The Seattle Seahawks don’t need much help in the passing game. Sam Darnold is playing at an acceptable level, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba is in the conversation for NFL Offensive Player of the Year. If anything, Darnold just needs more reliable protection inside.
That said, when a team flashes a giant ‘fire sale’ sign above their offices just ahead of the deadline, their shiniest trade pieces become all the more alluring. The Miami Dolphins did that on Friday, announcing that the team was mutually parting ways with general manager Chris Grier. With Greir gone, all of the players the Dolphins were supposedly unwilling to trade just became available.
That includes wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. Maybe Waddle isn’t exactly what the Seahawks need to capitalize on a strong start to the campaign, but he sure is tantalizing.
Wide receiver market could tempt the Seattle Seahawks at the deadline
There’s been some rumblings in the trade rumor mill about the Seahawks possibly being a buyer for a wide receiver. Recently, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell suggested the Seahawks could be looking at wide receiver as a position of need. His reasoning is the lack of production with Cooper Kupp, whose value as a veteran and willing blocker may already be capped.
Kupp only has 24 targets on the season, and while that is second on the team, that only goes to show just how reliant on Smith-Njigba Seattle’s offense really is. Bringing in an explosive playmaker like Waddle would take some pressure off of Smith-Njigba while potentially allowing both players to thrive as a duo.
It sounds like a dream scenario that could have a great enough impact to completely open up the Seahawks’ offense, despite the troubles on the interior offensive line. After all, Waddle has 46 catches for 586 yards and four scores in an offense that lost its top wideout and has struggled to move the ball well all season. If he can be that productive there, then what’s the ceiling in Seattle?
Well, the reality is that it might be too good to be true. Waddle is a high-value target in this gold rush Miami has invited the NFL to. If Miami is willing to move Waddle, he’ll go to the highest bidder. General manager John Schneider may prefer to buy at the deadline, and there certainly might be some players to consider in Miami, but Waddle seems like an expensive gamble.
And that’s without mentioning Waddle’s $84.75 million contract. Seattle has cap space to be aggressive, but a move for Waddle might be pushing it, especially when Jaxon Smith-Njigba is getting more expensive by the week, as he and other players will be due extensions soon.
Riq Woolen and a third sounds like a reasonable offer, but if other teams start coming in more aggressively, then Schneider and the Seahawks might not be so interested. It’ll be an interesting scene for Seattle fans to see play out, but don’t be surprised if the Seahawks aren’t the ones to land the big fish out of South Beach.