Seattle Seahawks free agency: Which free agents Seattle should catch or release
By Lee Vowell
Seahawks should let these players walk away
Linebacker Devin Bush
I was fairly indifferent about Bush prior to Week 18. He was a healthy scratch in many games this year. While he was in on 17 tackles in Week 17 - a game where the Seahawks literally got run over much of the contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers - only 4 of those were solo tackles. But in Week 18, Bush hit Cardinals Kyler Murray after Murray had given himself up by sliding and Bush celebrated the hit. Pete Carroll should have walked out on the field and told Bush then and there that he had been released.
Guard Phil Haynes
Haynes has simply been too injured over his five-year career with Seattle to be counted on moving forward. He also no longer has a starting spot as Anthony Bradford has taken that. Haynes should leave no matter how little it would take to re-sign him.
Center Evan Brown
Brown's biggest issue with re-signing in Seattle isn't that he wasn't consistently good in 2023 (Brown was graded as the 30th-best center in the NFL this season, per PFF). It is that the Seahawks drafted Olu Oluwatimi in the 2023 NFL draft. Oluwatimi should be the starter moving forward.
Offensive lineman Jason Peters
Peters retired once and he will probably just do that again. It was an honorable move for him to come out of retirement to try to help the Seahawks this year, though. He just wasn't very good and an injury risk.
Cornerback Artie Burns
I don't dislike Burns. He is just never going to be close to a starter. The Seahawks need to find more cornerback in the 2024 NFL draft and release Burns.
Linebacker Darrell Taylor (RFA)
Taylor does one thing decently and that is pressure opposing quarterbacks, but he does that extremely inconsistently. In 2023, Taylor had a career-low in sacks and quarterback hits. His reps should be taken by someone who plays the run better and that literally might be anyone else in the world.
Linebacker Jon Rhattigan (RFA)
I mean this as no offense to Rhattigan. He plays hard, but he is not going to help much more than on special teams. He is taken up a roster spot that could be filled by someone who is more versatile.
Tight end Brady Russell (ERFA), offensive lineman McClendon Curtis (ERFA), offensive lineman Raiqwon O’Neal (ERFA), Linebacker Josh Omujiogu (ERFA)
These players are easily re-signable for Seattle, but none are likely to play meaningful snaps. There is no reason to keep them near the roster or on the practice squad if that is the case.