The Seattle Seahawks have a cap problem in 2024. The issue is they have no money to spend. The team is currently 24th in cap room heading into the offseason but has negative cap space. Some players currently on the roster in 2024 will need to be released.
Plus, some players set to be free agents for Seattle will probably not be re-signed. Seattle has to sign its 2024 draft picks and then figure out which positions have the greatest need. The Seahawks are set to have no proven linebackers on the team next year, for instance.
I do not have Jamal Adams on the list of fan favorites that will likely not return as I think he has lost some luster. I could have included Quandre Diggs, but I did not. Diggs and Adams could easily be cap casualties due to the size of their contracts. But here are three other players who might not return.
Colby Parkinson might not return to the Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks only have one proven tight end under contract for 2024 and that is Will Dissly. Dissly has become more of a blocker than a pass receiver over the last couple of years so Seattle needs to find a couple of compliments to Dissly's blocking acumen who can catch the ball. Parkinson has proven to be a pretty reliable blocker as well in his four seasons, but he hasn't been given enough targets in the passing game.
Parkinson likely will not command a lot of the open free agency market as he hasn't had a chance to put up a bunch of great numbers. His agent will try to sell to the Seahawks and other teams that Parkinson has a career catch-rate of 73.5 percent and his run-block grade over the last two seasons, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required) is solid.
Parkinson can also run decently well after he has the ball in his hands and is tall enough to be used as a red-zone target. Seattle just rarely used him that way. Maybe whoever Seattle's new offensive coordinator is has a history of having productive tight ends, but if I was Parkinson I'd probably leave to go to a team that I know will give me more pass targets which will only increase my asking price the next time I am a free agent.
Tyler Lockett might not be back next year
Seattle has to make some tough cap decisions and there is no debate about that. The team currently has zero cap room. The only way of creating cap space is to trade players, re-work contracts and convert base salary to bonuses, or release players. If the Seahawks were to release safeties Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams, and tight end Will Dissly, the team would save about $24 million. That still is not enough, however.
Lockett would be difficult to part with. He is arguably the second-best receiver in Seahawks history - statistically, he definitely is - and he is a great veteran presence in the locker room on an otherwise fairly young roster. He is as good of a person as he is a football player. There is every chance that Lockett could simply retire and devote more of his time to running his foundation instead of collecting more money playing football.
But the harsh reality is that Lockett is getting old for a receiver that relies on quickness instead of physicality to get open. Lockett will turn 32 years old early in the 2024 season. 2023 was his worst season since 2017 as he had the least amount of receiving yards, touchdown receptions, and yards per catch since that season. This even though he had the second-most targets of his career this season.
Seattle would save $7,105,000 by releasing Lockett prior to June 1. If they let him go with a post-June 1 designation, the team would save $17 million, though Seattle could not use that savings until after June 1 and most high-quality free agents would probably have signed elsewhere. The other option is to sign Lockett to an extension but the added years would be when Lockett was even older and likely less productive.
Bobby Wagner is unlikely to return
Bobby Wagner is a free agent and can sign anywhere he wants. Seattle had already let him leave before when the Seahawks released Wagner in 2022 and he signed with the Los Angeles Rams for one season. Wagner returned in 2023, of course, and Wagner led the league in tackles and was named Second-Team All-Pro by the Associated Press. He was very good, but he will also be 34 years old in 2024.
The biggest question is whether Mike Macdonald and John Schneider want to draft a linebacker high in the 2024 NFL draft while also trying to re-sign Jordyn Brooks. This would make Seattle's starting inside linebacker duo young but that would be better for the future of the team. Bringing Wagner back would probably mean the team faces the same problem with their linebackers in 2025; how to replace Wagner?
There are definitely advantages to trying to keep Wagner. He is still fantastic in most aspects of the game. He also might improve in coverage under the coaching of Macdonald. In Baltimore, for instance, Macdonald had a scheme where his linebackers were among the best in terms of coverage in the league. Wagner would also be a good player to have in the locker room.
The hold-up to bringing Wagner back is money. Since Seattle does not have much, they would need to prioritize how they spend it. That could mean youth over experience. If $5 million goes toward Wagner, that would be $5 million that could not go toward trying to re-sign Brooks. Wagner will be 34, but Brooks will only be 26.