How the Seattle Seahawks are getting close to contending again
Seahawks free agency success
If there has been one constant with the Seattle Seahawks under Pete and John, it’s been a quiet free agency. Sure, they made a ton of moves during the building years, but most of those moves were made to build up a competitive roster while their draft would bring the stars. Whenever the Hawks have made moves, they typically have been in the later waves of free agency.
This year was different thanks to the Geno Smith extension. The Seahawks being able to take a team-friendly financial gamble on a guy in Geno who played like a top-10 quarterback was huge to kick off the offseason. If Geno plays as he did for most of last season, the Seahawks have the 2nd best QB in the NFC on a very low cap hit. If he struggles, there are options (Drew Lock) to try and salvage the season while the contract is extremely easy to get out of in 2024. I believe in Geno, and there are real reasons as to why he’ll be better this season, but his contract allowed the Seahawks to be as aggressive as they’ve ever been.
This year was different. In the first wave, the Seahawks went out and got the up-and-coming DT Dre’ Jones from Denver for 3 years and $51 million dollars. There’s a lot of evidence to show that Jones is about to become one of the best in the league at his position, and it’s exciting to see the Seahawks attack a weakness with a player that is still getting better. Jones brings respectability to a position group that was pretty embarrassing trying to stop the run in 2022.
The aggressiveness continued as the Seahawks signed the underrated S Julian Love from the Giants, LB Devin Bush from Pittsburgh, and C Evan Brown from Detroit, and brought home DT Jarran Reed and the legend Bobby Wagner.
While Bush and Reed may be lottery tickets, trying to recapture some 2018-2019 magic, the rest of the FA haul should provide immediate impact. Bobby Wagner is not the best LB in the league anymore, but he was fantastic in LA last year and should provide a massive boost to the run defense and get after the QB a bit more than what we saw from Cody Barton last year. Julian Love’s versatility to play multiple positions in the secondary should help both the pass and run defense for the Seahawks, and allow a healthy Jamal Adams to thrive as a weapon more than just a safety.
While the scheme fits and talent is great, it's also a huge bonus that Seattle is getting a major attitude and culture change by bringing Jones and Wagner onto this talented, but young team. I have a hard time seeing these two guys letting the defense struggle as much as they did stopping the run.
Free agency brought us culture and stars, thanks to Geno Smith and the front office being aggressive.