What a difference a week makes, right? After another beatdown by the San Francisco 49ers in Week 14, the Seattle Seahawks season seemed increasingly lost. But thanks to a shocking victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15, the sun seems brighter, the air smells better, and the world overall is simply a better place to be.
But what about beyond 2023? The Seahawks currently have just $2,032,860 in cap room in 2024. That is not very much for a team with a young roster that is also not overpaying for a quarterback. A couple of positions currently taking up the most cap room are also a couple of the more underperforming positions. The safeties have been a mess for most of this year and a good performance in Week 15 doesn't change that.
But let's be positive in this article. The team is 7-7 so maybe we should even be mid. Instead of the negativity, let's talk about three free agents who may have already earned roster spots for Seattle next year.
DT Leonard Williams has earned his 2024 roster spot
Seattle added Leonard Williams at the trade deadline this year and while the team has gone south since the move was made, none of that is Williams' fault. He was expected to give the Seahawks a huge presence along the defensive line and be a player who could help stop the run while getting consistent pressure from the interior of the line. Williams has done all that.
In seven games for Seattle, Williams has 23 total pressures, including 3 sacks, 15 quarterback hurries, and 5 quarterback hits. He also has not missed a tackle attempt in five games. For much of the game against Philadelphia. the Eagles excellent offensive line had trouble containing Williams. He has been Seattle's defensive lineman since he was traded to Seattle and it hasn't been close.
Part of the trade of Williams to Seattle, however, was not working out a contract extension. He was set to be a free agent before the trade and an impending free agent Williams remains. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Williams is projected to get a contract worth $51.75 million over three years with $37.25 million guaranteed from some team and that should be the Seahawks. Sure, he is 30 years old but he is playing like he is 25 and Seattle needs to make re-signing him a priority.
Seattle should bring back Mario Edwards, Jr.
Mario Edwards has quietly had a very good season. He has bounced around the league quite a bit since he entered the NFL in 2015. Seattle is his sixth team and since 2017 he has not spent more than two seasons with any one team. Edwards is only 29 years old, however, so he should still have a few good years left to be productive.
He also shouldn't be expensive to re-sign. He only has a cap hit of $1,317,500 and he has never earned more than $4.5 million and that was in one season due a signing bonus. Edwards could likely be brought back for less than $2 million and for a veteran defensive lineman who has had the season Edwards has had in 2023, that would be a bit of a steal.
Edwards is graded at number 36 among all interior defensive linemen this year, per PFF. Compare that to Dre'Mont Jones at number 66. The Seahawks signed Jones this past offseason to the most expensive free agent contract general manager John Schneider had ever signed a player to (three years at $51,530,000 with $30 million guaranteed). Jones has not been consistently good. Edwards has.
Since Week 2, Edwards has a quarterback pressure in all but four games. He has only gone once where he didn't have a pressure in consecutive games and that was in Weeks 6 and 7. Overall, Edwards has 21 total pressures. The thing is, though, he isn't meant to be only someone who can occasionally get close to the quarterback. He is better at setting the edge against the run and he has done that fairly well this year, too.
Seahawks should bring back Drew Lock
This one gets tricky, of course. The best scenario might be to let Drew Lock test the waters in free agency and see what he gets back. He will definitely be helped by his performance in Week 15 on Monday Night Football, but he has only two starts in two years and there likely isn't a team in the NFL that is thinking, "Wait until next offseason when we can get Drew Lock!"
I mean no disrespect to Lock in saying that either. He has done the best he can with what has been asked of him. The 2-minute drive against the Eagles that ended with a 21-yard touchdown pass was special. But Lock has also made some iffy throws where he was fortunate that they were not intercepted. Still, Lock's throws were more streamlined in Week 15 than in Week 14 when he did throw two picks.
With Lock, it comes down to money and if he is comfortable being QB2 again. As much as fans have complained about the Seahawks quarterback play this year - and rightfully so many times - Geno Smith nor Drew Lock are the reason the team doesn't have a winning record. Had the defense been better the team might be 9-5 right now.
Lock only makes $4 million currently so he will probably get a pay bump in 2024. Does Seattle bring him back as the starter, though, and release Smith and save a bit of money? Moving on from Smith would save nearly $14 million in cap room. Maybe the Seahawks draft a quarterback early, insert Lock as QB1 to begin 2024, and then let the young QB take over early in the year.