3 players Seahawks must sign after hiring Mike Macdonald as head coach
By Lee Vowell
This offseason is going to be different for 12s and the Seattle Seahawks. No longer do we know what to expect from the team. While general manager John Schneider remains, Pete Carroll is gone and Carroll had full control over roster decisions. Now Schneider does.
Seattle also does not have a lot of matter to spend in free agency currently. Roster cuts will be made to create space, most likely. But then the question is what to do with the money?
Plus, which free agents will be signed to fit new head coach Mike Macdonald's defensive scheme? Who will be signed to improve the offense? Here are three players that would be terrific signings for Seattle.
No. 1 - Seattle Seahawks should chase linebacker Patrick Queen
Of the three players on this list, Queen might be the player least likely for Seattle to be able to sign. He will only be 25 years old during the 2024 season, plays at a high level, and Spotrac has his market value guessed to be $18.5 million. Seattle currently has nowhere near that money to spend this offseason, but cap space is malleable so if Seattle wants to sign a player they can probably find the money to do so. The key would be to not overpay for a guy so much that others cannot be signed.
Queen, specifically, would be a huge boon to Seattle's defense. He knows what Mike Macdonald wants from his linebackers and Queen can pass that knowledge on to whoever is beside him at inside linebacker. Hopefully, that player is Jordyn Brooks because then the Seahawks would have two young linebackers who can help be the core of the defense for the next three to four years.
Queen does have the ability to rush opposing quarterbacks, so his 3.5 sacks in 2023 can be misleading. Macdonald does not like to blitz (which helps Macdonald's overall defensive scheme) so his linebackers do not put up huge sack totals. But that also allows his linebackers to be better and more disciplined in coverage and Queen excels at that. He is also a solid tackler with no glaring weaknesses.