3 pressing priorities for Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald in 2024
By Lee Vowell
Getting the most out of the young defensive talent
Seattle has a couple of units in the defense that need a lot of work. Defensive line is one, of course, but so is linebacker and safety. The concern with the linebacker group is that Seattle currently has no proven linebackers on the roster in 2024. Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, and Devin Bush are all free agents. Seattle's tight cap space might make re-signing Brooks difficult while Wagner might not return due to age and price tag.
Another problem area is at safety. Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams were not good in 2023 and they add up to more than $50 million in cap hits. They probably could both be released. That would leave the Seahawks extremely shallow on the back end of the defense except for one player. That is Julian Love who will only be 26 years old in Week 1 of 2024.
That last part is key, however. Seattle has quite a bit of young talent on defense. Love is just one player, but cornerback Devon Witherspoon is only 23 and edge rusher Boye Mafe is 25. Cornerback Riq Woolen had an off-year in 2023 but was good in 2022 and Woolen is just 24.
Macdonald will not inherit a defense with the overall talent the Ravens had this season, but Seattle is also not without talent. In fact, most of the talent the Seahawks do have is young. This would not have been lost on Macdonald. He does not want to come to Seattle and fail. He likely saw the roster and who was under contract and thought, "Yeah, I can win with that."