Early in this free agency window, we saw additions to the Seahawks roster with the additions of Gerald Everett, Aldon Smith, Gabe Jackson and Akhello Witherspoon. Given the limited wiggle room in terms of available salary-cap space the Seahawks have, is that all we are going to see in terms to close out free agency moves by John Schneider and Co.?
Or could the inevitable new deal Jamaal Adams is going to receive add to the $4 million dollars of salary cap space available and allow for at least one more free agent addition?
With this in mind, I will go through the top 12 free agents currently available and assess the possibility of the Seahawks making a move to add them to the current roster.
Free agents available to the Seahawks
1. Steven Nelson, Nelson was released by the Steelers and despite much speculation about possible landing spots has yet to be snapped up by any franchise. At age 28 and having been paid an average of $8.6 million over his two years in Seattle, he is likely to be available for less than that in the current market.
However, with the Seahawks having added Witherspoon and Tre Brown (via the draft) already and having plenty of players already competing for a limited number of roster spots at the CB positions, it is unlikely the Seahawks will go after Nelson unless he became available at a real bargain price.
I would say there is at best a 10% chance of the Seahawks adding Nelson to their roster.
2. Mitchell Schwartz, Schwartz is the first of the discarded Chiefs offensive line in this list, with the Chiefs having set about rebuilding their offensive line following their super bowl capitulation to the Bucs.
At the age of 32 and having averaged a salary of $7.6 million over 5 years as a Chief, Schwartz will be looking for a three-year deal at least I would expect. With Brandon Shell and Cedric Ogbuehi set to compete for the starting RT slot with the Seahawks it is unlikely they will look to add at this position.
I estimate that there is a 5% chance at best of the Seahawks acquiring Schwartz.
More offensive linemen
Even with the addition of Gabe Jackson, the Seahawks offensive line will continue to be the subject of great scrutiny in 2021, so could they still look to add to it before the start of the season?
3. David DeCastro, having been released after 9 seasons in Pittsburgh, DeCastro will find a team that is in need at the Guard position. He got paid $7.8 million on average for his last four seasons as a Steeler and I do not see the Seahawks wanting to pay that sort of money for a 31-year-old vet when they have Damien Lewis and the newly acquired Gabe Jackson as their starting guards for 2021.
4. Russell Okung, has been getting $13 million a year and aged 33, I cannot see any reason why the Seahawks would pursue Okung when they have the superb Duane Brown at LT and have drafted a possible successor to Brown in Stone Forsythe.
5. Rick Wagner, another tackle that is on the wrong side of 30, Wagner pulled in $6.7 million for his single season as a Packer before they released him. If the Seahawks we looking for a tackle, surely they would go after Schwartz rather than Wagner, so we will not see Wagner in a Seahawks uni any time soon as far as I can see.
6. Austin Reiter, 12s continue to voice their concerns over Ethan Pocic as the starting center for the Seahawks and Reiter like Mitchell Schwartz has effectively been rejected by the Chiefs.
Reiter is a 29-year-old, proven starter for a contending team and only earned $2.1 million a year whilst with the Chiefs. I have banged on about the Seahawks acquiring Reiter before and still feel at the low cost he would incur would be a great addition in Seattle.
Teams who had a need at center have largely made their move already, so the available landing posts for Reiter as a starter in the NFL are dwindling by the day.
I really hope this happens and can see it happening, so give Reiter a 30-45% chance of being a Seahawks starter in 2021.
A couple of cornerbacks
7. Brian Poole earned $4.75 million a year whilst a Jet for the past two seasons. Durability is the issue with Poole rather than ability. He may well be a good option to look at as a slot corner for the Seahawks and at age 28 still has some years in him. An incentive-loaded contract that would reward him for playing but get him at a low cost would be well worth looking at for the Seahawks.
Much as I like the idea of Poole coming to Seattle, I doubt it will happen and rate it only a 10% possibility.
8. Richard Sherman, could it happen? A 33-year-old who the 49ers paid $11.6 million a year for, Sherman has been getting paid for how good he was when originally with the Seahawks.
The rumor mills seem to have the Seahawks as the most likely spot for Sherman in 2021, but they will need to free up salary cap space in order to do so and like Poole would like to limit the guaranteed money following Shermans injuries last season and the fact that he is 33.
If this does happen, it will happen late as Sherman will hold out for his salary and the Seahawks will want to assess what they have in pre-season before committing what cap space they have on Sherman.
I do not really see this happening pre-season, Sherman may well keep himself in shape and wait for a team to be in need during the coming season to ensure he gets paid what he wants.
Free agent edge rushers/linebackers
9. K.J.Wright, as with Richard Sherman all 12’s would love to see Wright back in a Seahawks uni for 2021. But it appears the decision has been made to give the younger linebackers, like Jordyn Brooks and Darryl Taylor, their shot at replacing Wright.
However, if he did not find a landing spot and became available t a good price, it is not impossible that he returns for an eleventh season as a Seahawk.
This is probably no more than a 10-15% possibility though.
10. Melvin Ingram is the best free agent left on the board at this point but comes at a price in excess of $10 million a year so is almost certainly out of the Seahawks range price-wise even if they did want to add an LB which they probably do not.
11. Justin Houston is in the same bracket as Melvin Ingram, albeit potentially slightly cheaper. But given there is plenty of depth on the edge for the Seahawks already and they do not have the sport of many available to acquire Houston as it stands, tis will almost certainly not happen.
12. Olivier Vernon will again almost certainly be out of the Seahawks price range and they have plenty of options currently on the roster to cover this need,
With all of the four above, the Seahawks are unlikely to be looking for pass rushers. However, if the Aldon Smith situation does not work out well for him or the Seahawks, it is possible they go back into the market for a replacement. This could open the door for a KJ Wright re-signing or they could even go look at Everson Griffen or Adrian Clayborn as possible alternatives to Smith.