A detailed plan for the Seahawks offseason post-Geno Smith extension

It’s just Seahawks business

The first order of business is to continue to clear up some cap space while locking up players that I think can help Seattle get back to the Super Bowl in the near future. John and Pete already made a few moves with cuts to guard Gabe Jackson and defensive tackle Shelby Harris. With those moves, the Seahawks are currently projected to have $29.1 million in cap space.

While may seem like a solid amount, between $8-9 million of that will be going to this year’s draft class. Around $20 million is simply not enough for a team that needs a little more than another strong draft to catch up to NFC powers like Philadelphia and San Francisco. We’re going to have to add a few more names to the chopping block.

It’s been clear since the day after Seattle gave up 25 unanswered points to the 49ers in the NFC Wild Card that getting better in the trenches is the key to closing the gap with Seattle’s division rival. We already cut Shelby Harris and we’re going to continue to make cuts on the defensive line, releasing Quentin Jefferson and Bryan Mone. These moves create about $7.2 million in cap space, putting the Seahawks at $36.3 million.

Locking up a defensive anchor

Cutting players is never fun, real, or imaginary. In a much more fun way of creating cap space, we’re going to extend defensive end Uchenna Nwosu. One of the better free agent acquisitions of the Schneider/Carroll era, Nwosu had 42 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles. Having just recently turned 26, we’re going to lock him up to a three-year extension. It is tough to know exactly how much Seattle can lower their cap through this extension, but with him projected to be a $13 million dollar cap hit, we’re projecting to lower that number to $7.25 million in 2023. This move now frees up the Seahawks with $42 million to work with, a massive difference from before these moves.