I hope I didn't give too much away in the subheading above. No, I do not have former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson on the list of players that follow. In fact, if I made another list about who Seattle held on to for too long, Wilson might make that one.
None of the players that follow are quarterbacks. That's ultimately a good thing because for most of the last quarter of a century, Seattle has had a good QB at the helm. Matt Hasselbeck to Russell Wilson (except for a year between) to Geno Smith? Other franchises likely wish for that kind of 23-year run.
But what might have made some seasons of Seattle football even better is if they had not given up on some guys too early. Just a player here or three could have made a good Seattle team into a contender. Here are four players who should have stayed.
Former (and now current!) Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner
OK, yes. I am cheating with this one a bit. But the Seahawks are now so aware of the error that had in the 2022 offseason that they needed Wagner to come back in 2023. Wagner, after spending 10 years in Seattle, was released last offseason because his contract was too massive to keep on. While that makes sense, Wagner leaving ultimately doomed the Seahawks' defense, especially when they needed Wagner's leadership the most.
If the Seahawks had thought better of their decision to move on from Wagner, the financial part might not have been such a big deal. Clint Hurtt was entering his first year as defensive coordinator with Seattle in 2022 and Wagner leaving left Seattle's defensive quarterback duties to Jordyn Brooks. Brooks wasn't ready to lead the defense as it turns out, and that calculated risk was just that; A huge risk.
Wagner would have helped smooth the transition for Hurtt into being the DC and Wagner would have helped the young guys on Seattle's defense understand the on-field communication better. One big problem with Seattle's D in 2022 was the poor on-field communication and missed assignments. Oh, and plus Wagner was a complete beast for the Los Angeles Rams last year with 6 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. But now Wagner's back simply because Seattle saw the error in its ways.
Former Seahawks receiver Golden Tate
Golden Tate is in Seattle Seahawks news again because of a recent appearance he had on KJ Wright's podcast, KJ All Day. On the podcast, Tate goes in depth about why he left Seattle. It may have had to do with some rumors about Tate having an affair with quarterback Russell Wilson's then-wife. Tate disputes that ever occurred, but it does appear Wilson had something to do with Tate not being welcome back in free agency after the 2013 season.
Whether or not Wilson gave general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll his opinion, Schneider and Carroll should have been the big boys in the room and decided to keep Tate. Seattle was eventually switching away from being so run-heavy and was going to feature Wilson more with the offense. To truly succeed, Seattle would need very good receivers. Maybe this move to throwing more wasn't going to happen in 2014, but likely by 2015, and no NFL team thinks just one season ahead; It's usually at least two.
Seattle already had Doug Baldwin on the team in 2014, but he hadn't yet proven himself to be a great receiver. Second on the team in receiving yards after Baldwin's 825 was Jermaine Kearse with only 537. Tate might not have been a 1,000-yard guy with the Seahawks in 2014, but he definitely would have given the offense more reasons for an opposing defense to be afraid. In 2015, Seattle threw the ball a lot more (running back injuries factored in as well), and Baldwin went over 1,000 yards and Tate likely could have had at least 900 himself.
Tate, though, left Seattle and signed with the Detroit Lions. Between 2014 and 2017, Tate had three 1,000-yard receiving seasons and he made the Pro Bowl in 2014. Would he have been a little expensive for Seattle to re-sign? Maybe. But he wasn't brought back to the Seahawks because of Russell Wilson and that was a mistake on Seattle's part.
Former Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark
Frank Clark left Seattle because he wanted to get paid, and he did. In 2019, Seattle traded Clark to the Kansas City Chiefs after working out a deal where Clark would be franchise-tagged and then dealt. The Seahawks would have had to create cap space for Clark, but Seattle had the money to move around. Instead, Seattle to see the bottom dollar instead of the production and Clark left.
The season before Clark, he had 13 sacks and 27 quarterback hits which led Seattle. He also had 10 tackles for loss. His presence also made it easier for defensive tackle Jarran Reed to see more one-on-one blocking and Reed had 10 sacks and 24 quarterback hits. Clark was only 26 years old when he went to the Chiefs so he would have had a number of years to be a very good Seahawk.
After Clark left in 2019, Seattle's sack leader was Rasheem Green who only had 4. The leader among the defensive line in quarterback hits was Jadeveon Clowney with only 7. In 2020, the leader in sacks among defensive linemen was Reed with 6. Meanwhile. Clark made three straight Pro Bowls with the Chiefs and is closing in on the all-time postseason record for sacks.
Seattle still hasn't really resolved the loss of Clark. The team rebuilt its defensive line this offseason mostly because they couldn't stop the run, but to be fair they couldn't get sustained quarterback pressure either. Clark should have never left the Seahawks and his staying would have helped fix many of the problems that have arisen since he left.
Former Seahawks center Max Unger
As part of one of the worst trades in Seahawks history, Seattle decided to get greedy and add tight end Jimmy Graham in a trade from the New Orleans Saints in return for center Max Unger. This, of course, becasically undid lots of things Seattle had previously done well and confirmed the offense would be more Russell Wilson moving forward than Marshawn Lynch. Seattle just didn't seem to know how to handle the success of 2013 followed by the Super Bowl failure of the 2014 season.
Graham wasn't a bad guy, but he was a bad blocker. Graham was a glorified wide receiver in a tight end body. Seattle didn't throw much to their tight ends, so all of a sudden adding a tight end capable of catching a high volume of passes seemed odd. Would Seattle even know what to do with Graham? The ulitmate answer turned out to be no.
Meanwhile, while the Seahawks offensive line wasn't the best in the league, it also wasn't as bad as it would be without Unger. Unger was a formidable veteran presence - smart and strong - in the middle of offensive line. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2012 and was a Pro Bowler in 2013. He had an injury-filled 2014, but he still was only 28 years old when Seattle traded him. After going to the Saints, Unger would start every game but one over the next four seasons and make the Pro Bowl again in 2018.
As it turned out, the Unger for Graham (and a couple of draft picks involved) didn't turn out well for either team. New Orleans' offense was never the same as it lost a huge target for Drew Brees and Seattle is still truly looking for Unger's replacement. Maybe rookie Olu Oluwatimi will be the very good center for many seasons Seattle has needed, but there would have been a nine-year break between Unger and the next good long-term center for the Seahawks.