3 former Seattle Seahawks who won't live up to their new contracts

Some former Seattle Seahawks got scooped up fairly quickly in free agency this offseason. That is a bit surprising as there are some years where no one really wants to pay former Seattle players. Plus, while Seattle has not exactly been awful in the last couple of years, they also have not been a team of All-Pros.

Not only are Seattle players getting signed, but some have inked deals for a decent amount of money. Good for them as general manager John Schneider was very unlikely to offer contracts anywhere close to what a few players received. The NFL is a business and making as much money as one can in a short amount of time is ultimately the name of the game.

Of the players that follow, none are ones in which 12s likely say "Good riddance!" They aren't bad people and they weren't terrible players. But their new teams likely overpaid for them.

Former Seattle Seahawks guard Damien Lewis signed with the Carolina Panthers

New contract: Four years and $53 million with $26.2 million guaranteed

Lewis did not have his best season in 2023, but he was arguably the Seahawks' best offensive lineman over the last four seasons. He began as a right guard and then flipped to the left side. That kind of versatility is good to have in the NFL, but that should not mean one gets paid top dollar for versatility alone. But the Panthers so desperately wanted Lewis that they made him the 14th-highest-paid guard in the league on an average-year basis.

The issue is that Lewis is arguably not even a top-30 guard. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), he was the 37th-highest-graded guard in the league this past season. He graded better in 2022, but he was worse in 2021. Lewis may have consistently been better than most offensive linemen Seattle had, but he was not consistently good. The Panthers overpaid for him.