Why Seahawks must re-sign Quandre Diggs even with recent injury

The Seattle Seahawks best defensive player this year may have been Quandre Diggs. Even with his recent injury, Seattle needs to re-sign him this offseason. Diggs is an unrestricted free agent after the 2021 NFL season ends. There are several reasons Seattle needs to bring Diggs back.

Let’s start with the fact that while Diggs’ injury was horrific, it wasn’t as bad as it first appeared. Diggs did not tear any ligaments and torn ligaments are more difficult to overcome than clean breaks of bones. Diggs had surgery nearly immediately after his Week 18 injury and, per the NFL Network, will require 4-5 months of recovery.

This is a long time to recover but the NFL offseason is even longer. If the timeline holds true, Diggs would miss offseason activities with any team he signs with (and many offseason activities are voluntary anyway). But Diggs would definitely be ready for the start of the 2022 season and should be ready for training camp in July.

Of course, this all depends on how quickly Diggs recovers but the expectation after his surgery is that he should be ready for Week 1 next year.

Seattle Seahawks need to sign Quandre Diggs this offseason

But besides the injury, Diggs proved his value to the Seahawks defense this year and last. He led Seattle in interceptions with 5 this year. He was third on the team in tackles. Diggs was one of two Seahawks to make the Pro Bowl. And he didn’t just get voted in; Diggs was one of the best free safeties in the NFL.

Diggs also will be just 29 years old next season. As a free agent, he does rely on his speed even more than a strong safety, for instance, but assuming Diggs comes back healthy for 2022 – and that is a relatively safe assumption – then Diggs should have three very good years left.

Diggs seems to be a perfect fit with Seattle as he has 13 interceptions in the 2 1/2 years he has played with the team. But more than that, Diggs has clearly affected his teammates in a positive way. No one could have watched the reactions of his teammates after his injury against the Cardinals and thought, “I guess his teammates don’t care for him very much.”

So, bring back Quandre Diggs for 2022 and beyond? Absolutely, yes! He is a very good player on the field, he is a leader in the locker room, he should fully recover from his 2021 injury by the start of 2022 and he is still in his 20s. Seattle should sign him for three years and $25 million with $14 million guaranteed.