he’d spoken to someone within the organisation.

Whether it’s Anderson or anyone else — the message being sent out seems to be that they aren’t finished yet.

Let’s be realistic about what is actually possible though.

The Seahawks have barely any cap space remaining. Another trade would probably need to be for someone on an expiring rookie contract. That is why Anderson makes sense. His cap hit is only $1.6m this year and Washington would incur a $500,000 dead hit. The cost to the Seahawks would be minimal for a half season rental.

It’s the same situation with Takk McKinley in Atlanta. He has a $3.2m salary with Atlanta responsible for a $1.3m charge.

In both cases you could make this work financially.

Washington is probably just looking to get anything for Anderson. He’s not going to be re-signed in the off-season and he’s well behind Chase Young, Montez Sweat and Ryan Kerrigan. If they get a flier pick for him it’s better than nothing.

Atlanta might be a more stubborn trade partner even if the price is still fairly cheap for McKinley. They don’t have a GM and seem to be stuck in no man’s land at the moment — waiting for a new front office to determine how severe their rebuild needs to be.

These are the types of trades that make sense from a financial point of view. It wouldn’t take much to free up room to make either happen.

There’s also a reason why both players might be available. Anderson’s career has been unspectacular so far. He was highly active and physical for Alabama but tested poorly at the combine and lacks speed and length. McKinley has the profile Seattle craves but has also had an underwhelming four years in the NFL.

Seattle’s defense is not going to massively improve with the inclusion of either.

This is part of the current dilemma. When you get to the week before the trade deadline — there are always deals to be made but very rarely do they work out to the extent of Duane Brown’s move in 2017. Usually it’s a salary dump, an admittance of a lost season or a chance to get rid of a disgruntled player.

Adding to the D-line now from Seattle’s perspective is more an acknowledgement of needing to try anything to improve. They run the serious risk of wasting another season of Russell Wilson’s prime if they can’t make a turn on defense. They’ve tried blitzing. They’ve tried being more conservative. The next thing to do is add new players.

Fans also need to be realistic.

Many have suggested trading for Stephon Gilmore but it’s highly unlikely. The Patriots would expect to be compensated richly and the Seahawks don’t have the picks. It’d also be a challenge to fit his salary into the current structure for this season or next.

Another name that often gets thrown around is J.J. Watt.

The Texans probably should consider making a move. They have no picks in the first two rounds next year and they’re clearly facing a big rebuild.

If they were able to get a second round pick or higher, that would be attractive for a team that needs to be able to entice a top GM and Head Coach combo to Houston. That’s hard to do when all you can offer is day three picks and the need to cut costs.

I suspect all the talk of trading players in Houston is with the idea of recouping stock. Take Will Fuller. It’s unlikely he’s being dangled for a late round selection. They’ll want a good pick for him. They might expect a second or third rounder — about what they spent on Brandin Cooks. It could be the same for Whitney Mercilus who was only given a contract extension in December.

The Texans are projected to be about $16m over the cap next year but they can deal Watt and Cooks in the off-season, when the new front office has full control, and they would save an immediate $29.5m. Cutting David Johnson saves another $7m. Cutting Duke Johnson and Brandon Dunn would save about $8.5m.

They have a means to raise money fairly easily unlike the Saints, Eagles or Falcons. There’s no real pressure for them to trade now.

I can only see one plausible scenario where Watt could end up in Seattle.

Houston would essentially ‘buy’ a draft pick. They would have to eat his salary for this year, knowing it would clear $17.5m off the books for 2021. For that they would get back into round two next year.

As a plan it’s not too unrealistic. After all, the Texans are famously the team that sold a second round pick just to dump Brock Osweiler’s salary on the Browns.

For Seattle it would mean giving up their only remaining pick in the first two days of next years draft to add a legit impact player on a short-term basis.

Anything else doesn’t seem to cut the mustard. Swapping a second rounder for Houston’s third rounder could only be a difference of about 5-10 picks so it’s hard to imagine a package that works with that at the forefront.

The Seahawks don’t really have players they can sacrifice that would appeal to Houston. Also — why would you want to acquire anyone now before you know whether the new coach or GM wants them?

If you could guarantee 4-5 years of J.J. Watt for your 2021 second rounder, it would be worth doing. The problem is he’s missed 39 games since 2016. He’s a warrior but you just can’t bank on his availability.

It might be a risk you’d be willing to take if you had your other 2021 picks. I doubt the Seahawks want to write-off the 2021 draft for this type of gamble.

There’s always a chance of a surprise, of course. Calais Campbell was moved for a fifth rounder to Baltimore despite his play being so much more valuable. Would the Texans be willing to move Watt to a contender as a thank you for years of service? Maybe. Although in that scenario, would Watt necessarily choose the Seahawks over an army of suitors including, presumably, the 49ers, Rams, Packers, Saints and Steelers?

And would Houston be so inclined to absorb a lot of his salary for a lesser pick? If not, how do the Seahawks afford this deal?

A fired-up and healthy J.J. Watt is exactly what this team is missing. He’s a game-wrecker. Chris Collinsworth pointed it out on Sunday. He said, correctly, that the Seahawks lack a premier defensive end and haven’t replaced Jadeveon Clowney.

Watt, playing across from Carlos Dunlap, could elevate Seattle’s defense to the kind of level they need to be a serious contender. It’d be probably the oldest D-line pairing in the league but it’d certainly be a major upgrade over a toothless Benson Mayowa and L.J. Collier double-act.

I’m not convinced the Seahawks will make this kind of move. Not unless they felt confident in recouping high draft picks in the off-season but there isn’t anyone (short of the quarterback, D.K. Metcalf or Jamal Adams) with the requisite value. You wouldn’t get much for Bobby Wagner at the moment.

Albert Breer also says that the Texans have told teams that Watt is ‘off-limits’ and simply not available for trade.

Breer also says the Seahawks were open to moving Jacob Hollister last week to create cap space for a pass rusher but apparently they’ve moved off that thought since dealing B.J. Finney. However, interest is said to be strong in Hollister and the Seahawks could get an offer worth considering.

The Seahawks may well make another move and who knows who might become available? This is an unusual time in the NFL and there are more rumours than normal at this time of year. Quandre Diggs was a surprise 12 months ago. There might be another shocker to come this season.

Yet it seems much more likely that an inexpensive trade for a player in the final year of a rookie contract will be their final move. And the bulk of the responsibility of fixing a terrible pass rush will fall on the shoulders of Carlos Dunlap.

Good luck, Carlos.

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131 Comments

  1. Happy Hawk

    Another good read Rob. The next few days will be very interesting. Saw this: https://www.radio.com/weei/sports/patriots/nfl-rumors-patriots-listening-on-deals-for-almost-anyone

    What about Chase Winovich?

    • Ky Swift

      I would have a hard time believing they would get rid of a 2nd year player with his sort of upside

      • Darnell

        Apparently he’s been falling out of favor and has had his snaps reduced. The Belichick doghouse doesn’t tend to have an exit.

    • Michigan 12th

      Man I loved Chase coming out of Michigan. I would be stoked if we got him. The thing is we do have Taylor on our team and who knows what he will be. It’s hard for the Seahawks to keep moving draft picks for DE’s, unless they are high picks, but I think Chase will come at a premium and therefor I just don’t think we can sacrifice the pick while missing our other picks from the Adams trade. We are going to need a replacement for Brown at some point. If we spend a high pick like I think it would take to get Winovich, I think we need to get a stud DT for it to be worth it. BUt who is out there maybe Quinnen Williams, but I would not deal our 2 for him.

  2. 12th chuck

    would the Seahawks have traded for anyone if they had won against Arizona? I can see more mid season team friendly deals in the future, but are pc/js content now? I hope not, but the options don’t look favorable.

  3. hawkfanforetenity

    Albert Breer at SI saying that ‘Hawks had floated Hollister on the market and there was a lot of interest.
    https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/10/29/trade-deadline-mohamed-sanu-affected-49ers-rumors

    Not sure what “interest” really means though in a return coming back our way. 6th rd pick?

    • Rushless pass

      I know the lions are looking at tight ends. Has 3 visits today. Hollister should somewhat have some familiarity with Matt Patricia, though not directly coached by him.

    • cha

      That intrigued me. It could be the Seahawks correctly gauged that there would be FA interest in Hollister and were right to tender him.

      Tendering him at the $3.25m amount and using him for a grand total of 1 target per game so far on the other hand is/was obviously not a great use of resources. Depending on how Parkinson looks they could have a logjam in a couple weeks at TE anyway.

      I would be very curious to see if the Hawks could pull off the rare player for player trade involving Hollister.

      Could he fetch a useful interior DL? Maybe someone to pair with Reed on 3rd downs? Or a CB that has a couple years of team control?

      • TomLPDX

        This implies that JS actually knows what he is doing with a long view…I could only hope that’s true!

        • Uncle Bob

          I got mocked here awhile back for suggesting that the reason most of us fans can’t understand what the Seahawks front office is deciding is that we don’t see the world the same way they do. Or said another way, they have a different way of valuing trade chips/decisions. If you track back the trade materials, meaning personnel and draft picks, JS basically got Diggs and Dunlap for Nick Vannett and the apportioned contract cost of the Finney mistake. If that’s their calculus then they see that as good wheeling and dealing, even if there is fan discontent with Diggs currently. In general, I think most of the world would value Diggs and Dunlap greater than Vannett.

          • Rob Staton

            I don’t really understand what point you’re making, Uncle Bob.

            Nobody is going to argue that a Diggs/Dunlap swap for Vannett isn’t good business. Nobody is saying that literally everything the Seahawks do is bad.

            But for all the congratulations Schneider is getting for this move, now let’s run through what the Seahawks got for spending $50m, three first round picks, a second round pick and three third round picks during the 2020 off-season.

            And let’s address how they set about ‘fixing’ the pass rush this year with all those resources.

            It’s nothing to do with ‘seeing the world differently’. It’s about analysing each move and not automatically giving them the benefit of the doubt through some strange appeal to authority that people seem so desperate to latch onto.

            • Uncle Bob

              My point Rob isn’t to justify or forgive bone head appearing choices that have obviously left the team short of real needs being met, that’s projecting opinions on me I haven’t stated. The point I’m trying to say is, right or wrong, from our point of view (which I agree more with your assessment than what was done this off season for sure) they don’t purposely make bad decisions, but they might self impose decision making structures on themselves that they value even at the expense of choices that might be better. Said another way, we all know people who seem to make a habit of bad choices. They usually do it because they form a decision matrix for themselves based on faulty premises. Watching the game tonight I’m reminded of how I hated that they let Davis go and kept Prosise. Some would call that hindsight, but Davis actually produced when at Seattle while Prosise mainly offered only promise undermined by continued injury negating anything but infrequent flashes of competence. Somebody, likely PC, mistakenly placed a higher value on potential than actual performance in that evaluation. Maybe this is too much human behavior analysis for these discussions.

              • Rob Staton

                But who’s said they purposely make bad decisions?

                That’s the point I’m making.

          • Michigan 12th

            My only response to this is not meant to mock you, but I will push back a little on the article in question regarding Hollister, there may have been a lot of interest in him, for say a 7th round pick, or a conditional 6th for all we know. You may be right in what you are saying, but I say the jury is out still. If Hollister is worth anything really good he will be shipped tomorrow, especially with our needs on defense and our need for draft picks.

      • pdway

        are we sure Hollister isn’t the best TE currently on our roster?

        I know, I know, they’re not about to cut/move Olsen after just signing him, but Hollister is faster and has a better chance of getting open for Russ these days . . .

        • Rob Staton

          I don’t know who’s better but I know combined they aren’t worth the $10-11m being spent on them.

          I don’t think the Seahawks would be in any worse shape it they just rolled with Dissly, Willson and Parkinson.

  4. Chase

    When you were listing all the potential options before the deadline I couldn’t help but think of all the options we had in the offseason, and was telling myself “If only we’d done _____.” Ill say it again, I am envious of the way the Ravens handled their offseason priority, which was also their pass rush. If we had signed one decent passrusher in the offseason and traded for dunlap the line would be at least middle of the pack. Clowney + Dunlap, Fowler + Dunlap, Ngakoue + Dunlap are all at least capable of beating their man some of the time. I can only handle so much seahawks talk before I get frustrated about the offseason again, but damn, this is the only unit holding us back.

    • Rob Staton

      I’m with you on that. Massive missed opportunity this off-season.

    • Duceyq

      Missed opportunity, possibly. But PC stated in a recent press conference that they were using the first 6 games to evaluate what they had on the DL and how limited OTA’s, no preseason, affected their evaluation process.

      Looking at the DL moves Seattle has made in the past they’ve never made big splash signings. It was always value signings/trades with potential upside. Look at Bennett and Avril, both were not highly coveted players…both feel the same as Mayowa and Irvin.

      It’s why this off-season wasn’t too much of a surprise for me. I think not signing Clowney is where the angst really kicked in. The DL has always been bargain basement or draft and develop. They just happen to strike gold with both Bennett and Avril.

      It seems they Seattle rather put its resources in a young All Pro in Adams than an older DE with knee issues in Clowney. I can’t fault the logic…nevertheless, they seem to nail Clowney market and didn’t overpay which still allows them roster flexibility.

      With so much attention, deservedly so, directed at the DL I feel JS/PC upgraded the OL significantly and optimized it for the philosophy change they made. The Finney signing draws a lot of criticism but they were adding depth and a possible starter on a OL that needed as much work as the DL. They achieved that with spreading out costs to offer enough depth on the OL to still use that signing to add a former Pro Bowl DE who is still 31 years old…he’s not ancient and can still contribute mightily. Also, Snacks should require double teams that could open Dunlap and Reed up to one on ones.

      I feel if this move had happened in the off-season some criticism would’ve been tampered down. But PC wanted to see what they had and still went 5-1 in the process of that evaluation and should be 6-0. I see that
      as being prudent not neglect.

      I think the depth of the roster is better than last seasons in every position group. Losing Irvin was significant to the evaluation along with Green and Adams. It’s obvious that PC/JS saw Adams as an extension to the DL so they’ve adjusted on the fly.

      I think this FO has done a good job overall this offseason and should be credited with in season moves they make too. Diggs, Dunbar, Adams, Dunlap, Snell, Lewis, Brooks, hopefully Snacks, and Olsen have upgraded this roster.

      This team is better than last years and I don’t think we should lose sight of it.

      If I’m Seattle, my target would be Gilmore as I mentioned Dunlap as a possibility many weeks ago. Watt would be nice but Gilmore shuts down half the field like Sherman did. That’s more significant and gives the FO flexibility with both Quill and Dunbar.

      Signing him makes Seattle a favorite the next 3 years to win it all. Also, TB has WR’s for days, it’s about match ups. Get Gilmore!

    • Chris

      Fowler wasn’t going anywhere but Atlanta unless someone made a stupid offer. He was quoted as saying he only wanted to play for his college coach Quinn. Ngakoue was a miss, they should have made the deal for him, but they didn’t know Neal could be good at the time, and needed an upgrade on McDougald. We all know Pete loves his safeties and Adams was available, young, cheapish money wise, and a stud for the most part. They could not have predicted he would get hurt in week three.

      Taylor I think they were right on, and through the pandemic, got really unlucky and he had a set back. You watch his game tape from Tenn and there is definitely something there.

      I don’t mind them not overpaying Clowney. He clearly wasn’t going to take less than 20 mil from us, if the reported offer of 18m a year for 3 years or whatever it was is true, and took a 12 mil 1 year deal to play with his former D Coordinator where he had his most productive season of his career. Makes perfect sense from his point of view. Also, let’s consider, paying much more than that for a guy who just can’t stay healthy, already has a knee injury on the knee he had microfracture on, which according to the docs is not unusual with that kind of surgery, paying too much for him would have been a bad move long term.

      • Rob Staton

        You can say paying Clowney was a bad move because he might get injured.

        I’d argue going into the season with Mayowa as your premier rusher is even worse.

        Because at least with Clowney there was a chance he wouldn’t get injured. With Mayowa, there was never ever any chance he was going to be sufficient.

        If they’d given Clowney whatever he wanted and it didn’t work — I wouldn’t have criticised them. I would’ve said they took their shot. Instead I’m saying they wasted $50m, didn’t address their off-season priority and look at the defense now. It could cost us a chance at a Championship with the way the offense is playing.

        And let’s be right, what’s the bigger gamble? Paying Clowney? Paying other proven DE’s that were on the market? Offering a high enough pick to make sure you get Calais Campbell (who has said he had no say in where he went, before anyone wheels out that old chestnut)?

        Or paying Wagner $18m a year for what we’re getting? Investing your next two drafts in a safety?

        Or wasting $4.2m on Joey Hunt and Branden Jackson in March? Or +$10m on Greg Olsen or Jacob Holister? Or hoping 33-year-old Bruce Irvin is worth $6m?

        • Chris

          Those are totally fair arguments, I was initially unhappy with the Adams trade, and mentioned to a friend of mine, if something happens to Duane, you now cannot replace him effectively right away without further mortgaging your future.

          I cannot justify paying Clowney whatever just because he CAN be good… Availability is almost as important as talent, and the guy is CONSTANTLY on the injury report for one reason or another. I do not believe they, one, needed a premier rusher with all of the ends they brought in, clearly not the case, and two thought that Mayowa would be the guy. It seemed like they were really counting on Taylor to not have any set backs, and because of the combined contracts of Russ and Bobby, really did not have much flexibility this year to make any moves for someone else.

          I was very much hoping for Robert Quinn, seemed like an excellent fit for LEO, but they did not have the cap space to make that move.

          Again, I think they fully missed on Ngakoue… They should have gotten him instead of Adams, defense is likely better overall with that much more pass rush from the front four.

          I mean, who really was on the market for less or equal, or even slightly more than Mayowa that is playing much better? He’s on a 3 million dollar deal. I mean, does anyone really expect much more from a player making that much?

          Campbell for sure would have been nice, especially for a 5th round pick, but they chose to not take on that salary.

          I will not defend Olsen, bad move. All day every day. I have a pretty strong feeling he would not have gotten 7.5m anywhere else.

          Wagner I don’t really know what to say anymore. This past weekend was probably the worst game from a positional impact point of view I have seen from him, ever maybe? If he doesn’t make a significant turnaround, there is no excuse to not part ways at the end of the season.

          I don’t have any issue with the Irvin signing personally, familiarity, flexibility, and consistent production for that price tag is certainly defensible.

          100% agree on Hunt and Jackson, never thought they should have been on the team in the first place, neither really showed much more than JAG and were easily replaceable in all likelihood by late round picks.

          All in all, it seems like the plan in the off-season was to hope the defense was good enough, because they felt the offense was going to be able to carry the team, which it has.

          Unfortunately, unless grabbing Dunlap, Snacks, and maybe letting Alton Robinson on the field on third downs makes much of an impact, it looks like maybe another wasted year with just bad defense. I don’t particularly care for Norton, and gave some thought to a what if scenario involving Quinn, but you can’t make chicken salad out of chicken s***, regardless who is the coach, and Atlanta looks much improved on defense with Ulbrich coordinating since Quinn was let go, so even if Quinn was brought in, does anything change at all?

          • Chris

            Edit: I do not believe they, one, needed a premier rusher with all of the ends they brought in, clearly not the case, and two thought that Mayowa would be the guy. It seemed like they were really counting on Taylor to not have any set backs, and because of the combined contracts of Russ and Bobby, really did not have much flexibility this year to make any moves for someone else.

            Meant to have I do not believe they *thought* they,…

        • Duceyq

          I guess I just don’t understand why JS/PC are at fault for using the wait and see approach? If I’m a GM, I’d rather put my resources in a 25 year old All Pro than a 30 year old player who’s had micro fracture surgery. They’re actually getting a discount for Adams play this season and next.

          Unfortunately they’ve been w/o Adams for 3 weeks but we can see how much of a playmaker this kid is, especially at the LOS.

          As I mentioned before PC has never prioritized the DL with big splash contracts. He likes to bargain buy and see how players fit in his system before extending their contract if it’s a good fit.

          They’re not in cap he’ll as a result of his off season moves which allow the flexibility to address issues that might arise to ineffectiveness or injury…in this case both.

          Yet, they’ve addressed the side of the line in the OL and it’s improvement has allowed the team to make philosophical change that’s lead them to a 5-1 record.

          I think overall they’ve had a pretty good offseason and left themselves room to make in season moves.

          They did the same thing last year with Diggs. Evaluated Thompson and Hill and realized they needed an upgrade and went for it. Smart IMO

          • Rob Staton

            “I guess I just don’t understand why JS/PC are at fault for using the wait and see approach?”

            What wait and see approach? Not doing anything to fix your pass rush and then missing out isn’t ‘waiting and seeing’.

            “If I’m a GM, I’d rather put my resources in a 25 year old All Pro than a 30 year old player who’s had micro fracture surgery.”

            For starters, Clowney is 27 not 30. Secondly, the two situations are not comparable. One player would cost you a certain salary this year and next and based on every other comparable extension from Clark to Lawrence to Fowler to Quinn, there would be an out after 2022. Another player costs you two firsts, a third and a good player and eventually will cost you a contract that will be even higher than anything Clowney would’ve cost.

            And it’s Adams so far, not Clowney, who has missed games this season.

            “As I mentioned before PC has never prioritized the DL with big splash contracts.”

            You mean aside from the big contracts they gave Clemons, Reed, Bennett and Avril and the franchise tag they gave Frank Clark?

            “He likes to bargain buy and see how players fit in his system before extending their contract if it’s a good fit.”

            If that even was the plan, it’s clearly not working.

            “They’re not in cap he’ll as a result of his off season moves”

            They wouldn’t be in cap hell had they spent their money on fixing the pass rush properly either.

            “I think overall they’ve had a pretty good offseason”

            LOL

            • Duceyq

              “You mean aside from the big contracts they gave Clemons, Reed, Bennett and Avril and the franchise tag they gave Frank Clark?”

              This is not accurate at all. Seattle traded for Clemons and then offered him an extension to stay. The deals they offered both Avril and Bennett as FA were pennies for them on the open market we’re 1 year deals. They extended them with bigger contracts after but even those extensions were bargains. It’s how this front office operates. I don’t know how else to put it.

              They tried to get bargains from both Clark and Clowney and those players turned their nose up at those offers. One traded and then the other left in FA. Fair enough.

              They bargain shopped again with Irvin and Mayowa. Equivalent moves (in the front offices mind) for Bennet and Avril. It didn’t work out as well as it did before with Bennett and Avril but the process was completely the same but you’re labeling it as “neglect” when that is not the case. Their gamble on two players they added just hadn’t worked out the way it did before. No one knew who Bennett and Avril were before they signed with Seattle but if they sucked would they have been accused of neglecting the DL then?

              But even those moves didn’t include a QB costing as much against the cap as he does now.

              Adams is a bargain and a better investment than Clowney even if he’s missed time with a growing pull. He’s is one of the top 5 best defenders in this league already and he hasn’t even scratched the surface yet. Heck he already has more sacks than Clowney with 3 missed games.

              I think where we differ is understanding PC/JS approach to this problem. You been accurate in pointing out how they didn’t “solve” the problem in the off-season and what I’m pointing out is that they see this as a problem that doesn’t just have to be “solved” in the off-season but one that can be addressed during the season too, if their off season moves didn’t work upon more evaluation.

              They used their cap dollars to address the overall depth of the team considering how poor some back ups played after injuries last season along with the OL. Considering they’re 5-1 I do think they’ve had a good offseason “overall” with flexibility to still make moves to improve.

              • Rob Staton

                I’m happy for the community to read my initial reply and pass judgement on our respective arguments.

                • Duceyq

                  Fair enough.

  5. Ukhawk

    Still believe there are only other good options in play like Kerrigan and Uchenna.

    Let’s hope we go for it and get somebody else !

    If things work out, it will be the ballsiest way of addressing a #1 priority that I’ve ever seen.

  6. Rushless pass

    What about Randy Gregory or is he on a massive contract

    • Turp

      I was wondering if Aldon would be available, but he’d be a big risk, moving him away from his current supports.

      • Rob Staton

        Aldon Smith is one of the few players who actually fits Dallas’ scheme.

        • dj 1/2 way

          Agree. Also, why not Marquise Blair? For a “win this year” approach he should be on the table. Especially with Adams possibly playing his best position.

          • Rob Staton

            Nobody’s trading for a guy with a torn ACL.

      • Rushless pass

        At the very least Seattle is non chaotic, positive environment.

      • TomLPDX

        I’ve been following the Aldon Smith story since this summer when Jay Glazer started talking about him and his reborn desire to be a better man. I am rooting for his success!

        • Big Mike

          I’m with you. Would love for it to be with the Hawks cyz Seattle could use him but getting his life squared away is the important thing.

          • TomLPDX

            The most important thing for him. Really hope it is real and he is on his way!

  7. Brik

    J.J. Watt (Texans)
    Melvin Ingram (Chargers)
    Whitney Mercilus (Texans)
    Ryan Kerrigan (Washington)
    Ryan Anderson (Washington)
    Haason Reddick (Cardinals)
    Takkarist McKinley (Falcons)
    Trent Murphy (Bills)

    This is a list I found of who’s being talked about in trades right now. I’m sure it’s not everyone.

    • John

      Possibly Chase Winovich.

      • Rob Staton

        Let’s be realistic.

          • Rob Staton

            Well if they’re willing to give him away, cool. I doubt it though.

          • Brik

            There are other reasons they could be doing this with him. Maybe they want to lose so they can get a high draft pick. Maybe they want to get other younger players involved, since they aren’t gonna win a Super Bowl anyways. Unless he is an absolute POS in the locker room, there is no reason to get rid of him. STILL I would consider keeping him. If you’re rebuilding, he can be a building block.

  8. Gaux Hawks

    JJ has mentioned that he wishes that he and RW played together at Wisconsin… says they could of won a championship together…

    • Rob Staton

      Reports saying, unsurprisingly, he’s off-limits in a trade.

      • TomLPDX

        All part of the negotiating process…It ain’t over until that fat lady starts singing…

        • BobbyK

          Being a Wisconsin boy – you know he’d prefer to play for the Packers though.

          • Sea Mode

            Actually, if anything, I was wondering if he wouldn’t fancy playing alongside his brother on an undefeated Steelers team…

        • Rob Staton

          As I’ve said all along. He’s the mayor of Houston.

          Let’s be realistic.

          • Gaux Hawks

            …give him the keys to both seattle and tacoma

          • TomLPDX

            I’m pretty realistic about it, Rob. If it starts snowing Houston (aka Hell), then it could happen. Not expecting it though. But, I never say never…

            • Alex H

              Having lived in HOU the last few years, I agree. The city would riot if Watt was ever dealt. Houston folks love everything that he represents.

          • Pran

            Having read an article about his desire to win a championship, he will more likely be interested in a trade with a contender of his choice. JJ makes the call. Don’t know if we have the cap or picks to pull it off.

          • Chris

            Not only this, but Houston would have to eat most of if not all of his salary, and really, I don’t know that I would give up my one remaining 2nd day pick for him at this point. I live in the Austin area and have watched a number of Texans games. He does not seem like the kind of player to ever take plays off, and he just does not have anywhere near the explosion he used to have. Maybe he isn’t healthy, but I have not seen anything to that nature.

  9. KennyBadger

    In JS we trust? I hope he is a good salvager, dumping BJ Phoney was a good start.

    • Turp

      In JS, we trust, in disgruntled player trades….but that’s about it, he blew it this offseason

    • BobbyK

      BJ Poney… Funny! Before we trust in JS too much – he was the guy, after all, who gave Phoney $8 million over 2 years. But, yes, nice save of face in dumping him.

  10. Bertelli

    Just saw Tak McKinley is inactive tonight. Is he hurt or could something else be in the works?

    • Scot04

      Hamstring issues

      • Bertelli

        Yeah, sorry I was late to the party on that one. I didn’t realize he was even hurt.

  11. dj 1/2 way

    I like the JJ Watt ideas, and think maybe we could include LJ Collier. I did not think they could get anybody to take Finney, so why not.

    I would also put Blair and Moore on the table. I think that there are receivers ready to step up and Blair might be better at strong safety then Nickle.

    • Rob Staton

      Nobody is going to want L.J. Collier.

      Watt is off-limits according to Breer.

      Nobody is trading for a guy with a torn ACL.

      • Duceyq

        Watt, highly unlikely…but, do you think Covid could play a factor…hear me out. Watt filled the seats for a team in Houston with only one other superstar on the team. W/o seats to feel this season and maybe next with a reduced salary cap would the Texans consider making that move? Especially if Watt asks for it? His window to win it all is closing and closing fast.

        Maybe the Texans are trying to drive the bargain price up for a contract the seats aren’t going to pay for.

        Just a thought.

        • Alex H

          I don’t really see it. The one thing with the Texans is that they actually DON’T have an incentive to sell off and tank the rest of the season. They don’t have a 1st or 2nd this year and going full tank mode will just make Miami happy. I don’t see the “reset” decision being made until they formally get in a coach and GM. I would think a GM/coach would like to be the one making these decisions rather than enter a job with the decisions made for them.

  12. Mr

    They need to sign DeShawn Oakman, if nothing else, at least to the practice squad!!!
    He would help the defense out tremendously!!! He is 💯 % better then LJ Collier!!!!

  13. Scot04

    I think the Seahawks value Hollister pretty high, however I think if a team offers them a 5th he’s gone. I think Rob’s correct In regards to a trade for another DE; it will be a low cost trade like Mckinley or Anderson. If one gets done.
    I was pleased to see the Dunlap trade, now just hoping for more.
    I’d much prefer Mckinley if his hamstring is ok. Regardless we need one more added to take on our trip to Buffalo. I’m sure it would make Norton Jr a happy DC.

  14. Coop

    Hollister + Green + mid round pick for Kerrigan?

    • Scot04

      Too much for Kerrigan. You could probably get him for just the mid round pick.

      • Coop

        Maybe they give a little more for the Redskins to eat some of his salary?

  15. Rgsd858

    Throw in Jamal Adams and get one of those 1st rounders on there defensive line, he has been a complete disappointment has missed more games this year then any other year and it just seems the Seahawks baby there players.

  16. Mark Dickinson

    Well Rob, I’ve learned from this website to not get to high or to low during the season. I am here to tell all you 12 fans that you have nothing to worry about yet. When we started this year i had Seattle going 12-4 and so so far I had us at 4-2 at this time. The wins we got in the first 5 games pretty much destroyed those 5 teams, look at where they are now. I had us here at 4-2 but we are 5-1. Yes, the defense has me concerned but this offense has me excited, especially the offensive line. The schedule this year was perfect for this year and our veteran QB. We have to be thankful for PC/JC, who are the best. The locker room is definately under PC control and people want to come here. The front office, which can destroy a franchise, we have no problem with John Snider.
    We got Carlos Dunlap to serve a need that we lost with Bruce Irving. Benson Mayowa has been over used and to be quite honest this team looks like they were worn out physically at the end of the Arizona game. The 5 games you need to worry about, for the rest of the year is the 5 games againt the NFC west and Buffalo. The NFC west is the toughest Division so far this year. That’s okay and it’s to be expected since you build your team to play them.
    The energy guy on offense is Russel Wilson, but the defense guy is Jamal Adams who has been missing. That is what the defense has been missing. This defense is going to get better. Tell me Rob. I thinkthe defense should play more man to man. I think it fit more to the CB that Seattle has. I don’t like the dropping back 10 yards to keep everything in front.
    I have Seattle winning this one against Arizona but I do have a game to give at this time

  17. Trevor

    I think the dream scenario would be trade the 2nd rounder for Q. Williams if the Jets really have him on the block. He is still really young with 2-3 years left on his rookie deal after this year. I can’t see anyone being available at the end of rd #2 with his talent and potential. He is a building block not a rental IMO.

    Then trade Hollister for a day 3 pick and use a day 3 pick for a rental like Kerrigan.

    Combine those moves with Adams coming back, Snacks getting in shape and the Dunlap trade and things would look much different in the front seven for the Hawks giving them a legit shot to win the NFC.

    • Rob Staton

      Williams apparently isn’t on the trade block and it would take a big offer to get him, per Tony Pauline.

  18. Rob Staton

    Saw today’s injury report.

    Put a tenner on San Fran.

    • Big Mike

      100%. Easy money

    • Big Mike

      Assume Adams won’t be playing yet. Surprise. Wasn’t he close vs. Minnesota? Certainly he was close for AZ. Just beyond frustrating.

      • Duceyq

        It’s best to be careful with Adams. A set back with a muscle injury like that could end his season. He’s probably close but Seattle is being cautious.

        Why risk one game over having him over the last 7 and a playoff run. Get him fully healed and then let him play. Seattle was cautious with Diggs last year with the same injury.

        They want maximum effort out of their players and rarely risk long term injury to achieve that goal.

    • CaptainJack

      We list more generously than most teams.

      Only injury im really worried about is Adams in a long term sense. Carson probably plays.

  19. Rgore858

    Agree I would absolutely take that bet

  20. Scot04

    Plus we already gave two 1sts and a 3rd for Adams. We don’t have the Capital for Williams. Sure if they’d take a 2nd I’d do it in a heartbeat. There’s just 0 reason for the Jets to do it. The Adams trade was a windfall for them and a bad trade at the time for Seattle; still feel that way.
    Just can’t see the Jets giving us Williams on the cheap.
    Hope Seattle can add another pass rusher though. Maybe then Adams and our other players may have more freedom to make an impact.

  21. Scot04

    Meant as reply to trevor

  22. Tom

    Honestly not that worried about SF.

    Their entire secondary is injured. Russell Wilson does not suck at throwing like Cam Newton right now. If we cant beat them with their entire secondary injured then we arent a good team lol.

  23. Jordan E

    YES ROB!! Lets get JJ Watt Baby!! Russ needs to restructure and it eats out cap for next year but it will be well worth!!

    • Rob Staton

      It aint happening.

  24. Jordan E

    The more I think about it, I think the JJ Watt move makes sense long-term too for the Hawks. If we could get J.J. Watt for a 4th & 5th for Hollister then that would be perfect.

    During the offseason, we just need to resign Quill or Dunbar and then resign cheaper veterans. One of the corners + Dunlap, Watt & Jamal will take most of our cap… Our losses for the offseason can result in compensatory picks for the Hawks. Quill should definitely net a 3rd or 4th. Carson should net a 3rd. Olsen maybe a 5th or 6th… But he may retire. K.J. Wright would be a 3rd or 4th. I really like K.J. and we should try to sign him for a reasonable contract. He will likely fetch some good offers though this offseason so could see him not taking a hometown discount to stay.

    With all that said, even a 2nd round pick would still even be worth trading for J.J. We can still follow this plan but just have a bunch of comp picks and later round picks to fill the roster. He is aging but we are not going to be able to get any player without questions with the current picks we have. J.J. is a great locker room guy too. Im sure the vets on the team would not feel disrespect with the new guy (JJ) coming in with that big of a contract (which is very reasonable actually considering the current market for DL).

    • Jordan E

      Ryan Neal may be a name worth trading. Has shown potential and is very young. Plus, I think he can qualify as a restricted free agent if traded… Houston will want something with value in the trade.

      Ryan Neal + Jacob Hollister + 4th + 5th for JJ?
      Ryan Neal + Jacob Hollister + 2nd for JJ + 4rd + 7th?

      • JC3

        Will you trade Magic Johnson to Celtics? That guy is the face of the franchise, he is not going anywhere even he is handicapped.

  25. SeattleLifer

    I think Dunlap was about as good a pickup as we could hope for, a proven very good vet who wanted out and isn’t crazy long in the tooth – all for a 7th round pick (BJ was the gravy of the deal).

    It’d be nice to get a CB but it’s hard to find a system fit mid season. Maybe there’s a mid level penetrating DT like a Clinton MacDonald or Jefferson that went to Buffalo guy out there who can offer some passing downs help?

    Someone said Detroit needs a TE. They’ve been a great trade partner for years, perhaps they have a CB or rush DT we can work a deal for?

    Hoping for at least one more player but given our draft capitol I’d be hard pressed to think Schneider would cough up any more picks(even though I’m in the boat of do whatever you have to do to get as good an impact player as you can boat).

  26. CaptainJack

    Rob,

    Would you agree that Tampa is the best overall team in the league right now? I don’t think there’s any team with their amount of balance.

    • Rob Staton

      Possibly, yes.

      • Hoggs41

        I think Tampa, GB and the Rams are all better than us.

  27. CaptainJack

    To those who watched Thursday Night Football…

    Imagine if we had drafted Jeremy Chinn over Darrell Taylor. No need to mortgage away future drafts for Jamal Adams.

    • BobbyK

      I thought that too (Chinn was there with the pick they traded up to get). In addition, they would have kept their late 3rd round pick.

      I like Lewis though. Carolina actually traded up with our second second round pick and they took Chinn and we took Lewis with the 3rd they gave us and Robinson with the 5th they gave us.

      But, yes, could have had both Chinn and Lewis in the second. BUT we would have all been scratching our heads had they gone through the first two rounds without taking a DL.

      Taking the best football players is the way to go though! Try to go into a draft with no glaring weaknesses and then pounce on the best players – not be desperate to fill a spot so you pass on a TJ Watt because it’s not what you need.

    • Scot04

      Seahawks simply messed up their opportunities to go BPA in the draft because they failed to address the Pass Rush prior to it.

    • MountainHawker

      While that’s enticing we have no idea what Taylor brings to the table yet. Availability is important. There’s a chance he lives up to or exceeds his draft cost. There’s also the chance we won’t even see him. We’ll have to wait and see.

  28. Afog

    This defense has been lost without R Green. Just 23 years old, his time is now. Experience and youth equals explosion. Jimmy g meet the cola.

    • Rob Staton

      “This defense has been lost without R Green”

      Welcome to the Twilight Zone.

      • Afog

        His nickname is RG cola…crisp and watery.

  29. Henry Taylor

    Jamal Adams’ injury status is beyond frustrating, how many weeks has he been close to returning?

    • Rob Staton

      Groin injuries are a big problem. They linger.

      I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a while yet.

      • Big Mike

        Seems logical to say that at this point the trade has been a total and complete waste of resources, and a large amount of resources at that.

        • Henry Taylor

          Not really, he’s going to be back eventually and when he is we’ll still have one of the best safeties in the league.

          Not saying it was a good trade, but a complete waste? Not yet.

          • Hoggs41

            Ive injured my groin twice in my life and both of them never fully healed for a year. They do linger. Im just hoping it isnt really a core muscle injury which is what one of mine turned into.

  30. L80

    The draft next year is going to be one weird show. Not many games for evaluation and covid running rampant. To me, especially since the Hawks are mostly Casey at the bat swinging and missing, they might as well trade that second rounder.

    They are in a great position at 5-1 to still secure the top seed in the NFC.

    Just make a move, because next year is so iffy.

    • Rob Staton

      I don’t think the draft will be weird at all.

      Some proven players sat out the season but all of the major conferences are playing. Players are emerging with NFL potential. It would be ridiculous to write off the draft. You can only justify it if you’re getting a long term piece at an affordable price for that R2.

  31. Glasto Hawk UK

    Just seen Brady Henderson on Twitter reporting RB Alex Collins in for Covid testing with Seahawks, what does this say about Carson, Penny, Hyde ?
    He wouldn’t be available this week, and not played since Ravens (2018?)
    Will Prosise be considered, he’s a free agent. Seems desperate times at running back.

    • Rob Staton

      Yes, it is desperate.

      And very, very concerning given how the offense collapsed in a similar situation a year ago.

      However I suspect Hyde and/or Homer and/or Carson will make it this week. I think this is about having a body on the practise squad.

    • Sea Mode

      Breer mentioned Jordan Howard is available for trade if we want a reclamation project more depth. He’s only 25. Not really sure what happened to him after he looked so good for two years in Chicago. He always seemed to me like a power back that would fit our scheme perfectly. Missed 6 games last year with a shoulder injury and never took the job back from Miles Sanders in Philly.

      He’s been a healthy scratch the last two games in MIA, outplayed by Myles Gaskin and Matt Breida. At this point, the Dolphins would probably take anything they could get for him, like a 2022 conditional R7 or something. We would have to ask them to eat most of his roster bonus too I imagine. They will likely cut him in the off-season anyway to save $5m in 2021 cap space, so at this point you just toss them a bone. If nothing else, you get a big goal-line/short yardage back when you need 2 yards to ice the game…

  32. Tree

    I would love to add speed to this front (Tak) since that is what we lost with Bruce. If Taylor ever makes it back, all of a sudden we are big and long and the parts start to fit together. Dunlap, Snacks, Reed, and Taylor with a bunch of mostly young DL with various skill sets and body types to rotate in. I wouldn’t mind trading for a depth CB too (Desir)?

    • TomLPDX

      Forgot about Desir…he could actually come in on the PS and be a player for us. Good call on that one, Tree

  33. cha

    @RapSheet
    The #Ravens and star LT Ronnie Stanley agreed on a 5-year extension worth $112,866,000 max total value, source said. He gets $70,866,000 in total guarantees. A massive deal. 💰💰💰

    • Sea Mode

      Jamal…

      Mike Garafolo
      @MikeGarafolo
      ·1h

      Good deal and all for Ronnie Stanley but holy moly, Laremy Tunsil’s deal with the #Texans at $22m per season on a much shorter deal at three years keeps on shining.

      • JC3

        I really hope Hawks re-sign their players early so they don’t risk the chance of losing them, or over pay them due to the constantly growing salary.

  34. BobbyK

    There are a lot of smart people here and I can’t believe how many more hits than misses Rob seems to have in terms of draft picks.

    It would be fun if commenters (this is more for the off-season) would rank a top 3 or 5 hits/misses. It’s easy to write about our hits (TJ Watt was my screaming temper tantrum) but it would be fun to equally see how we were wrong. I only bring this up because of the Ronnie Stanley contract. I liked him fine, but I did not love him. I certainly didn’t expect him to become what he has. Although he wouldn’t be one of my 3-5 misses – it’s certainly an error in my judgement. Seems we learn the most when we’re wrong. Just a thought for us closer to draft time.

    • SteveLargent80

      Yeah, Rob has nailed a lot of the 2020 draft. Biggest miss for him was probably Isaiah Wilson, but that was a complete surprise to all parties. Simmons maybe as well, but I think that’s moreso on the shortened offseason

  35. RWIII

    Rob. Assuming the salary cap goes down next year, which it. Jamal Adams, Chris Carson, Shaq Griffin, Quinton Dunbar are going to be free agents. What would YOU pay these guys? Not what they will actually get. But what you pay these guys?

    • Rob Staton

      No idea, ask me again at the end of the season

    • Simo

      The first question might be, which of these guys should they bring back? Then worry about how much each should be paid! Also, pretty sure Adams is under contract for next year, so he would be eligible for extension but not a free agent.

      • John

        I hope Adams doesn’t get mad at the team for not paying him this upcoming offseason. He agreed to play out his rookie deal this year, but I don’t know about next

  36. Scot04

    Rob,
    Had a roster question based how covid testing goes before a player is available.
    After seeing the Seahawks current running back situation and no available options on the practice squad i got to thinking.
    Wouldn’t it make sense for Seattle to get a kicker on the practice Squad, because what the heck are we gonna do if meyers tests positive before a game.
    Same thing with having a 3rd Quarterback on PS. If Wilson tests positive we can’t just go with Geno.
    Wanted your thoughts.

    • Rob Staton

      Good point

    • Sea Mode

      Dickson drop kicks…

  37. Sea Mode

    Wait, I missed this. It was during a celebration?!

    Gregg Bell
    @gbellseattle
    ·1h

    this may be Carroll with some gamesmanship for a division rival, but we’ll see.

    The coach said earlier this week that Hyde got hurt during an on-field celebration, not while playing for Carson in Arizona.

    • TomLPDX

      Saw that too. If you watch his TD celebration I guess it happened then.

  38. Frank

    Truly enjoyed the pod cast, makes for great background while doing carpentry projects. You might come off a bit stuffy in written responses, but seem very natural and at home in the podcasts. Great chemistry together, as the mix of northwest positivity and British attitude give a nice balance. I’ve always thought you are the single best draft prospect analyst I’ve ever seen, but nice to see video where you seem like a fine bloke to have a beer with, rather than just someone whose expertise is invaluable in a certain area. Still the Denver cup has to go, and the Hawks will pull it together after an embarrassing game against the Cardinals.

    • Rob Staton

      “You might come off a bit stuffy in written responses”

      It’s called not arseing about.

      Yorkshire folk are famous for it.

  39. Sharky

    Before the season, before we learned the medical team misdiagnosed our 2nd round pick Taylor, please do a mental or real list of who you think were going to be our top 5 rushers.

    Here is mine:
    Irvin
    Adams
    Mayowa
    Taylor
    Green

    We have spent most of the season without 3 of who I think should have been our top 4 guys brining heat on the QB. I think that is too often overlooked, especially by Rob. With close to average health from that group I think we could have been much, much better putting heat on opposing QB’s. You can’t be great at every position in the salary cap era unfortunately we got hardest hit by the injury bug in the area we could least afford it.

    • Rob Staton

      No, it wasn’t overlooked by Rob.

      My point has been, all along, that the list of players you have written down there is completely inadequate in terms of providing a pass rush. Especially when the off-season priority was to fix the pass rush.

      It’s two ageing journeymen, a rookie who couldn’t work out at the Senior Bowl or combine due to an injury he’s still out with, a bang average third round pick and a safety.

      As for, ‘you can’t be great at every position in the salary cap era’. Nobody has argued that. The point I have made consistently is that they spent $50m in free agency then spent three first round picks, a second round pick and a third round pick. That was more than enough resource to not end up with this shambles of a pass rush/defense.

      • Sharky

        I feel like you are ignoring the point I am making. There has been a consistent dialogue that the team had to know this was coming, that there pass rush would be gawd awful.

        Well if they weren’t missing 3 of possibly their top 4 pass rushers it might just be bad or not good. I see hardly any comments about them missing most of the top talent they expected to have, that has had a huge impact and just gets brushed under the rug in the rush to blame the GM.

        How many teams could be missing 3 of their top 4 rushers (?) and not suck in that department? We all know it would never have been a strength, but what we are seeing is a perfect storm of sorts, the injuries hurt the position that might have been able to afford it least.

        • Rob Staton

          The point is the pass rush would’ve been awful anyway.

          Just as it was in the weeks when those players were available.

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