Seattle Seahawks would be foolish not to pursue this Quandre Diggs replacement

The Seattle Seahawks got a bit of a gift late last week when the NFL announced its 2024 salary cap will be $30 million more than the cap was in 2023. This, along with quarterback Geno Smith's $9.6 million roster bonus being turned into a signing bonus, meant Seattle went from negative cap room to plus-$12 million. But Seattle still needs to make even more room by releasing some players.

Seattle also has backed itself into a financial corner in how it has signed its safeties. Two of Seattle's five biggest cap hits belong to safeties. That is ridiculous. Even if a team has great safeties, those players should not take up that great of cap room. Plus, Seattle's safeties in question, Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, were not very good in 2023.

Let's assume that Diggs and Adams were solid and productive this past season. Even if they had been the team should still not have cap hits north of $20 million on each of them. That is far too much.

Xavier McKinney would be a great signing for the Seattle Seahawks

Thankfully, Seattle could keep Julian Love, the Seahawks safety who made the Pro Bowl in 2023, and release Diggs and Adams and that would create an extra $17 million in cap room. With that new space, Seattle should chase free agent Xavier Mckinney. Love is only 25 years old and so is McKinney. The New York Giants free agent is projected by Pro Football Focus (subscription required) to get a contract that pays him $13.5 million a season for four years. Seattle should jump at that.

Love is signed through 2024 but deserves an extension. Signing McKinney and giving Love an extension should mean Seattle's safety duo is set for at least four years. Love can be the strong safety and McKinney can be the free safety. New head coach Mike Macdonald played more three-safety sets than anyone else in 2023 and if he has Love and McKinney he should know that whoever is the third member of the group is going to help make up one of the best safety groups in the league.

According to PFF, McKinney's coverage grades as both a free safety and in the slot were in the top ten in the league in 2023. He also missed just 7.8 percent of tackle attempts this season, compared to 12 percent for Diggs. McKinney is a well-rounded safety who could help Seattle in a multitude of ways.

With the savings from Diggs' release alone plus an extra $2 million from extra cap room that was announced, Seattle could sign a safety that would be a perfect fit in Macdonald's defense and make the team better. Plus, McKinney has a history of playing with Love (they both were on the Giants in 2022, for example) so on-field communication should not be an issue. One of Seattle's first moves in free agency should be signing McKinney.

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