The Seahawks floor for the 2022 season: How low can it get?

We had a feeling, didn’t we? When you trade the greatest quarterback in Seahawks franchise history, you had to expect the team was going to take a step back.

Ownership made the decision to keep the leadership structure of Pete Carroll and John Schneider, trading Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. It is a decision that will impact the Seahawks for the next decade, good or bad.

With a tough division and a brutal schedule, there was always the chance the Seahawks would struggle, but 4-13? Is this rock bottom, and where do we go from here?

This is the Seattle Seahawks 2022 season, if we hit the floor

With the majority of the roster (minus Wilson of course) returning, there was some hope that Seattle could get back to their winning ways through running the ball, defense, and solid quarterback play from veteran Geno Smith.

This flicker of hope was quickly extinguished after a 1-6 start that saw the running backs drop like flies, the defense spending 40+ minutes on the field every game, and uninspired QB play from the veteran Geno Smith.

In week 8, the Seahawks saw enough from Smith, turning the keys to the offense over to Drew Lock. The Seahawks would see the potential Lock has in his first start, as the Seahawks rolled to a 34-10 victory over the hapless New York Giants. Lock was spectacular, throwing for 380 yards and 4 touchdowns. Would this be the spark the team needed to turn their season around? Not necessarily.

A murderer’s row following the Giants victory saw the Seahawks get demolished by the likes of Arizona, Tampa Bay, Las Vegas, and the Rams. Lock finished with a 6-9 TD/INT ratio in this brutal stretch, getting pummeled behind the talented by an inexperienced offensive line.

The injuries sustained to Lock forced him to miss the rest of the season.  In the final five games of the season, Seattle finished 2-3 getting victories over the Panthers and Jets from quarterbacks Geno Smith and Sean Mannion. Who had that on their QB bingo card back in the summer?

While the Seahawks did look like a more competitive team at the end of the season, their victories came at a painful price in the long term. With wins over the Giants, Panthers and Jets, the Seahawks went from the #1 overall pick to the #4 overall pick. Those consequential wins keep the Seahawks from drafting all-world pass rusher Will Anderson Jr from Alabama, as well as missing out on the top two quarterback prospects.

While it is a deep quarterback draft, missing out on the top two QBs could damage any hope of a quick rebuild. And for those saying, “Well, at least we also have the Broncos 1st round pick”, the Seahawks received the 30th overall pick from Denver, after Wilson’s MVP season lead the Broncos to an AFC West Title and an overtime loss at Buffalo in the AFC Championship.

As Seattle heads into 2023, they have a path back to contention, but it has narrowed noticeably with the failure of the 2022 season. The draft not falling in their favor hurts as Seattle does get better, but misses out on franchise-altering players. Russell Wilson coming out as the victor in what will be known as the Russell Regret appears to be a decision that will haunt the Seattle Seahawks for a long time.