The Seahawks future success might be based on which free agents the team chooses to re-sign.
Like every team in the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks will undergo roster changes this offseason. Over the years, Seattle general manager John Schneider has clearly proved himself to have a great eye for talent in drafts and free agency. No, he hasn’t been perfect as no one is but Schneider’s decisions have also helped Seattle make the playoffs in nine of 11 seasons since he became the GM.
Schneider is also an honest negotiator and will not easily give in to what a player wants. Seattle did offer Jadeveon Clowney a contract this past offseason and as much as $15 million reportedly, but Clowney wanted a longer-term contract than Schneider was willing to give so Clowney left (which turned out to be a good thing this year for Seattle as Clowney got hurt).
This offseason, the Seahawks have several of their own free agents they will need to make decisions about and which ones they keep and which ones they don’t will have a huge impact on the success of the team over the next few years.
I have two players I want to mention that Seattle should let walk.
K.J. Wright
I hate if Wright weren’t a part of the Seahawks because he is still really good and also a good person. But Seattle needs to spend money on younger players and need to make Jordyn Brooks a full-time player. If Wright will re-sign for $7 million or so then Seattle should keep him but anything higher is money that needs to be spent on other players.
David Moore
Moore has shown to be a receiver who can get an important catch (like in week 16 versus the Rams) but he is also very inconsistent and always has been. If no other team wants Moore then great and Seattle should bring him back. If another team wants him for $3 million or so Seattle should say goodbye.
Chris Carson
It is important to remember that the NFL salary cap is likely to go down in 2021 due to the effects COVID-19 placed on the financials of NFL teams. Some teams, like the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints are doomed to suffer multiple cap losses because of this. Seattle is tight against the cap too but will have a bit more room. There needs to be enough room for Chris Carson to be re-signed.
No position group is likely to feel the sting of a lower salary cap that running backs. They are already part of a unit that is getting paid relatively less and are valued less than they were even a few years ago. Running backs normally have short shelf-lives so NFL teams don’t want to pay them as much unless they are truly special, like Alvin Kamara of the Saints.
Seattle could decide to let Carson walk and try to see how Rashaad Penny pans out as the full-time starter, but this would be a mistake. Carson is the closest Seattle has come to replacing Marshawn Lynch when Lynch was at his best early in the 2010s. And we have seen this season how a lack of Carson can really hurt the Seattle offense.
Does Carson get hurt too much? Yes. But he also doesn’t miss long swaths of seasons since his rookie year of 2017 (he missed two games in 2014 and was hurt in week 17 of 2019). He has missed 4 games this year and 12s only remember him missing them so well because Carson adds an element of danger to the Seattle offense that isn’t there when he doesn’t play.
If Seattle can get Carson to sign for three year in the $8-10 million range, they should jump at it.
Ethan Pocic
In 2020 we finally learned what Ethan Pocic can do well along the offensive line and that is play center. This makes sense as Pocic was actually a very good center in college and has simply never had the chance to play the position as a pro. Still, who really thought Pocic would be the starter this season for Seattle?
Before the season, the Seahawks signed B.J. Finney from the Steelers and Finney was the presumptive starter for Seattle in 2020. But the closer we got to the beginning of the year and the more we learned things from training camp the clearer it became that Finney was simply not the player Seattle thought he was.
Pocic was given the chance to start and was almost immediately solid in the middle of the line. In previous seasons, Pocic seemed not as strong as opposing defensive linemen and this may still be true but centers can get away without having the brute force of a guard, for instance. Pocic is smart and knows the Seattle offense well and should be re-signed this offseason.
Seattle should also get Pocic to sign for a few years at a decent rate. Having a quality center to anchor the line but not eat up a lot of cap is a great thing.
Mike Iupati
I realize that Iupati is injury-prone and misses a few games a season but he is also really good. In 2020, Pro Football Focus has Iupati as the 23rd-highest-graded guard. His fellow guard, rookie Damien Lewis, is number 13. And Lewis’s number is important in connection with Iupati’s.
Offensive lines, more than any other unit, need successful cohesion. If Seattle re-signs Pocic, which they should, and also re-signs Iupati at around the same salary as he currently has ($2.5 million for 2020) then Seattle would bring back the same line in 2021. That is a very good thing.
For years since Russell Wilson became the quarterback in 2012, the Seahawks had a bad offensive line. Last year was better and this year they are pretty good. Left tackle Duane Brown is aging but still one of the best tackles in the NFL. When Iupati is healthy, he and Brown form a powerful left side.
If Iupati wants to keep playing after this year and hits free agency and some team offers him $5 million a year, then Seattle needs to let him walk. But if Seattle can get Iupati back for $3 million next year, that is a win.
Poona Ford
I am cheating a little bit with this one. Poona Ford is a restricted free agent and the Seahawks can match any offer extended him from another team. Still, Ford can sign with another team if Seattle does not match the offer. Ford has become a great run-stopper at defensive tackle and can supply a little pressure on the quarterback.
According to PFF, Ford is the 13th-best interior defender in the NFL this season. The next closest Seahawk is 83rd in L.J. Collier. Ford is only 25 years old and needs to be an anchor on Seattle’s defensive line for many years to come.
Ford went undrafted out of Texas and that was a bit shocking as well. Ford was the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2017 and his only knock was that he was relatively short. But Ford’s height isn’t important in Seattle’s scheme. Ford is tasked with getting low, eating up blocks and stuffing the run.
There are a few reasons the Seahawks are fifth in the NFL in yards allowed rushing per game (96.2) and fourth in yards per attempt (3.9) but one of the main reasons is Poona Ford. There may be a team that offers Ford $5-6 million a season (former Seahawk Quinton Jefferson got that much from the Bills this offseason) and I think Seattle needs to match that.
Shaquill Griffin
There are basically two free agents that 12s will be asking if the Seahawks will re-sign this offseason. One is running back Chris Carson. The other is cornerback Shaquill Griffin. I think that Seattle must bring back Carson but Griffin is a little more difficult for me to argue. Griffin is a very good corner, but is he a number one corner and should he get number one corner money?
Top cornerbacks make $13 million or more a season and Griffin is likely to want $15 million or more. According to PFF, however, Griffin is the 43rd-highest-graded corner this season. Griffin was not good in 2018 and better in 2019 and has been solid this year but has also missed four games.
Griffin does have three interceptions this year, his career-high, and is a good tackler, which cannot go overrated in the Seattle scheme. Griffin is fast and big enough to play bigger receivers. But is he worth a chunk of what cap space the Seahawks will have available this offseason?
There is one important thing to keep in mind here that Seattle’s brass will be thinking about as well. Griffin is a good guy and a good teammate and does not undermine the team. Coach Pete Carroll has always talked team-first and Griffin clearly agrees with that. So Griffin might be worth bringing back because he is a good, but not yet great, cornerback, but he is also good in the locker room and for the team. That is really important as well.