Making the case for Gardner Minshew as the Seahawks QB of the future
How to get Minshew in a Seahawks uniform
If Minshew Mania is destined for Seattle, the Seahawks have two options on how to go about acquiring Minshew: Trade for him now or try to sign him in March as a free agent.
Minshew is in the final year of his rookie contract, where he will make 2.54 million dollars. He will enter free agency at the age of 27. The extremely low cap hit this season, combined with Philadelphia thinking very highly of their backup QB, making him a difficult trade candidate. What if Jalen Hurts gets hurt (sorry), or regresses and doesn’t look like the guy.
Philadelphia is committed to being good right now, as evidenced with the A.J. Brown trade. The only way they’re trading Minshew is if he demands a trade (I think he’d just wait for FA), or if the Eagles are blown away by a deal.
Any trade for Minshew on Philly’s side likely begins with a second-round pick, and I don’t see Seattle even considering that offer, even with the extra picks. A fourth-rounder would be a steal in my opinion for Seattle, and unlikely to be accepted by Philly. If Seattle is truly committed to having Minshew on the roster this season, then I could see a deal in the range of a conditional 4th.
If Minshew plays more than half the snaps during the season, then the pick becomes a 3rd. It’s a fair deal and if Seattle truly believes in Minshew and believes they can be a contender, then this is a good deal to make.
If Seattle goes with the second option, waiting for Minshew in free agency, they could benefit more in the long term than in the short.
A season with Geno Smith and Drew Lock leading the franchise is more likely to be a 5-win campaign rather than a 10-win season. That could be the difference between picking in the top 8 of a deep NFL draft or picking in the late teens or early twenties. If Seattle chooses patience, there’s a scenario where Seattle could sign Minshew next spring and then draft much higher, getting a shot to draft a franchise star pass rusher.
Or maybe they load up on offense, drafting Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the best wideout in college football, or Notre Dame’s “Baby Gronk ” in TE Michael Mayer. Any of those blue-chip-level players can provide Minshew with a deep armory of weapons at his disposal to be successful.
The big question with option two is what would a Seahawks and Minshew contract look like? If I were Pete Carroll and John Schneider, I’d be happy to invest a solid amount of money, but would want protections in the number of years. I think a 3-year contract worth $45 million is a fair investment.
The contract can be a base of $10 mil with the other $5 mil being incentives. A team option after year 2 allows for protection for the team, while if he succeeds, Minshew could hit the open market at age 31. His deal doesn’t wouldn’t prohibit Seattle from still making upgrades to the club. There’d be enough room to add a high-level pass rusher and some complementary pieces.