Seahawks: 3 last minute trade ideas before Wednesday’s deadline
By Geoff Shull
Wednesday is the deadline for franchise-tagged players to be able to negotiate extensions. If the Seahawks want to make a trade for one of the tagged players, now is the time to do it.
The franchise tag extension deadline is set for Wednesday at 4 pm eastern time. This means that any player who is franchise-tagged has until this time to get a new contract set up. If a new deal is not reached, the player will be unable to negotiate a long-term contract with any team until after the season has concluded. So the Seahawks could be players on Wednesday.
Franchise-tagged players trade valuations are about to tank. Once the extension window closes at 4 pm, the player’s trade value will diminish exponentially. Teams are keenly aware of this.
Think of Jadeveon Clowney for 2 backup linebackers and a third-round pick. If they don’t plan on the player being around long term, the time to trade them is now.
This opens up an opportunity for Seattle to scoop up a talented player for less than many would expect. Nearly 2/3rds of the players that are franchise tagged without extensions are defensive lineman. This is very helpful, as this will likely be where Seattle focus’s its efforts.
Seattle has top 10 cap space in each of the next two off-seasons and very few players signed past the 2021 season. This limits a lot of the worry from a franchise point of view in terms of financial stability.
It is time to start locking up players long term. This window offers a unique opportunity to do just that. The article goes through several players the Seahawks should target in a trade.