Free agency having a drastic effect on Seahawks defensive line

The Seahawks may be about to make some huge changes to their roster. That’s especially true on the defensive line. Frighteningly true.

Our beloved Seahawks have a lot of key players hitting the market as free agents. When I said a ton of free agents could depart, that was no exaggeration. Seattle has 22 unrestricted free agents in all, plus another 10 under various restrictions. Given an average weight of, say, 225 pounds, that’s actually well over two tons of talent that can sign wherever they like. I’m just going to focus on the defensive line today. There’s enough to worry about there, believe me.

The problem with keeping the players we want is that pesky salary cap. That, and the fact that Seattle definitely needs to improve in some areas.  According to spotrac.com, the Hawks currently have $47.6 million in cap space. Add in that the salaries slotted for Seattle’s current draft picks total just over $7 million, and we’re down to $40 million. That’s not even the bad news. No, the one player the Hawks would definitely love to keep will likely eat up half of that cap space all by himself.

No need to be coy about it. All 12s know the big target for the Seahawks is Jadeveon Clowney. He’s expected to command a salary of about $20 million. That shows just what a steal GM John Schneider pulled off last season. Don’t tell me about his stats. He was a force of nature on the Hawks last season. Was he $20 million worth of disruption? That’s a different discussion. The deal can be done, though, as our Geoff Shull detailed several weeks ago. Taking up half your cap space makes this a difficult call.

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Especially when there are several other players you’d like to keep. Jarran Reed is expected to sign for something above $10 million – and he thinks that’s disrespectfully low. Maybe he was talking about the low end of the projection, $8 million. Still, he won’t be cheap. Maybe the suspension threw him off his game. He didn’t have a good season by any means. Unlike Clowney, I think it’s debatable if the Hawks should try to retain him at his expected salary. Of course, Mr. Reed’s services have now been retained for the next two seasons.

Now here’s a player on my list that’s a must-sign for the Seahawks. I’m basing that on the player’s talent, potential, and especially his projected contract. That would be Quinton Jefferson. He’s younger than Reed, is more versatile, and is projected to rake in a little over $5 million per season, half of Reed’s contract. I’m totally on board with the Hawks keeping number 91. (And so much for that, as Jefferson has signed with the Bills).

Time to wrap up the defensive line free agents. I was happy with the signing of Ziggy Ansah last season, and I wasn’t the only one. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out. If he stays, it’s going to be at a gigantic discount from his $9 million deal in 2019. Consider Al Woods gone as well. It wouldn’t cost much to keep him, but between his injuries and his suspension, his time at CenturyLink should be over.

The final player in the group is defensive end Branden Jackson. I’d love for the Hawks to keep him aboard. He’s shown improvement every season and would cost about a tenth of Clowney’s contract. Okay, more than that, but not by much. He’s not a game-changer like Clowney, either, but he’s got a lot more in the tank than Ansah or Woods.

All told, that group totaled 2,879 snaps on the defensive line. The remaining members of the Seahawks d-line amassed 1,293 snaps. That’s 69 percent of the defensive plays that could be playing in new uniforms this season. Granted, in a few cases that’s not a bad thing, but it’s certainly a different thing. Seattle needs Jefferson, Jackson, the 2018 version of Reed, and if not Clowney, someone who plays like him. And there aren’t many of those guys around.

It’s certain that the Seahawks defensive line will have a different look in 2020. Just how different depends upon the continued wizardry of John Schneider. Next up, I’ll take a look at just how Seattle can make more cap space appear like magic. Be forewarned, though; this would be very dark magic indeed. Oh, and I exaggerated – it’s only 1,752 pounds of D-line talent that may leave.