Before you burn all your Seahawks jerseys, take a minute
The Seahawks have made more news by who they didn’t sign than who they did so far. Put your jersey back on and relax, 12s. It’s early.
You may have heard the Seahawks lost a lot of players this off-season. If you haven’t, you’re in for a very rude awakening at training camp. Richard Sherman, Jimmy Graham, Paul Richardson and now DeShawn Shead are all with new teams. Richard Bennett was traded, of course. That’s getting closer to the doomsday scenario we mentioned a couple of months ago.
But it isn’t all bad news. For one thing, we have the issue of compensatory picks. Depending on how well the departed free agents play, the Seahawks could see several third or fourth round picks in the 2019 draft. They netted exactly zero compensatory picks for the 2018 draft, so this could be pretty big. In case you forgot, Russell Wilson was a – drum roll please – yes, he was a third round pick.
As for the losses the Seahawks have had so far, this may all sound like sour grapes, but it isn’t. As we’ve written several times, including in the first linked article above, Jimmy Graham was never the best fit for the Seahawks. He’s been one of the league’s best tight ends, but he was never going to put up the stat lines he managed in New Orleans here in Seattle. It’s a different offense. We wish him well, but his value to this team didn’t equate to a $30 million contract.
We have the same situation with Paul Richardson. He was a blast to watch, and really came into his own last year with Seattle. But he had one good year out of four. As Lee wrote in the previously linked article, he was the third string wide receiver, and he signed a $40 contract. The Seahawks have better places to spend that much money.
Cornerback, cornerback, can the Seahawks get a cornerback?
Seattle Seahawks
With the departures of Richard Sherman and DeShawn Shead, it may have seemed like the answer to that is no. Luckily, Shaquill Griffin will have at least one familiar face in the defensive backfield. Justin Coleman will almost certainly remain in Seattle, as the team applied a second round tender to him. He can still deal with any other team, but if they sign him the Seahawks will get a second round pick as compensation. Coleman has to be happy with $2.9 million this season.
No one is going to make that deal, not when players like Jarvis Landy are being traded for fourth and seventh round picks. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus had Coleman ranked higher than Sherman last season. This is a much bigger deal than some casual fans may realize.
There are still several former Seahawks on the free agent market, including Byron Maxwell. He played very well for the Legion of Boom in his first stint with the team. He foundered a bit with the Eagles and Dolphins, but played very well when he stepped in for the injured Sherman. Maxwell was actually the Seahawks top-graded corner last season. Signing him is a priority for Seattle. Depending on the contract, of course.
Seahawks know it’s all about the value
And that’s the key here. It all depends on the contract. Yes, it would have been terrific to keep all of these players. But can you really say that Richard Sherman is worth three times more than Justin Coleman? That’s a difference of $6 million per season. That’s just about enough to cover the re-signing of Bradley McDougald (signed to three years) and Dion Jordan.
Jordan was tendered a first round offer, and is slated to make $1.9 million this year. Trust, me, no one is giving up a first round pick to snatch him away from Seattle, even though he actually played up to his draft status last year. Whether he can continue to produce at the high level he showed in 2017, well, we’ll see. But at $1.9, he’s a low risk high reward guy. McDougald proved that he was more than a mere backup last season when he stepped in for Kam Chancellor. He isn’t a run stopping demon like Chancellor at his best, but he’s excellent in coverage.
It’s true, there is a danger in watching the bottom line too closely. The Seahawks saw that play out with their offensive line talent in 2015 and 2016. Trading for Duane Brown was the beginning of their correction. Simply put, you can’t pay everybody $10 million a year. You want a better offensive line, you have to pay for it. We all knew tough decisions were coming. We’ve barely begun to see the rewards, but we will.
Related Story: Seahawks re-sign a key player
If you’ve pre-soaked your jersey in lighter fluid for your bonfire, wash it out. Good times and good players are coming.