Seahawks offseason rumor/discussion thread

[seahawksfan234]

Posted a thread like this on the Mariners board and it was pretty popular so I figured it makes sense to post it on the Seahawks board as well.

This can be a thread to discuss extensions regarding current Seahawks players, any possible trades and any players connected to the Seahawks via free agency. Also can be used as a general free agency discussion and debate about rumors not big enough to warrant their own thread.

 

[seahawksfan234]

A source some of you may find pretty handy:

Pro Football Rumors - Legitimate NFL Draft, Free Agent, and Trade Rumors

For baseball fans out there, these are the same guys who made MLBTR.

For those of you who are unaware, basically this site collects information regarding different rumors from tons of different sources (ESPN,FOX,CBS,Local papers, twitter, etc.) and posts it here.

For the Seahawks just scroll down and click on Seahawks and it will take you to rumors that have been tagged under Seahawks.

 

[Perpetual_Beast_Mode]

Pardon my ignorance, but could someone please post a link of all the Seahawks who become free agents this offseason?

 

[Doublejive]

Pardon my ignorance, but could someone please post a link of all the Seahawks who become free agents this offseason?

ROTO is good looking at contracts etc.


Seattle Seahawks - NFL Team Contracts - Rotoworld.com


They are always current imo.

 

[Doublejive]

You can always do your own spreadsheet and do some fun pro rate stuff if you are into that.

 

[SeattleCoug]

This page does a good of breaking down our current cap situation. Doesnt include the guys that are now free agents like Tate, Bennett, etc.
» Over the Cap- Seattle Seahawks 2014 Salary Cap and Contracts

 

[Perpetual_Beast_Mode]

Thanks for the link and the excellent idea about the spreadsheet. I copied and pasted all the 2014 restricted and unrestricted free agents into a spreadsheet and then copied and pasted them into this post, with a few formatting adjustments here and there. Here is the list of Seahawks who are free agents this year.

2014 free agents

Name Position Contract Terms
Doug Baldwin Wide Receiver 2014: Restricted Free Agent
Michael Bennett Defensive Lineman 2014: Free Agent
Brandon Browner Defensive Back 2014: Restricted Free Agent
Kellen Davis Tight End 2014: Free Agent
Breno Giacomini Tackle 2014: Free Agent
Steven Hauschka Place Kicker 2014: Free Agent
Tarvaris Jackson Quarterback 2014: Free Agent
Lemuel Jeanpierre Guard 2014: Restricted Free Agent
Jeron Johnson Defensive Back 2014: Restricted Free Agent
Chris Maragos Defensive Back 2014: Free Agent
Anthony McCoy Tight End 2014: Free Agent
Tony McDaniel Defensive Lineman 2014: Free Agent
Clinton McDonald Defensive Lineman 2014: Restricted Free Agent
Paul McQuistan Guard 2014: Free Agent
Michael Morgan Linebacker 2014: Restricted Free Agent
Michael Robinson Running Back 2014: Free Agent
O'Brien Schofield Defensive Lineman 2014: Free Agent
Golden Tate Wide Receiver 2014: Free Agent
W. Thurmond III Defensive Back 2014: Free Agent

 

[Perpetual_Beast_Mode]

To me it looks like resigning Michael Bennett, Golden Tate, Tony McDaniel, Michael Robinson, and Walter Thurmond should be our top priorities (I list them in no particular order).

 

[Doublejive]

Thanks for the link and the excellent idea about the spreadsheet. I copied and pasted all the 2014 restricted and unrestricted free agents into a spreadsheet and then copied and pasted them into this post, with a few formatting adjustments here and there. Here is the list of Seahawks who are free agents this year.

2014 free agents

Name Position Contract Terms
Doug Baldwin Wide Receiver 2014: Restricted Free Agent
Michael Bennett Defensive Lineman 2014: Free Agent
Brandon Browner Defensive Back 2014: Restricted Free Agent
Kellen Davis Tight End 2014: Free Agent
Breno Giacomini Tackle 2014: Free Agent
Steven Hauschka Place Kicker 2014: Free Agent
Tarvaris Jackson Quarterback 2014: Free Agent
Lemuel Jeanpierre Guard 2014: Restricted Free Agent
Jeron Johnson Defensive Back 2014: Restricted Free Agent
Chris Maragos Defensive Back 2014: Free Agent
Anthony McCoy Tight End 2014: Free Agent
Tony McDaniel Defensive Lineman 2014: Free Agent
Clinton McDonald Defensive Lineman 2014: Restricted Free Agent
Paul McQuistan Guard 2014: Free Agent
Michael Morgan Linebacker 2014: Restricted Free Agent
Michael Robinson Running Back 2014: Free Agent
O'Brien Schofield Defensive Lineman 2014: Free Agent
Golden Tate Wide Receiver 2014: Free Agent
W. Thurmond III Defensive Back 2014: Free Agent

Yup you got it but you have to include of course future hit's on the cap,thankfully we are not carrying stuff like Flynn i believe.(Have not looked into it much i admit i am too focused on some other stuff.

 

[Doublejive]

To me it looks like resigning Michael Bennett, Golden Tate, Tony McDaniel, Michael Robinson, and Walter Thurmond should be our top priorities (I list them in no particular order).

Bennett and signing ET is the highest priority currently,if we sign ET to a large high contract most likely we will not be able to afford Sherman and Wilson next year,one or the other.

(Unless they wish to tag etc)

Robinson will be let go and a few others like Rice etc for cap space.

 

[Doublejive]

Paul Allen does not want this gig to be some flash in the pan,i watched the Charlie Rose interview he is very committed to more than just one SB.


[YOUTUBE]vwG-TZ3yU9g[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Doublejive]

One thing you must think about and what the management has done is that can stagger salary's,for instance kam was signed last year like Harvin was and the biggest hit by Harvin is this year.

As you stagger within the cap space you create a ton of wiggle room in so far as bonus etc,remember some things are left off the cap within league rules.

 

[jakedog56]

To me it looks like resigning Michael Bennett, Golden Tate, Tony McDaniel, Michael Robinson, and Walter Thurmond should be our top priorities (I list them in no particular order).

I don't know if I agree with this.

In my opinion Bennett should be top priority but I am concerned his price might be too high after his play this year.

I don't know if we can afford to sign Tate or Thurmond to positions that we can plug and play others into. With so many contracts coming due in the next couple of years it could really hamstring the Seahawks against the cap if they aren't careful.

Not only do you have to think about Wilson, but also Sherman (if possible), re-doing Thomas, the entire LB corp, etc.

The majority of our DL is FA (Bennett, McDaniel, Mcdonald) or possibly facing reworked deals or facing cuts (Clemons, Bryant, and possibly even Mebane).

The sad fact is that we can't keep everyone and some tough decisions will have to be made. For that reason I think Tate and Thurmond (unless he takes a smaller one year deal like Hill did when he got in trouble) could be among the names that are gone.

Plus, the OL needs to be looked at. Not only was it the weakest unit last year but McQuistan and Breno are starters who could walk. I am torn on keeping either of them even at their current contract level.

 

[blstoker]

if we sign ET to a large high contract most likely we will not be able to afford Sherman and Wilson next year,one or the other.

It's possible, but not necessarily true. Right now, Seattle is at $87.7 million (leaving about $50 million in cap space). If they cut Rice, his $10,200,000 cap number goes away, dropping the total to $77.5 million. $60 million to work with will give them plenty of space to sign them both, while still having plenty of money to re-sign or extend guys like Russell Okung, KJ Wright, Malcolm Smith, Byron Maxwell or others if they so choose. This doesn't include any restructuring or releasing of Zach Miller, Marshawn Lynch, Red Bryant, Brandon Mebane or others the next year or two. They're cap space for this next season is really tight, but that isn't the case for 2015 at the moment.

Now, of course this is all for not if both want $20+ million a year, then it's most likely true that the team couldn't afford both, but I just can't see them commanding that cap number. I hope Russell follows the lead of Tom Brady more than Joe Flacco ($30 million cap hit in 2015 & 16) and doesn't demand a contract that would put the team behind the 8 ball when it comes to signing/retaining quality players around him.

I don't think the focus on ET is an indication of what they feel about Sherman. I just think that as a business goes, getting Thomas an extension while he's already making $5 million will have less affect on this year's cap than doing the same for Sherman and his $1 million contract.

 

[jakedog56]

Where are you getting your cap numbers from? Everything I read says we currently have between $8.7 and $3 million in current cap room. That is a far cry from the $50 or so million you are stating.

 

[blstoker]

Where are you getting your cap numbers from? Everything I read says we currently have between $8.7 and $3 million in current cap room. That is a far cry from the $50 or so million you are stating.

Not 2014 cap, in that post I was discussing the 2015 cap, and the availability of funds to re-sign Russell and Richard after next season. Seattle Seahawks Salary Caps by Year

 

[jakedog56]

That makes sense then!

Looking at the list, it certainly appears 4 (Rice, Clemons, Bryant, Miller) of our top 7 salaries going into this next year are in danger of being cut or at least reworked this offseason.

Also Avril could be reworked this offseason or they sit on his contract until next year. But I don't see him in danger of being cut.

It almost does not pay to sign a long term deal these days as the teams are really loading up more and more on young guys. With so many underclassmen coming into the draft this year (a record number!) it is much easier for teams to load up on picks and roll the dice with the draft then spending big on experienced players and the FA market. On the other hand, with Seattle quickly becoming a "preferred destination" it could play into our hands with low priced veterans looking to prove themselves on short term deals. We have already seen that on this team but it could become even moreso in the near future.

 

[geezer]

This morning I heard that Bennett is willing to take a pay cut to stay with the Seahawks. That makes two so far. Tate and Bennett.
Must be something special about this team making these guys want to stay.

 

[cdumler7]

Not 2014 cap, in that post I was discussing the 2015 cap, and the availability of funds to re-sign Russell and Richard after next season. Seattle Seahawks Salary Caps by Year

You realize that most teams in 2015 will have close to that same Cap Number or more? Broncos right now are looking at $72 million in cap space and that is with Manning still on the books. Next years means very little considering the players that will be signed to longer than 1 year deals this year and the impact they will have on that number. Throw in there is more than Wilson and Sherman to sign on that season. You've got Earl Thomas, KJ Wright, Avril, Clemons, and Maxwell that will all be wanting pretty decent size contracts. Not saying it can't be done but my guess is Seattle like many top teams will barely be able to keep the players they have and maybe sign one or two other decent guys in Free Agency. Kind of comes with the territory of being a top team in usually means you have top tier players that will be asking for pretty decent contracts.

 

[blstoker]

You realize that most teams in 2015 will have close to that same Cap Number or more? Broncos right now are looking at $72 million in cap space and that is with Manning still on the books. Next years means very little considering the players that will be signed to longer than 1 year deals this year and the impact they will have on that number. Throw in there is more than Wilson and Sherman to sign on that season. You've got Earl Thomas, KJ Wright, Avril, Clemons, and Maxwell that will all be wanting pretty decent size contracts. Not saying it can't be done but my guess is Seattle like many top teams will barely be able to keep the players they have and maybe sign one or two other decent guys in Free Agency. Kind of comes with the territory of being a top team in usually means you have top tier players that will be asking for pretty decent contracts.

Yes, I do understand that. Just pointing out that our cap number the year that Wilson and Sherman would be looking to extend has room that they can still prioritize those players if they wanted. We should have a better idea of how Thomas impacts the 2015 cap when they complete his extension. Clemons may have an impact on it, but unless he has a monster year this coming season (and I'm not even sure he's on the team in 2014), there's no way they pay big $ for a 34 year old DE. We'll have to see how Maxwell's season is like next year, cause he only started for less than half the season this year. He played well, but let's see what he does next year before committing a lot to him. Also, I love KJ, but I would find it more important to lock up Bobby Wagner, but that's just me.