4 Seahawks that are playing for their next contract in Week 18

Seahawks linebacker Cody Barton

The question about Barton might come down to, Do the Seahawks think they can find an immediate replacement that will do better than Barton has this year or if Barton has the potential to be even better in the future? Barton hasn’t been terrible this season, to be fair. His PFF grade of 61.4 ranks 48th among all NFL linebackers. But the player he basically replaced, Bobby Wagner, ranks first. Wagner is still a great player and would have been fantastic this year for the Seahawks, but he was so expensive he basically had to be released.

But the Barton and Wagner comparisons might continue. That really isn’t fair to Barton because the player who truly replaced Wagner in the scheme of Seattle’s defense was Jordyn Brooks. Brooks hasn’t been bad but he certainly hasn’t produced like Wagner. Maybe that is more of the product of Seattle’s scheme versus Wagner’s current team, the Rams, scheme. Wagner is always going to be better than Barton, though, and there is nothing Barton can do about that.

Still, Barton is a free agent after this year and can sign with whomever he wants. Do Carroll and Schneider think they can find a replacement for Barton, one who can play right away, in the 2023 draft? If they do, Barton is likely gone. Otherwise, Barton has probably played well enough to return.