3 missed opportunities for the Seahawks this offseason
By Geoff Shull
Seahawks missed opportunity number three: Not adding an elite edge rusher
This year was thought to have had one of the deepest defensive end free agency classes in recent memory. It had a player for everyone. There were power rushers, speed rushers, low production-high potential players, one-year wonders, late bloomers, and proven veterans.
When adding in the plethora of defensive ends that were franchise tagged, it is crazy how much talent was out there. Even crazier considering any number of these players could have been in a Seahawks uniform for 2020.
A simple fix. Seattle could have just given Jadeveon Clowney a higher offer from the get-go. They reportedly offered him a 3 year, 55.5 million deal before free agency. However, once free agency got going, that deal was long gone. The team was all in on the bargain hunt. They could have simply kept that $18.5 million deal alive two weeks into free agency and likely secured their best player from last season going forward.
If Jadeveon Clowney wasn’t the guy they deemed worthy of a monster contract, there were plenty of others. The Seahawks could have signed Dante Fowler for speed off the edge, Vic Beasley for a low production – high potential guy, Robert Quinn for a late bloomer/ proven veteran, Shaq Lawson as a high potential guy. The options were definitely out there.
The other route would be trading for a franchise-tagged defensive end. They could have likely traded for Yannick Ngakoue. He desperately wants out of Jacksonville. Seattle could have traded their first-round pick in May’s draft and some change to acquire him. Matthew Judon and Bud Dupree are both high-quality defensive ends, with solid stats lines and could have likely been had for a second-round pick, plus a little change.
There were plenty of players and routes to choose from. The Seahawks instead tried to low ball their top option in Jadeveon Clowney after he failed to accept the first pre-free agency offer. Then instead of moving on when he balked at the market, they stayed pat. Sure, it’s possible they could still end up re-signing Clowney. However, I would of much rather they had some long-term stability on the defensive line than another one-year rental.
Next. Three low-key Seahawks who could be huge in 2020. dark
Seattle had lots of chances this off-season to improve the roster. They made some moves like trading for disgruntled star cornerback Quinton Dunbar (yes, I know this looks less than stellar now but there was no way the team could have known this when they traded for the player), signing B.J. Finney and a nice draft haul. However, the team could have been in a lot better position going forward with a few other moves.