The Seattle Seahawks currently have the least cap space in the league. While the number doesn't matter now, it will when the regular season begins. These four players are the most likely cap casualties.
I'll state at the onset these four players didn't make my seeya later list solely on the merits of the amounts of their cap hit. It did play a major role in the inclusion of each player, though. None of the four players I've listed appear on Lee Vowell's list of the Seahawks living on borrowed time. I assume he meant their time on the Seattle roster, not on the planet. I don't know for certain, as I thought I'd emulate a vocal minority of fans who can't be bothered to fully read headlines, let alone articles.
So my four guys are not the same four guys. Roster competition does play a large role for a couple of these players, but in one instance their performance level is a solid argument for keeping them in Seattle. But money is money, and that $2.03 million in cap space has to grow to well over $6 million just to cover the cost of the 2024 draftees. So in a couple of these cases, I'm not happy about the choice at all.
The Seattle Seahawks should begin the tough cuts with an easy decision
Jon Rhattigan (Cap savings: $2,985,000)
The cap savings would be the same for the Hawks' three-year vet whether Seattle releases him or trades him, pre-June 1st or post-June 1st. The same situation applies to the next two players as well. All Seahawks cap numbers are per Over The Cap, by the way. As you can see, if Rhattigan is off Seattle's roster for 2024, they'll incur no cap hit at all, a rarity for the team (or most any other, I imagine).
So why Rhattigan, a good, loyal and true member of the Seahawks since 2021? Yeah, I know he was playing behing Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner. Except Wagner was elsewhere in 2022, and Rhattigan still got zero snaps on defense. In three seasons, he has gotten 19 snaps on defense in two games. Yes, he's been excellent on special teams. Here's the thing; unless he's one of the league's best returners, or a kicker or punter, you don't pay a special-teams guys $3 million a year. Jon Rhattigan is a very expensive insurance policy, and the Hawks can find one at a much better price.
Finally, the Seahawks will move on from the one-trick pony
Darrell Taylor (Cap savings: $3,116,000)
Unlike Rhattigan, it will cost Seattle some cash to move on from Darrell Taylor: a whopping $20,000. That's the guaranteed money he received in his restructured contract. Yeah, yeah, I know all about how intrigued Coach Mike Macdonald is by Taylor. As quoted by Corbin Smith, Macdonald said, "I look forward to DT just coming in and competing every day. Talking to him, we want guys that are bought in on what we are doing on a day-to-day basis. I feel like he feels like he has a lot to prove as well."
That's precisely the issue with Taylor. He looks like he has a lot to offer every season, and then he underwhelms every season. Macdonald also brought up that the Seahawks' former second-round pick missed his entire rookie season with an injury, so his career got off to a rocky start, as opposed to the Rocky Top start we'd all hoped for.
Can we please, please move on from that narrative? Yes, we all know he missed his first year in the league. Just how many seasons does he get a pass for not developing in any way whatsoever since then? Taylor has had three full seasons on the field since then. In those 1,570 defensive snaps, he's posted 21.5 sacks. That's a decent number, but that's all he does.
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), he's accounted for just 60 tackles in all of those snaps. He's missed on another 21 attempts. That's an absolutely putrid rate of 25.9 percent. For reference, over his career, Boye Mafe has missed at half that rate, 12.8 percent. For those who insist that Macdonald can bring out the best - or beast - in Taylor, I really hope so.
The thing is, Boye Mafe had the same coaching staff as Taylor. He had the same opportunities as Taylor and passed him by. I believe Macdonald will discover what most 12s have known all along. At the end of the first half of the Hawks' second preseason game, John Schneider will be working the phones to send Taylor to the Titans for a sixth-round pick and a bag of Nashville Chicken. At least there, his heroics for the Tennessee Vols will earn him some cachet.
Sometimes, the third cut is the deepest
Michael Jackson (Cap savings: $3,116,000)
Now we're back in Jon Rhattigan territory, at least in terms of dead cap hit. It would cost Seattle exactly zero dollars to move on from Michael Jackson Sr., whether he's released or traded, and no matter when that occurs. Now, if you want to talk about what it would cost the Seahawks on the field, that's an entirely different story. This is the one move that I really hate.
Yeah, I'm sure you hate it enough for both of us. I'm sure I'll hear about this one if nothing else. PFF graded Jackson above Riq Woolen and Tre Brown last season. Also according to PFF, Jackson drew zero penalties; Brown and Woolen were flagged nine times, and even Witherspoon drew five penalties. Yes, penalties on a cornerback aren't necessarily bad; it may simply mean that they're playing aggressively.
That's certainly the case for Spoon. But Jackson is the only corner with at least two starts who didn't surrender a single touchdown. Yep, he missed too many tackles. He whiffed on 12.8 percent of his attempts. Only Witherspoon was better though, and he missed on 12.1 percent of his shots.
At 6'1" and 210 lbs, Jackson has great size for the position, That's especially true when you consider his main competitor for a roster spot, Tre Brown. Brown checks in at 5'10" and 186 pounds. Their 40 times are nearly identical, with Brown having the slight edge, 4.42 to 4.45. That three-hundredths of a second of extra speed means a bit less when it's delivered with 24 fewer pounds behind it, though. Depending on your source, there simply isn't that much to separate the two.
So it all comes down to their contracts. Moving Jackson would save the Seahawks $3.1 million, while Tre Brown's proposed departure shaves just $1.05 million off Seattle's cap. Unfortunately, that's a clear choice. Jackson would be the last of these four I'd release, though, that's for certain.
Anybody got a kicker? I could use one now
Jason Myers (Savings post-June 1st trade: $3,635, 000)
Myers is the only player of the group the Seahawks would need to trade to maximize their savings. If he's released before June 1st, it would actually cost Seattle $3.65 million. A post-June 1st cut would save a whopping $100,000 off the cap and add $5.41 million to their dead cap for 2024. A pre-June 1st trade would be even worse, as it would cost the Hawks $115,000 to trade him and add $5.6 million to their dead cap. Sure, those figures could be adjusted if the receiving team covers part of that hit, but why would they?
If Myers is traded after June 1st - well, you already read it. The Hawks save over $3.6 million this season. We know why the Seahawks might be willing to move on from Myers. His performance dropped considerably from 2022 to 2023. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rated him as the eighth-best kicker in 2022, but just 24th last year. That tends to happen when your field goal percentage drops from 92.1 to 83.3 percent. The biggest drop-off was in long kicks. He was 7-7 in 50+ yard kicks in 2022, but fell off to 4-8 last season.
I'm sure we all remember he had a terrible season in 2021. Myers only converted 17 of 23 attempts and was just 6-10 at 40 yards or more. And then he bounced back in 2023 with a stellar year. I don't have many doubts that he could do the same this year. But this year, Seattle can save some serious dough by moving him. I'd be happy if the Seahawks kept him, but $3.6 million is a lot of savings, especially when you have the least cap space in the league.
I'm sure you're asking why anyone would trade for Myers, if he had such a bad season, right? Last year Will Lutz of the Saints was coming off two back-to-back seasons of decline with the Saints. But New Orleans was still able to trade him to Denver. What, the Broncos trading for a player with fading talent? Unbelievable, I know. Meanwhile, the Patriots traded Nick Folk after he had an iffy 2023 campaign - he only made 8-14 kicks at 40+ yards.
In both cases, the trade was for a seventh-round pick. So while it might seem preposterous that a team would trade for a kicker after a down year, it happens, and could certainly happen again. Obviously, the Seahawks would have to find a free agent to bring in for a competition. But as we've seen, Mike Macdonald isn't exactly tied to any current Hawks player out of sentiment. Nor should he be. If trading Jason Myers puts Seattle in a position to win more games - or moving on from any of these players - it's the right move.