Seahawks addition of veteran safety a much better fit than Quandre Diggs

There's now little chance the Seattle Seahawks will bring 12's favorite Quandre Diggs back on a new contract, now that they've moved on to a less expensive replacement, Rayshawn Jenkins. They're not the same kind of player, but in most respects, Jenkins is even better.

It isn't exactly the same as seeing Bobby Wagner leave the Seahawks, but there's little doubt that the release of Quandre Diggs still stings. Yeah, his performance dropped a bit in 2022, but he was still a legit Pro Bowler. Last year, his playing level dropped quite a bit more. Sadly, it reached the point where it made more sense to cut him and save $11 million against this year's salary cap than keep him. To be clear, Diggs could still return, but it would be for a vastly reduced contract.

Diggs wasn't just a good performer on the field, though. He was a team captain in Seattle, and the self-appointed social media captain as well. Who first broke the news that Bobby Wagner was coming back to the Hawks in 2023? Adam Schefter? Tom Pelissero? No, it wasn't one of the top reporters who've covered the NFL for years. It was none other than the irrepressible Nino, Quandre Diggs. And now he's gone. As for the man who's replacing him on the field, surprise. 12s. He's an upgrade.

The Seattle Seahawks pair safety Rayshawn Jenkins with Julian Love

Now I'm sure a lot of 12s are already metaphorically shredding this article in rage for the suggestion that Rayshawn Jenkins could possibly be better than Diggs. Let me save you the trouble; feel free to copy and paste your outrage. "Diggs is a three-time Pro Bowler! Quandre has 24 career picks, 18 for the Hawks alone! Rayshawn has how many? 10? Man, I don't even know who this cat played for!"

First, nice choice of the term cat, as Jenkins played for the Jacksonville Jaguars for the last three seasons. You are correct, Outraged 12; Quandre Diggs has a lot more career interceptions than Rayshawn Jenkins and infinitely more Pro Bowl selections.

But over the past two seasons, they both have five interceptions. Over the past two seasons, Diggs broke up 12 passes; Jenkins had 24 pass defenses. Diggs allowed six scores, while Jenkins allowed just one. Sounds like round one goes to Jenkins. All stats are from Pro Football Reference, as linked.