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Here’s one big trade the Seahawks should make

By Dan Viens

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The NFL’s trade deadline is set for Tuesday, November 4th. Of all the major sports, this may be the least dramatic, and eventful, of all the trade deadlines. In the NFL and NBA it’s often merely a time for salary dumps, but big names often change teams making for big headlines and interesting reading. In Major League Baseball, it’s quite the opposite, as key moves often help put a team over the top and ignite a playoff run (as was the case with both the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets this year.)

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Big-name, impactful trades are rare in the NFL, even when the deadline looms. In fact, the last (and only) major blockbuster deadline deal was the Herschel Walker Minnesota-to-Dallas deal……. in 1989.

Last year was actually more newsworthy than most. The Seahawks were involved in the headlines, as they dumped disgruntled Percy Harvin that week. Still, the biggest name players to change teams were more like medium name players. Tampa dealt first-round-bust-safety Mark Barron to the Rams while the Patriots picked up another draft disappointment, snagging OLB Akeem Ayers from Tennessee.

But with the opportunity to improve your roster through trade only available for 10 more days, could the Seahawks be poised to make a big move?

The struggles on the offensive line are well documented, and while there has been some incremental progress in their performance (particularly in the run game), is Seattle in jeopardy of missing out on the chance for another Super Bowl run because of shortcomings in that one position group? Despite their stated confidence in the young prospects they were about to throw out there to start the season, we know the Hawks made an attempt to sign veteran Evan Mathis before the season started. How do they feel now? We’ve seen GM John Schneider be aggressive when he sees a chance to improve his roster. Will he make something happen next week?

In some ways it makes sense. The Seahawks are once again projected to receive the maximum four compensatory draft picks next year due to the loss of quality players in free agency. In fact, based on the contract Byron Maxwell signed with the Eagles they can expect one of the picks to be as high as a third-rounder. This makes them a prime candidate to make a move, doesn’t it?

Perhaps, but they’ve already used some of their 2016 draft capital. Here’s what they’ve done so far.

  • Traded a 5th round pick to Kansas City for S Kelsie McCray.
  • Traded a 6th round pick to Indianapolis for CB Mohammed Seisay (currently on injured reserve).

However, here’s what they have coming back. (courtesy of overthecap.com)

  • Projected compensatory picks in the 3rd (Maxwell), 5th (James Carpenter) 6th (Malcom Smith) and 7th rounds (O’Brien Schofield).
  • Conditional 7th round pick from Dallas in trade for RB Christine Michael.

So at this point, that leaves the Seahawks projected draft cache currently looking like this:

  • 1st round
  • 2nd round
  • 3rd round (2)
  • 4th round
  • 5th round
  • 6th round
  • 7th round (3)

So they certainly could part with a draft pick (or picks) if there was a veteran offensive lineman available in trade who they feel would significantly upgrade their team.

But…… there likely won’t be, and here’s why.

Through week #6 in this year’s NFL (before Thursday night’s game), 18 of the 32 teams have a losing record, and another 4 are at .500. Meaning only a third of the teams have a winning record. If the playoffs were held today, two of the qualifying teams would have a break-even or possibly even a losing record. This is taking the NFL’s stated goal of “competitive balance” to another, historically anomalous level.

As a result, fewer teams are going to be willing to part with quality players, because everyone still thinks they have a shot at the playoffs. Well, most everyone (I’m looking at you, 49ers and Titans).

Furthermore, if you scan the standings, it’s difficult to imagine any of the long-shot teams being willing to part with a solid starting guard (the Hawks most pressing need.) Offensive line play around the league is historically poor, and any guard who may be available through trade would most likely be an aging veteran whose price would make it nearly impossible for the Seahawks to fit under their salary cap mid season.

However, there is one intriguing possibility. It may be more pipe dream than opportunity, but it’s worth exploring.

The Baltimore Ravens recently handed RG Marshal Yanda a new 4 year, $37.4 million dollar contract extension, making him the highest paid right guard in the league. Where does that leave their outstanding LG Kelechi Osemele? The 4th year player is set to be a free agent after the season, and if you think the Ravens would simply slap the franchise tag on him think again. They also have young LT Eugene Monroe under contract at a cap hit of $8.7 million in 2016. Would the Ravens be able to (even if they wanted to) give Osemele the $40 million to $50 million deal top LG’s demand when they already have nearly $75 million tied up in Yanda and Monroe combined? That’s taking investment in your offensive line to the extreme. That’s ANTI-Seahawk!

Osemele has a cap hit this year of $1 million. Prorated over the last 8 games (assuming a deal was made next week before the deadline) and that ends up totaling a little less than the Seahawks saved by not having to pay Kam Chancellor during his two week holdout to open the season. That’s convenient, isn’t it?

Realistically, this has about as much chance of happening as me being able to get up out of this seat and dunking a basketball. But on many levels it makes sense. The Ravens are a disappointing 1-5 and going nowhere. By keeping Osemele beyond this year they would be committing an unusually high amount of salary cap to their offensive line and QB, when they have serious needs at the offensive skill positions. The Seahawks would be getting an outstanding 26 year old player in his prime at a time of their greatest need, and when they could easily fit him into their salary structure. It would cost them a higher pick, but that’s never stopped Schneider before.

Osemele is the perfect player for the Seahawks at the perfect time. And the cherry on top of it all is that the Ravens run a similar zone blocking scheme to what Seattle employs. He would be a young, talented, cheap, plug-and-play guard. And Seattle has enough flexibility with expiring contracts or aging players that they could find a way to hand Osemele the contract he deserves to keep him around for the long term.

Will it happen? It’s a long shot. An improbability. Some might say an impossibility.

Should it happen? This may be the one and only move the team could possibly make to secure a major upgrade before the typically yawn-inducing NFL trade deadline.

C’mon John Schneider, pick up the phone and call the Ravens.

Next: Keith's 5 takeaway's from win over 49ers

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