The Seattle Seahawks are still in the midst of remaking the team. The coaching staff has turned over this offseason. Plus, the roster is going to look very different next season than in the past two years.
But while Seattle is beginning to run out of free agent money, the team could still pull off a trade or two. This would not be new for general manager John Schneider. He has traded for players such as Jamal Adams, Jadeveon Clowney, and Duane Brown in prior years.
The last move on this list gets a bit complicated but would be long-term beneficial. The first will be immediately impactful. But all of them would make the Seahawks better.
Seahawks could trade for Haason Reddick
Seattle's greatest need right now is not an edge rusher, and that is a good thing. But we cannot kid ourselves into thinking the Seahawks don't still need to add a high-end edge rusher or two. Uchenna Nwosu will return from injury before the start of next season and Boye Mafe could take yet another step forward in year three. Maybe new head coach Mike Macdonald will find a way to make Darrell Taylor good in both the pass rush and the run.
But adding a player like Reddick, whose trade market has to be diminishing because a team has not yet made a move for him, would improve Seattle's pass rush and that would make the secondary's job much easier. Over the last two years, Reddick has 27 sacks which is fourth in the league. He trails only Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, and Micah Parsons and that is a good group to be mentioned with.
Reddick has one year left on his deal and he has a base salary of $14.25 million along with a few other bonuses. Seattle would have to make room somehow to sign him, but when NFL teams want a player, they seemed to be able to do so. Seattle would not have to give up a first-round choice for Reddick, either.
Seahawks could trade for tight end Mark Andrews
Andrews was banged up quite a bit in 2023 and missed nine games. He also suffered a pretty bad ankle injury. But he is still 28 years old and his contract isn't so ridiculous that another team might not be open to adding him should the Ravens want to trade him. He is also just 28 years old so he could have several good years left to play at a high level if he can show he can overcome the ankle problem.
The good thing for the Seahawks when it comes to Andrews is that new coach Mike Macdonald was the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens in the two previous seasons so Macdonald should have a good idea of how bad Andrew's injury could be. He would also know Andrews' strengths and weaknesses.
But one thing the entire league knows is how well Andrews can catch the ball and then run once he has it. He has a 67.7 percent catch rate in his career and four seasons where has at least 6 touchdown receptions, including 2023. While he will never again likely reach his career high of 107 receptions and 1,361 yards receiving, Seattle would not need that. The Seahawks just need him to remain dangerous.
Seattle also needs to add another tight end. The team lost Colby Parkinson and Will Dissly in free agency. New Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is probably going to have a better idea of how to involve the tight ends than former OC Shane Waldron did. Noah Fant was re-signed this offseason, but recently signed Pharaoh Brown is more of a blocker. Seattle can use another tight end who can catch and run.
Seahawks could trade into the top ten of the 2024 NFL draft
Since John Schneider became the general manager in Seattle in 2010, the team has quite often traded back in the draft. This made sense as Seattle had a good roster and mostly needed depth. One way of adding depth was to move back in the draft and pick up extra draft picks. In the late 2010s, however, Seattle's roster was starting to not be as talented and the team continued to trade back, unfortunately whiffing on several choices made after moving down.
With Pete Carroll gone and Schneider fully in charge of roster decisions, the team could take a different approach to the draft. Plus, Schneider has already spoken about how he is "not proud of" the team not choosing but two quarterbacks in the last 14 drafts. Maybe Schneider sees a quarterback in the draft he really likes, someone such as J.J. McCarthy.
McCarthy appears to be rising up draft boards after his NFL Combine showing and the fact that he literally lost two total games as a full-time starter in high school and college combined. He is a winner who gets the most out of his ability and just needs a chance to prove he can also be a prolific passer. He showed the arm strength at the combine to make any throw he might be tasked to do.
The Chicago Bears have two picks in the top ten currently. They are probably going to take a quarterback with the top pick, but they also have pick number 9. They could trade that choice to Seattle. The Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans, and Atlanta Falcons all pick in the top ten as well and might not need a quarterback so Seattle could conceivably move up to one of their spots.
Seahawks could trade for Teven Jenkins (as part of a Geno Smith deal)
So why would Seattle want to take J.J. McCarthy, or potentially some other quarterback, when Geno Smith and Sam Howell are already on the roster? The answer could be that neither Smith nor Howell are the long-term answer as QB1 and if Schneider really likes a quarterback this year, he might take him for the sake of the future instead of winning right away. But Seattle also has needs along the interior of the offensive line to address, too.
Teven Jenkins is a good guard for Chicago. The 26-year-old former second-round pick can play either guard spot while protecting his quarterback or opening holes for the run equally well. He had an elite grade, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), in run-blocking in 2022 and did not drop off much in that area in 2023 while his pass-block grade improved. He is also still on his rookie contract for another season.
In a blockbuster trade, the Seahawks could move Geno Smith, Seattle's first-round pick in 2024 and 2025, to Chicago in return for Jenkins and the Bears' number 9 choice in the 2024 draft. This could (should?) be enough for Seattle to take McCarthy and also add a player who is going to improve the Seahawks' offensive line. Seattle could then start Howell in 2024 while McCarthy sits for as long as he needs to sit to learn (Howell is signed through 2025).
Smith would go to Chicago and play for Shane Waldron. Waldron was hired as Chicago's offensive coordinator this offseason after leading the Seahawks offense for the last three seasons so the Bears offense should be better because of the familiarity between Waldron and Smith. Whichever quarterback Chicago takes at number one could then sit behind Smith for a bit.
While Seattle moving Smith does not save the Seahawks any money, the money is already spent and accounted for. The overall trade does not add much to Seattle's payroll as Jenkins' cap hit is only $2,668,860 next season. But trading Smith would save Seattle $25 million in the 2025 offseason.