How the Seahawks can dominate Phase 3 of Free Agency

With the NFL Draft officially wrapped up, the Seattle Seahawks will turn their attention to what is most commonly referred to as “Phase 3” of NFL Free Agency. But what is Phase 3 and how can they dominate it?

Let’s start with what Phase 3, or the third wave, of free agency actually is. Basically, any free agent signing in the first week of the new league year is considered a first phase signing. These contracts are the biggest handed out and the Seahawks tend to not be that involved.

In fact, many of the most successful teams avoid this phase of free agency. While most of the best available players go in this phase, it is also where most of the NFL’s bad contracts come from. Perpetual winners like New England and Seattle rarely partake which gives them cap freedom for other moves down the line.

Phase 2 is the signings that happen between week two of the off-season and the NFL Draft. Typically, these signings involve good but not great players, ones that vastly overestimated their market value, or older veterans looking for opportunities to win rather than get the biggest check they can.

The cheapest way to add talent to your roster in the off-season is the NFL Draft. But after you make your selections, you may find that you couldn’t fill all your needs with your draft picks, so teams will try and scavenge what they can in free agency. This is when phase 3 typically starts.