5 Seahawks the team was right to cut ties with after 2023
By Lee Vowell
Seahawks need to move on from Quandre Diggs
Diggs was a fantastic player for several seasons in Seattle and was a trusted leader in the locker room. His calm likely helped young players, such as Devon Witherspoon, develop a bit faster than they might have otherwise. But Diggs was an aging player who played a position that required lots of speed. If Diggs was a half-step slower then he was going to be a lot less effective.
Diggs had his worst season with the Seahawks in 2023. Much of that can likely be attributed to Diggs seemingly being a bit slower. He missed 20 tackles - 17.5 percent of his tackle attempts, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required) - which was his second-highest total since 2016 and his highest in a full season with Seattle. He allowed 71.4 percent of the passes thrown his way to be completed, his highest number since 2018. His one interception was his fewest since 2016.
All those disappointing numbers made Seattle's decision to release Diggs a bit easier. His release also saved the team $11 million. For a team tight against the cap, the savings was a no-brainer to take.
Seattle having defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt was a mistake
Hurtt was placed in a bad situation, to be honest. He had never been a defensive coordinator prior to Carroll promoting him before the 2022 season. Hurtt might have had ideas about how the defense should work, but he was probably also much more of a "yes man" and deferred to Carroll more than a veteran defensive coordinator would have.
Under Hurtt's predecessor, Ken Norton Jr., Seattle mostly ranked in the 20s in terms of yards allowed. That isn't great, of course, but Hurtt's two defenses ranked 26 (2022) and 30 (2023). While Norton was not a good DC, the defense got worse under Hurtt.
The main issue is that while Norton's defenses gave up too many yards, the units normally ranked in the middle of the league in points allowed. Hurtt's defenses, though, ranked 25th in both his seasons. Again, Norton was not a great DC, but he appeared better than Hurtt so there was little reason for the Seahawks to keep Hurtt in a position where he seemed to have no answers for how to improve things.