Seahawks show sometimes the best deals are the ones you don’t make
The Seahawks haven’t made the biggest deals this off-season, but they haven’t destroyed their future. Sometimes it’s about the headlines you don’t make.
It’s not exactly a secret the Seahawks haven’t landed any big names in free agency or through trades. It seems every time you read a headline, a big name has signed with a division rival. Case in point: Ndamukong Suh signed with the Los Angles Rams about ten days ago.
I can’t say it’s good news when a top-rated player moves into your division. Pro Football Focus had Suh ranked fifth among defensive tackles for 2017. About the only player you can comfortably say that’s been better over the past three seasons is his new playmate Aaron Donald. Now that they’re teammates, the Seahawks offensive line really needs to pick it up.
So why didn’t the Seahawks do the smart thing and just outbid the Rams? Suh signed a one year deal for $13 million. Let’s be a bit silly and argue Seattle could have gotten him for the same plus a gift card for Altura’s. We’ll ignore that while Suh ranks great individually, he never seemed to really have a big impact on the Dolphins defense.
In 2014, the year before they signed Suh, Miami ranked 12th in total yards allowed. With Suh, they ranked 25th, 29th and 16th. Yes, there are 10 other starters on that defense. But those results certainly aren’t what Miami expected for a $114 million contract.
Seattle Seahawks
Suh is really good, but the Seahawks got a lot more for their money
Let’s assume Suh is as good as his stats, though. The Seahawks would still be foolish to spend $13 million on him. You could argue he would improve a position where Seattle had two good starters returning in Naz Jones and Jarran Reed. Both of course are very young and show every sign of improving in 2018.
The Seahawks have since added Tom Johnson and his Vikings teammate Shamar Stephen as competition/backups. Johnson and Stephen signed for a combined $4.2 million. Last year they combined for 3 sacks, 26 tackles and 34 assists. For $8.8 million more, Suh amassed 4.5 sacks, 29 tackles and 19 assists.
You can also look at it this way. $8.8 million would have bought 1.5 sacks, 3 tackles and a loss of 15 assists. That doesn’t exactly sound like a smart deal to me. Now factor in this: the Seahawks will pay Barkevious Mingo ($3.4), Ed Dickson ($3.6) and D.J. Fluker ($1.5) a total of $8.5 million. That’s your strongside linebacker/edge rusher, your starting tight end, and your best run-blocking guard. That’s what the Seahawks landed by not signing Ndamukong Suh.
And Seattle has avoided the media circus when Suh steps on another quarterback. Personally, I’ll take those five players over one.