The Seattle Seahawks have had a more chaotic offseason than any in the last 14 years. The coaching staff has changed, the roster has seen a lot of turnover, and John Schneider is fully in charge of roster decisions for the first time ever.
Seattle will have new starters at linebacker and mostly new at safety. The offensive line is still a work in progress but will also have a lot of changes. Seattle has a new offensive line coach, Scott Huff, one hopes can take whatever pieces are given to him and mold them into a good unit.
But while many players are gone from 2023, some players who could have important years are returning. Of the players on this list, one is fan-favorite. The others could end up being that way, however, with great production next season.
Seattle Seahawks right guard Anthony Bradford should be happy
The Seattle Seahawks offensive line is clearly an issue currently, so much so that new head coach Mike Macdonald fielded a question about it at the NFL's owners meetings this week. Macdonald had to make sure 12s understood the line was still a work in progress and what fans see now might not be how the line ends up being. Currently, Seattle has one sure thing in Charles Cross at left tackle and then a bunch of ifs.
But after Seattle was not overly aggressive in free agency in general, but specifically not with the offensive line, Bradford should feel pretty good about himself. Seattle only signed Nick Harris and Tremayne Anchrum, Jr., and neither player is truly capable of taking Bradford's spot as a starter in 2024. Even if Seattle signs another guard somehow, that player will probably be a left guard and not one for the right side.
But Bradford still needs to prove he can play at a high level. While rookies can take a bit of time to acclimate to the league, Bradford was especially bad in 2023. In terms of pass-blocking, he was the eighth-worst-graded guard in the league, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He allowed 28 total pressures in 419 pass-block snaps. That's bad, but Bradford seems set to start full-time next season.
Safety Julian Love should be asking for an extension
Much of the reason that the Seahawks moved on from Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs this offseason is because their cap hits were immense and releasing them saved Seattle about $18 million combined. But neither Diggs nor Adams were good this past season. Adams simply remained gimpy because of injuries he always seems to have. Diggs, however, was maybe the more disappointing because he had been so excellent in his previous three seasons with Seattle.
Another problem with the 2023 team was that former head coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt appeared bent on playing Adams (when he was healthy enough to play) and Diggs over Julian Love. This came back to bite them a bit as Love was one of the few Seattle players who received a Pro Bowl nod last season. Love was also the highest-graded safety on the roster, according to PFF.
And yet, during some of Seattle's most important games, Love didn't get the reps he should have. In four games in 2023, Love got 30 or fewer defensive snaps. The team went 1-3 in those games which means Seattle was 8-5 when Love played more. Against the Cincinnati Bengals, he got 24 snaps, and only 18 against the Dallas Cowboys for some reason.
Hopefully, general manager John Schneider understands Love's value more than Carroll and Hurtt did. Mike Macdonald, one can assume, is definitely going to know how to use Love better than his predecessors. Very likely, the safety could have his best season in the league under Macdonald, and Love's agent should think of how much money he wants his client to get in an extension with Seattle before the safety hits free agency next offseason.
Edge rusher Darrell Taylor should breathe a sigh of relief
Seattle could have let Taylor walk away as a restricted free agent and not paid him the $3,136,000 that he is owed in 2024 since the team tendered him. The edge rusher has not shown he is capable of playing the run consistently well at all and isn't a very good tackler. To make matters worse, Taylor has flashed an ability to chase down quarterbacks but he hasn't proven he has the ability to game-in and game-out be productive in that area.
2024 will likely be a prove-it year for Taylor, assuming he makes the team. Seattle could still release him before final roster cuts and save $3 million. Maybe Seattle wanted to keep Taylor on the squad so that Mike Macdonald could have a long look at him to see how well he can use him in the new defensive scheme. Maybe Macdonald can teach Taylor to be a better player overall.
Macdonald showed when he was the DC for the Baltimore Ravens that he does like players who can be interchangeable. The coach should likely have a very good idea of when to plug the edge rusher in and maximize his capability. If Taylor is not consistent, Macdonald won't play him, and Taylor will be with another team in 2025.
But thinking positively, Macdonald's streamlined approach to communicating his scheme might be exactly what Taylor needs to succeed. Perhaps Taylor not having to think too much and simply reacting to what is happening in front of him would be best for the player. We will certainly know the answer to this next season.
Wide receiver Tyler Lockett should feel loved
This one gets a bit more complicated and goes both ways. The Seattle Seahawks likely had strong thoughts about moving on from Lockett because he is an aging receiver who in 2023 had his worst season since 2017. Instead of Seattle's passing game exploding after adding rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the offense digressed last season. This was not all Lockett's fault, of course, but he also was not his best.
Tyler Lockett also could have chosen not to work with the team on a restructured contract and ultimately take less money to come back in 2024. He could have been released and then tried to test the free agency market. But the team, the receiver, or 12s wanted to see Lockett play for another team.
Lockett's contract now is structured to imply that he will not be back in 2025. Over the Cap lists his cap number in 2025 at $30,895,000 which is far too much for a smaller receiver who will be 33 years old during the season after next. Lockett has zero dollars in guaranteed money after 2024 as well. Releasing him would save the team $17 million.
Lockett, though, could rebound to his pre-2023 levels, especially as the Seahawks have a new offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, who is much more likely than former OC Shane Waldron to maximize what Lockett can do. Lockett's targets might dip, but his yards could increase because of the design of the offense. That is the hope anyway.