Last week I wrote an article highlighting Will Fries’ fit in Seattle. He was the ideal signing for the zone scheme and would’ve been a really good addition. Per Brady Henderson, there was legit interest in his services.
I’m completely unaffected by the fact he’s signed for the Vikings instead.
Fries has agreed a five-year $88m deal. We need to see the details but it’s a big contract. It’s a lot of money for a player coming off a broken leg. The chances are he won’t match the value of the deal. That’s the reality of the vast majority of big free agent signings.
The Colts have cap-space remaining and chose not to make a big push to re-sign him, instead prioritising big-money additions at safety and cornerback.
There’s also some online speculation, which I don’t know anything about so can’t add anything, that this might be an ownership issue rather than a front office one. This isn’t anything new in the NFL by the way. Look at what the 49ers are going through currently.
As someone who hailed and praised the Dre’Mont Jones addition two years ago — as most people did — these deals often look great on paper but rarely pay off.
The best deals are always the ones where age meets talent meets value. Julian Love is the best example of this. We’re now entering a period of free agency where value can be easier to find. There are still offensive linemen out there. There are still players at other positions who can be added without blowing a load of money.
I couldn’t resist replying to this tweet by Corbin Smith earlier, suggesting Seattle’s free agency would be an “adjunct failure” (I think he means ‘abject’) if they didn’t sign Teven Jenkins or Mekhi Becton.
Come on. Really? I don’t think Jenkins is that good and Becton did a good job rebuilding his image with Philadelphia last year — while playing next to the best offensive linemen in the league, playing for one of the best offenses, led by arguably the best O-line coach in the league. There’s nothing to say his success is repeatable outside of the Eagles organisation.
There are really good players in the draft who are better than these two players. The Seahawks have five picks in the top-100. Spending two of those picks on the O-line is perfectly plausible, acceptable and can provide value.
It would’ve been good to sign Fries but it’s not the end of the world. Like everyone else, I would’ve loved to see an element of aggression shown by the Bears and Vikings to fix needs. I don’t think they’ve actually missed out on anyone ‘that’ good though.
Regulars to this blog know I’ll criticise the Seahawks when I think it’s warranted. There’s nothing currently that makes me want to complain or throw the baby out with the bathwater.
As long as they don’t fritter away their remaining cap-space like they did in 2020, spending a lot of money for almost no tangible return, this can still be a very productive off-season.
If you want to see what players could be available for the Seahawks in the top-100, check out my horizontal board below:
