There are still several impact free agents left to sign. While the Seattle Seahawks could still sign one or two, they could also make other moves right now to make 2022 better than what many 12s might currently expect from next year.
Let’s be real, we all know that since John Schneider and Pete Carroll came to Seattle in 2010, they haven’t viewed free agency as a time to spend lots of money. They have never overpaid for any player. One reason that Russell Wilson was traded is that Seahawks management wasn’t going to make Wilson an offer he couldn’t refuse in 2023.
But Schneider and Carroll have still led the franchise to its most successful decade ever so they are doing something correctly. Which is why this offseason seems so odd. The most important transitional offseason Schneider and Carroll have faced is the current one.
3 moves the Seahawks should make Monday to make next year good
When they came to the team, the Seahawks were bad. They just needed to get the team better. Now, the team has been good, they are still in charge, the team is on the precipice of not being good for several years, they make massive changes but don’t know truly what the outcome will be.
They are betting on themselves more than they would ever rely on a player, such as Russell Wilson, to get them back to where they could make a deep run in the playoffs. Do 12s trust the process? Maybe not. But Schneider and Carroll should have earned our trust a bit more.
Still, to make next season better than current expectations, the Seahawks still need to make some good moves.
Trade for Baker Mayfield
I can sense the groans from some 12s by mentioning Seattle should add Baker Mayfield. But why? There is very little negative to doing so. Are the Seahawks going to win a Super Bowl with Mayfield in 2022? Most likely, no. But was Seattle going to win a Super Bowl had they kept Russell Wilson? Again, no.
Is Mayfield better than Drew Lock? Of course, he is. Adding Mayfield gives Seattle a better chance to win games in 2022 than does having Lock at quarterback. Mayfield is also in the final year of his rookie contract after the Browns picked up his fifth-year option last offseason. This means that if Mayfield doesn’t work out then he’s gone in 2023.
Mayfield shouldn’t come at a high price in terms of draft capital either. Nobody is going to offer Cleveland high draft picks for Mayfield when every NFL team knows Mayfield is no longer needed by the Browns after Cleveland traded for Deshaun Watson. Mayfield is a quarterback without a home.
Mayfield also doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract. He’s still on his rookie deal. Maybe he prefers to go to the Colts? That’s the rumor anyway. But what quarterback wouldn’t want to throw to Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf?
Worst case, Mayfield is a one-year bridge to Seattle’s quarterback of the future. Best case, Mayfield gets out of Cleveland, which is a terrible organization, and gets closer to the quarterback he was expected to be when he was the first overall pick in 2018.
Sign a left tackle
Seattle might be trying to build its offensive line, though we are still waiting on some truly positive moves. Trent Brown was in Seattle last week but hasn’t signed. Seattle did add Austin Blythe at center (hopefully) and he knows Shane Waldron’s system and should be an improvement over Ethan Pocic. But there is a hole at left tackle.
Duane Brown is still a free agent. So is Terron Armstead. The Seahawks could sign either one. Or maybe Seattle is waiting to take a left tackle in the NFL draft? The smart move would be to spend some money and sign Armstead for several years and address other needs in the draft.
No matter what, however, Seattle needs someone good to play left tackle in 2022 and there is no answer to that question currently. Even re-signing Brown would be fine as he showed in the second half of 2021 that he is still capable of being very good. Brown is certainly still good enough to block for whoever is under center for the Seahawks next year.
Seattle should sign Trent Brown as right tackle and get someone good at left tackle too. Imagine a line that has Duane Brown/Armstead at left tackle, Damien Lewis at left guard, Blythe at center, Gabe Jackson at right guard and Trent Brown at right tackle. That would be good.
Add to the pass rush
The Seahawks for some reason released Carlos Dunlap on Friday. I am still a bit confused by the move as it saves Seattle no money long-term. This year? Yeah. Dunlap was cut with a post-June 1st designation so Seattle saves a bit less than $5 million but that is less cap space they have next offseason. Plus, Dunlap was ill-used in 2021 and still led the team in sacks. Dunlap wasn’t the problem, Ken Norton, Jr. was.
Hopefully, Seattle releasing him along with Kerry Hyder, Jr. and Benson Mayowa means Seattle has a plan of getting younger and more aggressive in the pass rush in 2022. But while Seattle still has Darrell Taylor and signed Uchenna Nwosu, Rasheem Green is still a free agent. Seattle actually has a less promising pass rush now than they did before they released Dunlap.
So, what is the plan exactly? If Seattle is going to spend some money on a free agent edge rusher, that edge rusher isn’t going to be young either. But still, it must be done. Maybe Seattle is going to play more of a 3-4 under new defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt so that would mean more time for a linebacker who can rush, right?
Justin Houston is still available, though he is 33 years old. Houston did have 4.5 sacks in 2021 along with 17 quarterback hits. In 2020, Houston had 8 sacks, so he is still capable. Whatever Seattle’s plan moving forward, the team needs to add another pass rusher. Someone like Jadeveon Clowney possibly?