The Seattle Seahawks have quite a bit of cap space and excellent draft capital for this coming offseason. But keeping some free agents is a must as well. Seattle should be even better in 2023 with the current group of excellent rookies being a year older and getting help from what should be a good crop of rookies next year.
Some of Seattle’s currently abundant cap space will be taken up by some of the team’s own free agents, of course. Maybe there will be some extra room made by a surprise release or two, but Seattle doesn’t really have many players making a lot of money that shouldn’t be back.
Seattle will probably eat into its cap space quickly – most teams do – but instead of reaching out for another team’s available player, Seattle should look inward on several guys. Especially as this is a young team, building some long-term chemistry is important. What follows are four players the Seahawks need to find a way to bring back next year.
Seahawks must bring back running back Godwin Igwebuike
This guy is something else. He bounced around the league (four teams between 2018 and before the start of the 2019 season) a bit, then played football in the XFL with the Seattle Dragons in 2020, and found his way to the Detroit Lions in 2021. He played in some way in all 17 games with Detroit last year. But Detroit didn’t keep him and Igwebuike came to the Seahawks in 2022. Sort of.
He was signed to the practice squad in Seattle in late September 2022 and then released and then brought back to the practice squad in November after Travis Homer got hurt. During Igwebuike’s career, he started as a safety and then became a running back. But once Igwebuike joined Seattle’s active roster he found his calling and the Seahawks found Igwebuike’s special ability.
Seattle has searched for years to find someone who can be a dangerous kick returner. Out of college, Tyler Lockett excelled at punt returns and was solid in kick returns. In recent seasons, though, Seattle has gone with safer bets like Travis Homer or DeeJay Dallas to return kickoffs.
Igwebuike, however, is surprisingly a threat to take one to the house on any kickoff and has averaged 28 yards on 11 kickoff returns for Seattle. He has a long of 50 yards, another of 48 yards, and another of 39. He needs to be re-signed simply to add a dimension Seattle hasn’t had in quite some time.
Seahawks must bring back safety Ryan Neal
I am all for Neal taking over for oft-injured Jamal Adams at strong safety. Even if Adams returns at the beginning of 2023, let Neal start and Adams earn his spot back. Neal has been a better all-around safety than Adams has been since Adams came to Seattle in 2020. In fact, Neal was the highest-graded safety in the NFL this season, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Adams can be the more spectacular player and is by far the better pass rusher. But a strong safety needs to do more than just blitz the quarterback. He needs to be solid in pass coverage but also act as something closer to a linebacker in run support. Neal is better than Adams in run defense and it’s not close.
There are two issues with the Adams and Neal combo, though. One is that Adams is still just 27 years old and may be too expensive to outright release. If the Seahawks cut him before the 2023 season, Seattle would be left with $21,330,000 in dead cap. This is more than Adams would be paid next year so releasing doesn’t make financial sense.
Neal for the first time will be an unrestricted free agent after 2022. As well as he has played, he might be offered a bigger contract elsewhere than Seattle is willing to pay. But if John Schneider and Pete Carroll do bring Neal back, he should be the starter in 2023 and not Adams.
Seahawks must bring back kicker Jason Myers
The most shocking thing about Jason Myers missing in regulation against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 18 wasn’t that he may have let the team down and could have meant they didn’t win the game. The most surprising thing was that Myers missed at all. In the 2022 regular season, Myers made 34 of his 37 field goal attempts and 41 of his 42 extra point attempts. He was also 6 of 6 from beyond 50 yards with a long of 56.
Myers made $5 million this year and that isn’t an extraordinary amount for a very good kicker. Myers’ cap hit was fourth of all NFL kickers. If he had the same salary in 2023, Myers’ $5 million would rank 8th in the league. As 12s have come to know over the last decade, quality kickers aren’t easy to find. But Myers has been in Seattle for four years now and needs to stay for at least three more.
Myers also made the Pro Bowl this season. This was the second time he has done so and it should have been three. In 2020, Myers made all 24 of his field goal attempts with a long of 61 yards. Myers isn’t just a one-year wonder; He has been consistently good for most of his eight seasons.
Myers is also an unrestricted free agent and is free to sign anywhere he wants. I am hoping Carroll and others have built up enough rapport with Myers to want him to stick around. The Seahawks will be a young team for a few seasons and that likely means a bunch of close games that a good kicker can win at the end. Myers should be that good kicker for the Seahawks, just as he was in overtime in Week 18 that helped get Seattle to the playoffs.
Seahawks must bring back quarterback Geno Smith
There are many reasons for the Seahawks to bring back Geno Smith and a couple of reasons to be scared to. Let’s start with the scary reasons first. One is that he has never led a team to success for any length of time. He did do that in 2022, but who is to say that he can do it again? Plus, he did make a lot of mistakes over the last half of the year. Since Week 12, Smith has thrown for 13 touchdown passes but 7 interceptions and has lost two fumbles.
The second reason to not bring Geno back is the money. If Seattle chooses to take a quarterback high in the 2023 draft, and that quarterback is good, then Seattle will save a lot of money over the next few years having a good quarterback on a rookie deal. Smith is a free agent after this year and could make $30 million or more next year and beyond.
So why bring Geno back? Well, one is that he is a very good quarterback and knows how to adapt his skill to Shane Waldron’s offense. Smith mostly makes good reads, knows where players are and should be in Seattle’s scheme and he has a good rapport with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf.
But maybe the main reason to bring Smith back is it will allow the Seahawks to build up the team overall instead of taking a quarterback, hopes that QB works out and that others can outperform their expectations at other positions. Smith would be a veteran presence on a young and talented team and that could make for a Super Bowl-caliber chemistry.