What the massive jump in the salary cap means for Seattle Seahawks
By Lee Vowell
Just a few days ago, the Seattle Seahawks were under the expected salary cap for 2024. This meant Seattle was going to be forced to release some veterans or re-work some current deals just so Seattle could sign their 2024 NFL draft picks or sign any other free agents. The team still needs to do that to a degree, but on Friday, after the NFL announced what the salary cap would be this offseason, Seattle's math problems got a bit better.
The 2024 salary cap will be $255,400,000. After moving Geno Smith's $9.6 roster bonus into a signing bonus on Thursday, this created $4.8 million more cap space for Seattle. Even still the team was tight against the cap and needed to make more room. But after the salary cap number was released on Friday, Seattle is now $12,969,647 in the clear.
This is before Seattle does the expected of releasing safety Jamal Adams, possibly safety Quandre Diggs, potentially receiver Tyler Lockett, most definitely defensive lineman Bryan Mone, and less likely tight end Will Dissly. Those moves alone with create around $35 million more in cap space. Basically, Seattle could end up with at least $47 million in cap room before free agency begins on March 13.
Seattle Seahawks get a gift with salary cap bump
OK, so the tampering period happens on March 11. Teams will know a lot of the players they are going to sign before March 13. But contracts cannot be signed until the 13th.
Either way, the Seahawks can change their mindset a bit this offseason. Instead of thinking what they will lose, they can think of what they will gain by using the extra cap space. This could mean re-signing defensive tackle Leonard Williams or bringing in lineback Patrick Queen of the Baltimore Ravens. Queen played under new Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald in Baltimore.
The salary cap for each team jumped $30 million from last year. This is like Christmas Day for the Seahawks. Now hopefully Seattle will go out and sign some presents for 12s.
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