Seahawks 2018 offseason thread

[seahawksfan234]

Also I saw you guys mentioning Sheldon Richardson, for what it's worth PFF has him as their #9 free agent (#3 among defensive players, with Demarcus Lawrence and Malcolm Butler being ranked ahead of him).

They also mention this:

Through 17 weeks of the 2017 season, Richardson racked up 36 total quarterback pressures and 22 run stops, which ranked ninth and 17th among defensive tackles this year, respectively.

Also worth noting that Richardson missed a game, so those numbers would be a bit higher had he been completely healthy.

I'm not sure how I feel about Richardson. I find him to be an above average DT at a pretty decent age, but I'm also very comfortable with the way that Naz Jones and Jarran Reed played last year. I think the Seahawks will likely be priced out of his services, and given the fact that Jones and Reed both looked pretty good, I can imagine the Seahawks letting him walk.

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

I agree. I'd rather that money be allocated to the offensive line, personally.

Which brings me to what I was going to post about, Andrew Norwell.

He likely won't be re-signed by the Panthers due to their cap situation, and I'd love for the Seahawks to go after him. Here is what PFF has to say about him:

This would actually give the Seahawks a pretty formidable LT-LG-C combo. Additionally, Norwell is still only 26, which means a 5-year deal wouldn't be too much of a risk. It's pretty unlikely given the Seahawks cap situation, but I'd absolutely love if they signed Norwell. I'm not a fan of spending big on guards, but Norwell is a special talent at a fairly young age.

Considering the Seahawks were willing to tie up $8m in Luke Joeckel last year (Tied for third highest average salary per year among LGs), giving Norwell something like a 5 year $45m contract wouldn't be a bad idea IMO.

I like it! FO needs to find a way to put a solid o-line back on the field.

 

[seahawksfan234]

I like it! FO needs to find a way to put a solid o-line back on the field.

Russell Wilson was nearly an MVP candidate despite the pathetic offensive line. With the minimal HB talent on the roster (I'm personally still not sold on Carson), I think the Seahawks should try to add to the offensive line to help out the running backs and Wilson.

As much as I love the mindset that defense wins championships, the fact of the matter is right now that our defense is aging and has a lot of questions. When you have a playmaker like Wilson, at this point I think it might make more sense to allocate more resources to the offense - particularly the offensive line.

We'd still have gaping holes at RG and RT, but adding Norwell would go a long way in filling a huge hole at LG.

Biggest constraint is our limited cap space. It's sort of a pipe dream that we add him, but in terms of salary per year, Norwell wouldn't cost much more than Joeckel did in 2017.

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

Russell Wilson was nearly an MVP candidate despite the pathetic offensive line. With the minimal HB talent on the roster (I'm personally still not sold on Carson), I think the Seahawks should try to add to the offensive line to help out the running backs and Wilson.

As much as I love the mindset that defense wins championships, the fact of the matter is right now that our defense is aging and has a lot of questions. When you have a playmaker like Wilson, at this point I think it might make more sense to allocate more resources to the offense - particularly the offensive line.

We'd still have gaping holes at RG and RT, but adding Norwell would go a long way in filling a huge hole at LG.

Biggest constraint is our limited cap space. It's sort of a pipe dream that we add him, but in terms of salary per year, Norwell wouldn't cost much more than Joeckel did in 2017.

Even with an aging D, this team is still a SB contender with a fixed up line and RW at the helm. I think Carson can be a good back with better run blocking so hopefully the pipe dream comes true.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Biggest constraint is our limited cap space. It's sort of a pipe dream that we add him, but in terms of salary per year, Norwell wouldn't cost much more than Joeckel did in 2017.

Yeah I was noticing Norwell also, but not sure your right about what it will cost to sign him. FAs cost more ever year and there are teams swimming in cap space in 2018. 49ers for example have over 100 million more in cap space then the Seahawks.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Even with an aging D, this team is still a SB contender with a fixed up line and RW at the helm. I think Carson can be a good back with better run blocking so hopefully the pipe dream comes true.

One of the reasons I'm pushing for o-line improvements is because I can't even imagine what Russell Wilson would do with even an average offensive line.

Also improving the offensive line would definitely help the running backs. Russell Wilson is good enough to succeed without a decent offensive line, Marshawn Lynch was able to do it as well, but it really takes special players to succeed with the line we have right now. I think improving the line would go a long way in helping our running backs and re-establishing the run first offense that Carroll is looking for.

The best example is Shaun Alexander. He was running behind an amazing offensive line and avoided contact. If Lynch ran behind the line we had in 2005 he would've probably eclipsed 2000 yards. I will always respect Alexander for his accomplishments, but he was a product of a great offensive line.

Give a running back a good offensive line and he will succeed.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Yeah I was noticing Norwell also, but not sure your right about what it will cost to sign him. FAs cost more ever year and there are teams swimming in cap space in 2018. 49ers for example have over 100 million more in cap space then the Seahawks.

My 5 year $45m estimate was based on the previous contracts that have been signed by left guards recently. You're probably right that it was a conservative estimate. 5 years $60m is probably more likely. I assume the Seahawks will have more to spend once Avril is either cut or restructured. We also don't know the status of Chancellor, which should clear up more room.

I also don't know what the Seahawks are going to do with K.J. Wright and Richard Sherman. I think if the Hawks cut Wright, they save $7m or so. Wright was solid, but not worth $7m. Sherman may not recover from his injury, and if he is cut, he would save $11m.

A lot of variables this offseason. Should probably be the most interesting offseason in a while.

 

[Anointed One]

Giving the FTag on S. Richardson would keep him here for one more year w/out losing too much on the DL this season, assuming Bennett and Avril are gone... Tagging him would give us another year of service and/or gives us the opportunity to trade him, if needed with the one year tag on him to gain more draft picks this year... I'd be surprised if the Hawks do anything less than tagging him...

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Giving the FTag on S. Richardson would keep him here for one more year w/out losing too much on the DL this season, assuming Bennett and Avril are gone... Tagging him would give us another year of service and/or gives us the opportunity to trade him, if needed with the one year tag on him to gain more draft picks this year... I'd be surprised if the Hawks do anything less than tagging him...

FT for DT is 13.615 million....where's the money coming from?

 

[Tapey]

Wagner didnt win DPOY

 

[Anointed One]

Who are you rooting for today? I'm going for the Eagles... My next door neighbor is Travis Long who played for Gonzaga Prep, WAZZU and the Eagles so I gotta pull or the Eags...

Former Gonzaga Prep, Washington State standout Travis Long hasn’t forgotten his time with the Philadelphia Eagles

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Put vCash on the Eagles. Anyone but the Pats, well maybe not anyone but close.

 

[JMR]

FT for DT is 13.615 million....where's the money coming from?

The team can create cap space, just like it was able to do to add him in the first place with the trade. The cap will also be up to nearly $180M next year.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

The team can create cap space, just like it was able to do to add him in the first place with the trade. The cap will also be up to nearly $180M next year.

Even with the 179 cap money is tight. Yes they can push money down the road, cut a player ( Sherman save 11 mil) etc and they may do that, but got more to consider then Richardson, I just don't think he's worth franchise money with all the other needs and definitely do not like push money down the road.

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

Put vCash on the Eagles. Anyone but the Pats, well maybe not anyone but close.

 

[JMR]

Even with the 179 cap money is tight. Yes they can push money down the road, cut a player ( Sherman save 11 mil) etc and they may do that, but got more to consider then Richardson, I just don't think he's worth franchise money with all the other needs and definitely do not like push money down the road.

But we were told it was going to be tight in '17 as well, then we blew nearly $8M on Joeckel, signed Lacy for nearly $5M, traded for Richardson, traded for Duane Brown, extended Britt, brought back Luke W, etc. We were also told we would lose a lot of our good players when RW got his money, and since then the best one that's left is probably Golden Tate.

There are smart people who figure out cap maneuvering for a living, so with all of our final year or single season contracts expiring plus around $15M more in cap ceiling, I'm confident they can find a way to keep an important player if needed. The only question to me is how important they think Sheldon Richardson is. If Avril isn't back and Bennett is right on his prediction of being an ex-Seahawk, then in my mind keeping Richardson is a must.

 

[blstoker]

1) Last year at this time, we were looking at $35 million in cap space which is nearly twice what we're looking at right now. The deals you just listed was $30 million of it. They didn't do much to generate cap ceiling last season outside of cutting Rubin and trading Kearse in the pre-season - which are both dead money we're still paying on.

2) The $18 million cap number that is being thrown around already includes all the expiring contracts and the estimated cap ceiling increase. So, to increase the cap number in any significant way - the Hawks will have to part ways with several high priced stars (Avril and Lane would be just the top of the list) and/or extend higher priced aging players.

3) Extending players like Thomas and Sherman could save a lot on the cap in 2018, but at what cost moving forward? The Hawks are already committed to over $100 million in 2019, and that's with $55 million dropping off with Sherman, Thomas, Brown, Wright and Avril. Extending these players may cause the same issues with the cap the Hawks have had in 2017 and 2018 to continue in 2019 and 2020.

4) I do believe there will be more cap space as we move forward. I believe Avril and Lane have both played their last snaps in Seattle ($13.1 million in savings) and I believe we will extend or trade Thomas, Sherman, and Wright (possibly Brown as well) creating as much as another $25 million in cap space. Until all that happens, we're in the bottom 1/3 of the NFL in cap space.

 

[JMR]

So, to increase the cap number in any significant way - the Hawks will have to part ways with several high priced stars (Avril and Lane would be just the top of the list) and/or extend higher priced aging players.

And that's exactly what I suspect will happen. Cutting Avril alone saves $7M. We'll probably have some of the known casualties by the end of the week.

My over-arching point is that over the years we've been told several times that the cap was going to keep us from making this move or that move, and it's been incorrect quite a bit.

 

[blstoker]

I'm not saying you're wrong or anything - just pointing out that the team has to be careful in how it comes by the money.

If it's gonna take $12 million per to keep Richardson (Sportrac market value estimate), then cutting Avril and Lane is a near swap (though this year will be most likely less and then more of a hit in future seasons). I would think that trading the pick for him that the front office is expecting to retain him, though, so they're gonna have to come up with the money somewhere.

 

[Judge Fudge]

Weird thought but...

What about Malcolm Butler to play beside Sherman?

Pending FA and in the outs with Darth Hoodie and the Patriots Organization.