5 contracts holding Seattle Seahawks back right now
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks have to create cap room. There is no way around that argument. The team currently has $-5,230,353 and there is no way of doing business with that albatross hanging around the team's financial neck.
Outright releasing the five players that follow would save $36.5 million pre-June 1. A team can release two players each year with a post-June 1 designation. The problem is the team cannot spend any of the money saved by releasing a player with a post-June 1 date. However, all the players combined below would create $56,860,000 post-June 1.
A few of the following players would be tough roster decisions. Two are fan favorites. But Seattle has to make cap room and here are five players who could be cap casualties.
Seattle Seahawks tight end Will Dissly
2024 cap hit: $10,070,000
2024 dead money: $3,100,000
Cap savings if released: $6,970,000
The problem with Dissly is three-fold. One is that if Seattle does release the tight end, that means the team would have emptied completely all the proven veteran players they have on the unit. Noah Fant and Colby Parkinson are free agents leaving Dissly as the only veteran who has shown he can catch and block consistently decently.
The second issue with Dissly is that he has not been a factor as a receiver for the last couple of years. This is somewhat frustrating as in his first two years before he was injured and both seasons ended early, he appeared to be a surprisingly good pass catcher and could run a bit once he caught the ball. Maybe a new coaching staff, including new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, will help make Dissly more productive.
The third part of the issue is that Dissly is an exceptional blocker and one of the best in the NFL at the tight end position. He makes more than many offensive linemen in the league, but he is also just as good of a blocker. But Seattle saving nearly $7 million by releasing Dissly might be too much to pass up. Maybe they could sign him to an extension and roll some of the money into a signing bonus to spread out over a few years.