Four key Seahawks that could be casualties of salary cap cuts

Carlos Dunlap

I don’t want the Seahawks to release Carlos Dunlap as he made a massive difference after he was acquired midseason. But $14 million is $14 million and that is a chunk of change that could be spent in lots of ways to make the team better by signing multiple players instead of bringing back one player.

Plus, let me point out that Dunlap might have been extra-motivated by being traded (shunned might be a better word for the way he felt) by the Cincinnati Bengals midway through 2020. In the first four games after joining Seattle this year in week 9, Dunlap had 4 sacks and 9 quarterback hits. Once he settled into Seattle’s scheme and maybe lost some of the angst of being traded, Dunlap had 1 sack and 6 quarterback hits in the last five games of 2020, including the playoffs.

Or it could be that Dunlap was simply banged-up as he injured his foot after arriving in Seattle. That said, his age (Dunlap will be 32 years old when the 2021 season begins), his injury in 2020 bundled with his price tag of $14 million might mean that the Seahawks have to move on from Dunlap is search of less expensive (while also possibly less productive) talent.

None of Dunlap’s contract is guaranteed either. He re-worked his contract when he agreed to be traded to Seattle and part of the re-work was that he would get a $3.5 million roster bonus were he still on the Seahawks roster on the fifth day of the NFL’s 2021 business year. That will be in March. The chances are that Dunlap won’t get the roster bonus and will be a free agent.