The Seattle Seahawks' current roster should be better than 2022 simply because of the players who left in free agency this past offseason. Sure, Seattle presumably added talent in the 2023 NFL Draft, while many of the players the Seahawks signed in free agency, such as Dre'Mont Jones, have not helped as well as expected. Seattle could potentially face a former Seahawk on Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles, but this seems unlikely.
That player would be Rashaad Penny who led Seattle in rushing in 2021 and was possibly headed to a decent 2022 as well until he suffered yet another injury. The problem with Penny during his five seasons in Seattle was he could never be counted on game to game because of some ailment or another. He only played more than 10 games in a season once.
The more maddening aspect about Penny is he clearly proved to be a talented running back when he was able to step foot on the field. He led the NFL in yards per rush in 2021 at 6.3. Through five games in 2022, he was averaging 6.1 yards per carry and, if not for suffering a season-ending leg injury, was on pace for 1,176 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns.
Seattle Seahawks are fortunate not to have re-signed most of these players
Injuries have not been the problem for Penny with his new team, the Eagles, in 2023, though. He is just the odd man out in Philadelphia's running back rotation. Most teams keep just three backs active on game days and Penny has been the fourth guy in all but two games this year. In the two games he has played, the Eagles have not trusted him to do much as he has just 5 carries for 17 yards. He also caught a pass for 5 yards, so there is that.
The likelihood of Penny facing his former team in Week 15 is not great. The good thing for him, however, is at least he is not getting injured so he should be fresh for 2024 wherever he plays. Maybe he even comes back to Seattle?
Here is what the former free agents Seattle lost this past offseason have been doing. Oh, but this won't be for the faint of heart. Most players have been terrible.
The not completely awful players
DE Quinton Jefferson - Signed for one season with the New York Jets
Seattle made a concerted effort to blow up their defensive line this past offseason. Gone were players such as Jefferson and in were Dre'Mont Jones, Jarran Reed, and Mario Edwards. Is Seattle's defensive line better in 2023? If not else, it's no worse. Seattle allows 4.4 yards per carry this year but gave up 4.9 in 2022.
Jefferson always had the capability of being a decent pass rusher, but he stunk at stopping the run. This has held true this year as he has 6 sacks but his run defense graded, as given by Pro Football Focus (subscription required) is only 37.0, sixth-worse in the league.
DT Shelby Harris - Signed for one season with the Cleveland Browns
Harris is on one of the better defensive lines in football - if not the best - and is a rotational player. Still, he does his job well. He is also graded as the 25th-best interior defender in 2023, per PFF. For a player who has several years in the league, finding a spot like the Browns was perfect as there was talent around him and he was not overtaxed with snaps.
Harris has solid grades across the board and has no glaring weaknesses. He also wasn't a bad player for the Seahawks last year. Maybe once he hits free agency again next offseason, Seattle should try to re-sign him.
The players having wretched seasons
LB Cody Barton - Signed for one season with the Washington Commanders
As we learned in Barton's time with the Seahawks, he had the ability to cover somewhat well at times, but he was not much good at anything else. Barton is now a bad linebacker on a bad Commanders defense. Washington might be better, though, if they did not have Barton. He is PFF's sixth-worst graded LB and has zero sacks and has allowed a whopping 120.7 quarterback rating when targeted in 2023. He did miss several games with an ankle sprain.
S Ryan Neal - Signed for one season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Maybe Neal was only a good fit in Seattle because he wasn't bad in his seasons with the Seahawks. This year? He is terrible. He ranks 87, per PFF, among all NFL safeties, fifth-worst in the league (but just two spots behind Seattle safety Quandre Diggs). Neal has started 10 games and has 71 tackles, but he allowed 31 of 34 passes thrown his way to be completed for 568 yards and 5 touchdowns. His quarterback rating allowed is an astronomical 158.3.
DT Poona Ford - Signed for one season with the Buffalo Bills
Ford is in the same boat as Penny; he doesn't play even though he is healthy. He has appeared in just five games and not since late October. His efficiency, though, is right in the middle of what other Bills have done so maybe the coaching staff in Buffalo simply has it out for Ford for some reason.
The incompletes
DT Al Woods - Signed for one season with the New York Jets
Woods was his normal self in terms of shutting down running games and getting occasional pressure on quarterbacks, but then he ruptured his Achilles tendon in the Jets sixth game of the year and Woods was lost for the year. Since he will be 37 years old this coming offseason, there is a good chance he never plays again.
ST Travis Homer - Signed for two years with the Chicago Bears
Homer was a very good special teamer for the Seahawks in his time in Seattle, but that is all he has been for Chicago. He has only played six snaps on offense. He hasn't been missed in Seattle, though. But if one can earn a living simply by being a special teams player, there is nothing wrong with that.
WR Marquise Goodwin - Signed for one season with the Browns
Goodwin missed a chunk of the season with a concussion and just recently returned. He has also only played 83 snaps this year and has just 3 catches for a measly 10 yards. He showed flashes of being productive in Seattle in 2022, but that might be the highlight for the rest of his career.
DL L.J. Collier - Signed for one season with the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona should have just called up Pete Carroll and said, "We are thinking of signing Collier. What do you think?" To which Carroll likely would have said, "He will miss time with injuries and then be bad when he does play." Collier played 37 snaps for the Cardinals in Week 1 but injured his biceps and is seemingly lost for the season.