The Seattle Seahawks were one win away from making the playoffs yet again. Had Seattle made the postseason, it would have marked the 11th time in former head coach Pete Carroll's 14 seasons with the team. Carroll might also still have had his job had Seattle beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But that embarrassing defeat where Seattle literally got run over at times by the Steelers helped lead the way to new beginnings for the team. Mike Macdonald is now the new head coach and that should mean an improved defense. The offense might also be better under new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.
But how close is Seattle returning to the Super Bowl? With a few good moves, maybe closer than some think. These three moves could help quite a bit.
No. 1 - Seattle Seahawks should sign linebacker Patrick Queen
Mike Macdonald should want a player who has played at a high level in his system and is also able to call out the plays on the field. Queen is a free agent who played under Macdonald for the last two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and Queen is the kind of guy who would be a perfect steal for the Seahawks. Plus, Seattle has a great need at linebacker as the team currently has no proven veterans on the 2024 roster.
Queen is unlikely to receive the franchise tag from the Ravens. That likely will go on defensive lineman Justin Madubuike and a team can only franchise tag one player per offseason. This implies, of course, that Queen could be a very expensive free agent to sign and the Seahawks do not currently have any cap room. But if Seattle were to release players such as Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, among others, that could help to create room for Queen.
Each year that Queen played under Macdonald in Baltimore he improved. In 2021 while Macdonald was the defensive coordinator with the University of Michigan, Queen only graded, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), 71 out of a possible 86 NFL linebackers. In 2023, he was 23. He was great against the run, excels in coverage, and is an improving pass rusher. Seattle and Macdonald need Queen.
No. 2 - Seahawks should bring back defensive lineman Leonard Williams
Where is Seattle going to find the money to sign Queen and Williams? Only general manager John Schneider would know that, but where there is a will, there is likely a way. One is to re-work current deals with players such as Tyler Lockett or Will Dissly. Another way is to release players such as Diggs and/or Adams, and another way is to trade players such as Geno Smith. Of course, if Smith is traded, that means the likely re-signing of Drew Lock and maybe drafting Michigan's J.J. McCarthy.
Queen might cost as much as $18 million a season, including bonuses, and Williams might cost $17 million a year with likely more money guaranteed than Queen as Williams is an older player. Seattle would not want to hurt itself by backloading the contract either. Doing so might make Seattle better in 2024 but sink the team in 2027.
Williams, however, is exactly what Macdonald needs as he is a beast against the run and is Seattle's best pass rusher among interior defensive linemen. He is probably even a bit better than Madubuike which means keeping Williams could be a win-win for player and team. Macdonald is going to put Williams in the best situations to succeed and Williams is good enough to take advantage of nearly any situation.
Signing both Queen and Williams is likely a pipedream. I admit that. But there is a possibility as Seattle is going to want to give Macdonald the defense he deserves and one that makes Seattle a playoff hopeful.
No. 3 - Seattle should sign guard Dalton Risner
Risner would not be the most expensive free agent on this list. Pro Football Focus only projects his next deal to pay him about $8 million per season over three years. That amount is likely less than what Seahawks free agent left guard Damien Lewis is probably going to get. Risner is also a better guard than Lewis so Seattle might get an upgrade in quality and not pay as much.
Lewis is probably a better run-blocker than Risner, but Risner does excel in pass protection. A lot of the pressure on Geno Smith in 2023 appeared to come from the inside of the line. This was not all Lewis' fault, obviously, as center Evan Brown got worse as the season wore on and the right guard was always a mess. But Risner would be a veteran presence that would help the new center (I am assuming Seattle replaces Brown, who is a free agent, with Olu Oluwatimi) and the new full-time right guard (whether that is soon-to-be second-year pro Anthony Bradford is a drafted rookie).
Risner has also shown the ability to adapt quickly to whatever new scheme is given him. He would be able to be a solid left guard while probably also teaching the rest of the offensive linemen how the scheme works. Seattle's defense should be better in 2024 but the offense needs to improve a bit as well. One way of getting that to happen would be to sign Risner.