Off-season news 2024

[Sharkonabicycle]

I think if Fautanu is available at 16 they take him otherwise they trade down. If bowers is still there there then we should have some suitors

Dunno if I could stomach the idea of letting Bowers go if he was there at 16... might be forced to sadly which would really suck.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

WOW!

 

[Anointed One]

WOW!

The Seahawks must’ve really not liked him very much because that is cheap… having to negotiate a new contract probably has something to do with it too next year

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

The Seahawks must’ve really not liked him very much because that is cheap… having to negotiate a new contract probably has something to do with it too next year

We have plenty of RBs on the roster, if both K9 and Charbs go out with big injuries we're screwed anyway unless McIntosh is good to go.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

The Seahawks must’ve really not liked him very much because that is cheap… having to negotiate a new contract probably has something to do with it too next year

6th round pick you can afford to let him hit free agency and see how it plays out, oh and it's a 6th next year. That should of been the price tag to get Howell. Some GM can work a trade and some just are not very good at it.

 

[MrS]

Fields is absolute trash

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Fields is absolute trash

This has the Trey Lance thing written all over it.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Just think about this, he cost a 2025 6th, you let him sign with another team next season (so do not pick up his option) and likely get at least a 6th for a comp pick maybe higher or if you feel he's made enough progress you could offer him back up money. QB backup position would be basically free for this season. Which I feel is much better then dropping pick 78 a whopping 24 spots and dropping pick 152 another 27 spots for a backup QB.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Just think about this, he cost a 2025 6th, you let him sign with another team next season (so do not pick up his option) and likely get at least a 6th for a comp pick maybe higher or if you feel he's made enough progress you could offer him back up money. QB backup position would be basically free for this season. Which I feel is much better then dropping pick 78 a whopping 24 spots and dropping pick 152 another 27 spots for a backup QB.

Sorry but pick 152 is whatever... Dropping 24 spots in the 3rd is not small... but I don't think it's worth a late 3rd according to the draft value chart (nobody is giving up a late 3rd and an early 4th for a mid 3rd round pick - given the value of draft picks these days.

Howell has 2 immediate benefits going for him over Fields. You have him for 2 years at $1M per year... Fields you have for 1 year at $3M this year (doubt Seattle could afford it, or it'd be tight, and then what do you do in 2025?).

I know draft capital is tight but to me this is far less of a decision in draft capital and a bigger decision on longer term planning, current cap position, and flexibility next year at QB. A lot of people do not consider Fields a good QB, and while Howell might not be the answer either.. he did hang in the trenches last year on basically one of the worst teams in football. The Bears had a top 15 defense and (perhaps thanks to Fields) a top 5 rushing attack. The Commanders only salvage point was Howell. Everything else sucked ass.

Paying a 2025 6th (potentially 4th) for a QB is basically nothing, but what does it matter if you're paying for a turd that clearly no other NFL team wants if it went that low. If no other team wanted Sam Howell, we wouldn't have made that trade. I think Howell was someone that teams were targeting in free agency, and I think pretty much nobody was targeting Fields.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Sorry but pick 152 is whatever... Dropping 24 spots in the 3rd is not small... but I don't think it's worth a late 3rd according to the draft value chart (nobody is giving up a late 3rd and an early 4th for a mid 3rd round pick - given the value of draft picks these days.

Howell has 2 immediate benefits going for him over Fields. You have him for 2 years at $1M per year... Fields you have for 1 year at $3M this year (doubt Seattle could afford it, or it'd be tight, and then what do you do in 2025?).

I know draft capital is tight but to me this is far less of a decision in draft capital and a bigger decision on longer term planning, current cap position, and flexibility next year at QB. A lot of people do not consider Fields a good QB, and while Howell might not be the answer either.. he did hang in the trenches last year on basically one of the worst teams in football. The Bears had a top 15 defense and (perhaps thanks to Fields) a top 5 rushing attack. The Commanders only salvage point was Howell. Everything else sucked ass.

Paying a 2025 6th (potentially 4th) for a QB is basically nothing, but what does it matter if you're paying for a turd that clearly no other NFL team wants if it went that low. If no other team wanted Sam Howell, we wouldn't have made that trade. I think Howell was someone that teams were targeting in free agency, and I think pretty much nobody was targeting Fields.

Pick 152 is whatever? Last year pick 154 is going to be Seahawks starting center it appears (Oluwatmi), 2022 pick 153 was Woolen. So yeah pick 152 is something.
Lets face it backup QB for a fringe playoff (or a also ran) team like the Seahawks has little value unless he's the QB of the future and I don't view Howell as that. That was way to much to give up for Howell especially since JS had already traded away the 2nd round pick and the Seahawks need to come out of this draft with a least 4 players that matter.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Pick 152 is whatever? Last year pick 154 is going to be Seahawks starting center it appears (Oluwatmi), 2022 pick 153 was Woolen. So yeah pick 152 is something.
Lets face it backup QB for a fringe playoff (or a also ran) team like the Seahawks has little value unless he's the QB of the future and I don't view Howell as that. That was way to much to give up for Howell especially since JS had already traded away the 2nd round pick and the Seahawks need to come out of this draft with a least 4 players that matter.

Oh c'mon Harold, you get what I'm saying with the later round picks. Fine, Tom Brady was a 6th round pick... so is the 6th round pick more valuable? Mid 5th vs. early 6th... we're not taking a major advantage there. This is mostly about the 3rd and 4th swap.

Fact of the matter is, we needed a backup and Howell was cheaper both short and long term than Fields... and a lot of people look at Howell with upside whereas Fields is considered a near lost cause.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

The Seahawks must’ve really not liked him very much because that is cheap… having to negotiate a new contract probably has something to do with it too next year

I think it's mostly about the contracts. It's one year at 3.2 mil vs. Howell's 2 years at just over 2 mil total and I think JS liked Howell more coming out of college anyway. The Bears weren't getting much more for Fields, imo. He just can't play QB at the pro level consistently because he doesn't see the field or process the game. There was very little interest in him, it seemed. When teams are picking up every other QB out there and not even sniffing around, you know most of them want no part of trying to fix Fields. I doubt he's fixable anyway. Make him a hybrid player of some sort like Taysom Hill.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Fwiw, the biggest knock on Howell is int's which is a legitimate point but he was not much worse than most rookie QBs anyway and he was essentially a rookie as far as playing. For whatever unknown reason, they had him dropping back more than any QB in the league behind one of the worst pass blocking O-lines in football. He did somehow manage to put up almost 4K yds and 21 TDs and did show he was capable of actually playing the position at times. Not going to say he's some great prospect here but given that he is locked up for 2 years as opposed to 1, he is a much more capable back-up and does have some promise. Fields really has none of that and is a total bust like virtually everybody in that draft class as was predicted. I will much rather have Howell step in if Geno goes out than Fields, given that our offense has better players around him and we will likely run the ball more than Washington did.

 

[JMR]

No one is convincing me to re-think the Howell trade based on the almost non-existent market for Fields.

 

[flyerhawk]

Just think about this, he cost a 2025 6th, you let him sign with another team next season (so do not pick up his option) and likely get at least a 6th for a comp pick maybe higher or if you feel he's made enough progress you could offer him back up money. QB backup position would be basically free for this season. Which I feel is much better then dropping pick 78 a whopping 24 spots and dropping pick 152 another 27 spots for a backup QB.

So you think it would be better to have stayed at 79 and just given up a pick 5th round pick?

I think you are wildly overstating the value of draft position in later rounds.

 

[flyerhawk]

Pick 152 is whatever? Last year pick 154 is going to be Seahawks starting center it appears (Oluwatmi), 2022 pick 153 was Woolen. So yeah pick 152 is something.
Lets face it backup QB for a fringe playoff (or a also ran) team like the Seahawks has little value unless he's the QB of the future and I don't view Howell as that. That was way to much to give up for Howell especially since JS had already traded away the 2nd round pick and the Seahawks need to come out of this draft with a least 4 players that matter.

And Doug Baldwin was a UDFA. So was Michael Bennett. Chris Carson was a 7th round pick. Jeremy Lane and JR Sweezy were 6th round picks.
Of course it is always better to have earlier picks than later picks. But they are fungible. And contract money matters as well. As does team culture.

I was having this discussion with my buddies last night. On paper, this deal seems great for Pittsburgh. But we don't know how Fields and Wilson will impact the team. We don't know if Wilson will see this as a betrayal. If both QBs struggle because neither feels like the top dog, then what?

 

[JMR]

And Doug Baldwin was a UDFA. So was Michael Bennett. Chris Carson was a 7th round pick. Jeremy Lane and JR Sweezy were 6th round picks.
Of course it is always better to have earlier picks than later picks. But they are fungible. And contract money matters as well. As does team culture.

It's really easy to sit back and say we should have got a better deal, paid less, got more in return, etc. The team on the other end of the deal is trying to get value in the trade also. The other teams aren't in the league just for filler. As we said in the Army, the enemy gets a vote.

"We should have traded up for Stroud!!"

I was having this discussion with my buddies last night. On paper, this deal seems great for Pittsburgh. But we don't know how Fields and Wilson will impact the team. We don't know if Wilson will see this as a betrayal. If both QBs struggle because neither feels like the top dog, then what?

I have no hard evidence to back this up, but I think Pitt will use Fields like NO uses Taysom Hill. I don't think they have any intention on allowing him to compete for the starting job, regardless of what they may say about it. Steelers brought him in to be QB2 and part time H-back/gadget.

 

[flyerhawk]

It's really easy to sit back and say we should have got a better deal, paid less, got more in return, etc. The team on the other end of the deal is trying to get value in the trade also. The other teams aren't in the league just for filler. As we said in the Army, the enemy gets a vote.

"We should have traded up for Stroud!!"

Exactly right, J. Every deal gets criticized because some fan think they could always have done better.



I think Howell is a great pickup as a backup who could become a starter. He's young and has a strong arm. He was put into a bad situation last year where the WTFs basically put the entire offense on his back. He had the MOST passing attempts in the NFL last year. That is not a recipe for a success for a 1st year starter.

I have no hard evidence to back this up, but I think Pitt will use Fields like NO uses Taysom Hill. I don't think they have any intention on allowing him to compete for the starting job, regardless of what they may say about it. Steelers brought him in to be QB2 and part time H-back/gadget.

Personally I don't rate Justin Fields at all. And it doesn't look like the rest of the league does either.

 

[Anointed One]

It's really easy to sit back and say we should have got a better deal, paid less, got more in return, etc. The team on the other end of the deal is trying to get value in the trade also. The other teams aren't in the league just for filler. As we said in the Army, the enemy gets a vote.

"We should have traded up for Stroud!!"

100% correct... I don't hear anyone saying after the Russell Wilson trade that we shouldn't have traded him to Denver...

I have no hard evidence to back this up, but I think Pitt will use Fields like NO uses Taysom Hill. I don't think they have any intention on allowing him to compete for the starting job, regardless of what they may say about it. Steelers brought him in to be QB2 and part time H-back/gadget.

Yep... He will be playing a lot of meaningful snaps imo and will have special packages for him throughout the season... Pitt's been known for running gadget plays and Fields gives them a new toy to put some new flavor into their offense...

The only question will be is will he be playing in 51% of their snaps this year?

 

[Anointed One]

No one is convincing me to re-think the Howell trade based on the almost non-existent market for Fields.

The Howell trade is growing on me... I'm liking it... At first, it was just shocking to me because it came out of left field and really wasn't on anyone's radar...

What's crazy is that the Commanders got more for Howell than the Bears did for Fields and Patriots did for Mac Jones... They were all 3 taken in the same draft... But we've got to realize that more teams were pursuing Howell than they were Fields/Jones... It was stated that "multiple teams" were in pursuit of Howell... Same wasn't said about Fields, Jones... High demand drove up the trade value...