This is how the Seahawks should approach the offseason

The first step would be to re-sign some key players

Jadeveon Clowney is the most obvious candidate here. He was an absolute menace on the line and showed grit and determination playing through a core muscle injury for the second half of the year. Clowney produced a pressure rate of 12% and a career-high in QB hurries at 10.2%. This is all while being the third most double-teamed defensive lineman this year. Seattle should offer him an extension in the ballpark of a 5-year $108 million contract. He is just entering his prime and fits the window Seattle is playing in. With so much in flux for the defensive line its imperative to keep their star going into next year.

Jarran Reed is another big name that is hitting the market this year. He is a player I want in Seattle, however, he showed significant regression from the previous year in pass rushing. His sack percentage dropped from 2.3% to 0.9%. His hurry percentage dropped from 6.1% to 3.6%. Lastly, his broken tackle percentage increased from 10% up to 15%. These stats are right in line with Al Woods this year, who is a player we paid just $2.25 million to. I would offer Reed a 1-year, prove it deal worth $9 million. The defensive tackle free agency class is sneakily stacked, with his down year, he may have no choice but to try and redeem his value with the prove it contract.

A couple other players to quickly highlight re-signing

I would bring back George Fant on a 3-year $20 million deal, he is too versatile to let slip away, especially with the flux in offensive lineman Seattle has going into the 2020 season. Quinton Jefferson should be retained in a similar deal around a 2 year $7 million, he had his ups and his down. His production was quiet enough, I would be surprised if he was sought after. However, his ups were loud enough to have piqued Seattle’s interest likely keeping him in the Pacific Northwest for a couple more seasons.

Joey Hunt proved to be a serviceable center. He had some snafus, however, he showed enough to warrant a deal in the ballpark of 2-year $3.6 million that Joe Dahl received last year. Malik Turner had a couple of infuriating drops in the divisional playoff game. However, he proved to be a great blocker and given that he is just 23 he has plenty of room left to grow. Jacob Hollister showed promise at times, followed by frustration at others. To me, there is enough promise to offer him a short deal and see if he can develop. Both players I would give a one-year prove it deal worth $1.5 million.

After re-signing players, the projected cap space would be roughly $35 million. It’s clear given the array of other needs Seattle still faces, additional cap space is required.