Seahawks make smartest move and stand pat at the trade deadline

The Seahawks, like most of the NFL, made no moves at the trade deadline. This tells me the sellers were asking too much, and John Schneider wasn’t buying.

The NFL trade deadline came and went, with virtually all of the moves coming in the run-up before today. The Seahawks themselves made a nice trade to bolster their secondary when they obtained safety Quandre Diggs from the Lions. Like so many of the Hawks, Diggs gives them flexibility as he can play both safety positions, and has played nickel corner as well. Seattle wasn’t able to add another Swiss Army knife to their team at the deadline, though. This tells me the sellers were simply asking too much, and John Schneider wasn’t willing to mortgage the future for insurance in the present.

That’s all the Seahawks were likely to get today, insurance. They needed a starting center, despite Pete Carroll’s assurances that Joey Hunt is the team’s best pass protector. I have to believe that if Hunt was the best man for the job, he’d already have been starting ahead of Justin Britt. The fact is, no one was going to trade a top-line center. Considering that the Skins and Bengals failed to trade any of the big names that were floating on the surface of the sea of rumors, they were simply asking too much.

The Hawks could have used a tight end, too. Yes, I know Ed Dickson should be back soon, and I’ve been in his corner since Seattle first signed him last year. He’s been a more than capable for the Seahawks. The fact remains that he was unable to unseat either Will Dissly or Nick Vannett once he could take the field last year. I’m happy that he’ll be available, but there are better tight ends in the league. I didn’t think the Falcons would deal Austin Hooper, despite their terrible play this year. He’s a young, proven talent, and one of their few bright spots. The Buccaneers didn’t move O.J. Howard, either, despite the fact he’s clearly fallen out of favor. Again, I have to believe this was a case of Tampa wanting too much for their player.

Sure, I would have been happy to see the Seahawks pick up one of the players we’ve mentioned over the past weeks. I’m even happier that Schneider and Carroll decided to stand pat, rather than give away too much of the team’s future for a short-term fix. On the flip side, it’s just as well the Hawks didn’t trade Rashaad Penny. Unless they could recoup excellent draft capital or a center for him, they didn’t need to trade him. Hopefully, they’ll actually use him now.