The Seattle Seahawks have a roster that seems to be getting ever-better. Sure, Seattle has never been atrocious in the last decade-plus, but they did have an aging team that needed to be shaken up a bit after 2021. Seattle did just that in trading quarterback Russell Wilson and releasing linebacker Bobby Wagner.
Wagner proved to still be fantastic in 2022 when he played for the Los Angeles Rams. Wilson was fairly terrible last year with the Denver Broncos. Thankfully, Wagner has returned to Seattle for 2023, however, and hopefully, he will maintain his greatness.
The four players that follow on this list are a mix of veterans and young guys who still need to prove they can be starters after this season. The young guys could be pushed by someone behind them or leave in free agency. The veterans need to show they are worthy of being paid inflated contracts in 2024.
Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III
Kenneth Walker III is RB1 for the Seahawks. That much we know. Walker was excellent as a rookie and had over 1,000 yards rushing even though he wasn't the full-time starter until Week 5. He might have had 1,400 yards had he started to begin 2022. He also scored 9 touchdowns and he never fumbled. He has the speed and the knowledge of the offense to be fantastic in 2023.
But he could be chased for his starting spot by rookie Zach Charbonnet if Walker doesn't build off of last season when the new one begins. Charbonnet has the strength and toughness to run between the tackles and possibly pick up yards that Walker doesn't. Walker has better breakaway speed, but sometimes a team just needs three yards instead of trying to go for 40.
Hopefully, Walker will get the majority of the rushing attempts this season and be near-Pro Bowl quality. He has that ability. But he can't rest on what happened in 2022. He needs to come into training camp and begin the season as if he is proving himself all over again.
Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett
I in no way to think Tyler Lockett does anything complacently. He works hard to make himself better and get himself in great shape. But Lockett also needs to prove himself in 2023 once again to some degree. The reason is because Lockett's cap hit skyrockets in 2024 and the Seahawks might have a decision about whether to retain him or not.
Lockett's cap hit in 2023 is $11,060,000 but it balloons to $26,895,000 in 2024. If he were to be released next offseason (again, I in no way want this to happen; I am just speculating on the business of the NFL), Seattle would save $7,105,000. If they were to release him with a post-June 1st designation next offseason, the team would save $17 million. That's a ton of money to ignore.
Lockett is also going to be 32 years very close to the beginning of the 2024 season. That's not old for a human, but it's getting a bit long in the tooth for a smaller NFL wide receiver. Plus, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba might have been drafted to be WR3 this year, he could fully take Lockett's spot next season. Eventually, the Seahawks leading receiving duo will be Metcalf and Smith-Njigba and WR3 will not be Lockett but someone else.
Again, as I can feel the dislike burning from the readers, I believe Tyler Lockett will work his tail off to have another great season for Seattle. But eventually, all players are replaced and if Lockett gets injured and misses a bunch of time or if he isn't as productive as in previous seasons, Seattle might question whether they want to pay him what his contract in currently worth in future years.
Seahawks tight end Noah Fant
Noah Fant started his career with the Denver Broncos in a poor offense that couldn't get the best out of any of its players (that probably would have been true had he stayed with Denver in 2022 as well) and came to the Seahawks last year and was part of an offense that likes to focus more on its gifted wide receivers than give a lot of targets to its tight ends. In fact, Fant's targets went down by 27 after joining Seattle last year.
Seattle picked up Fant's fifth-year option for 2023 last offseason so he will get paid $6.85 million this season. That's not a ton of money for a productive tight end, but Fant hasn't truly been productive in his career so far. It's not really his fault, either, as he simply hasn't been a great fit for either offensive system he's been in. But that could change this year.
With Seattle drafting Smith-Njigba, there might be less attention on Fant. Opposing teams will have to worry about covering Metcalf, Lockett, and Smith-Njigba and that could leave a lot of room over the middle of the field for Fant to operate. Last season, Fant caught 79.4 percent of his targets for 486 yards and 4 touchdowns. He could get a lot closer to 10 touchdowns with so much attention paid to others.
But how much do the Seahawks really want to pay a tight end? They surprisingly gave Will Dissly a three year extension last offseason, but it was surprising because of how much money it was and how much of it was guaranteed for 2023, which is $5.64 million. Next season Dissly has zero dollars guaranteed, however, and would be $3.1 million in dead cap if he doesn't come back for 2024.
I bring this up because the battle for 2024 money at tight end could play out between Fant and Dissly in 2023. If Fant has a great year as a receiver, Seattle should want to bring him back. If he doesn't, Dissly is going to remain on the roster past this season.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith
Geno Smith, like Tyler Lockett, probably isn't going to get complacent, and he will likely come into training camp feeling like the leader of the offense and wanting to prove how good he can be once again. But Smith also needs to show he has worked at being even better than the second half of last year and that his accuracy is as pin-point as it was in 2022 when he led the league in completion percentage.
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While Seattle signed Smith to a three-year extension this offseason, the deal really works out to be a one-year tryout. If Smith, whose cap hit is just $10.1 million in 2023, continues to perform as he did last year, he will continue to get paid into 2024 by Seattle. But if Smith has a drop off in quality, Seattle could release him, have a cap savings of $13.8 million next offseason, and another $25 million in the offseason after the 2024 season. Smith has no guaranteed money on his contract in 2024 or 2025 and most of his dead cap past 2023 is due to his prorated bonus of $8.7 million in each of the next three seasons.
Last training camp, there seemed to be a real battle for who would start at QB between Smith and Drew Lock. In the first preseason game, Smith led an offense that appeared pedantic and non-explosive. But Lock came in and threw some beautiful passes and the offense moved. Many thought Lock should actually beat out Smith, but as it turned out Smith was a great fit as quarterback and the Seahawks offense thrived.
But what if Lock looks even better in training camp and preseason this year and Smith begins the season by being a bit off. How much would that scare offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and head coach Pete Carroll? Enough to not have Smith return in 2024?