Not all hope is gone for the 2023 Seattle Seahawks yet but hopes being completely dashed seems more logical than hopes for the playoffs. Seattle is 1-4 in its last five with the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles coming up in Week 14 and 15, respectively. Seattle could finish 9-8 but still miss the playoffs.
General manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll are probably still thinking about 2023, of course, but they likely have an eye on 2024 as well. Good teams don't think week-by-week but a few years ahead. And while Seattle hasn't been great recently, they have been more successful than most teams since 2010.
Thinking positively, and which players have done well this year, I offer three suggestions on impending free agents Seattle should bring back next year. One might just be re-signed for one season. The other players, however, could be re-signed for three years.
Seahawks need to bring back Bobby Wagner
I know Bobby Wagner will be 34 years old in 2024 and while that is ancient for a linebacker in the NFL, Wagner seems to be a different breed of cat. Or in the case of the Seahawks, osprey. According to Pro Football Focus (watch out for that paywall!), Wagner is graded as the 10th-best linebacker in the NFL in 2023. Is he great in coverage? No, but he never has been and that hasn't stopped him from a career that should result in him being a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Wagner also is unlikely to be expensive in free agency. That is not his fault, either. NFL teams simply do not like paying at some positions once a player is north of 30 years old. Running back is one and linebacker is another. Wagner's numbers as far as tackles for loss (6), quarterback hits (5), and sacks (2.5) are trending toward being better than most seasons since 2017 (though not as good as 2022).
Wagner currently makes $7 million in 2023 and bringing him back in 2024 for that much makes sense. Seattle does give up more points this year than in 2022, but the run defense is better and that is Wagner's main department. If the Seahawks can get coaching that communicates better with the players during the game and game plans better, Wagner should be able to help those coaches execute the scheme.
Seattle should bring back Jordyn Brooks
Brooks made a superhuman return in Week 1 after suffering a major knee injury late in 2022. Initially it was assumed he would not return until November of 2023 but he has played well since he came back showing he was at full strength to begin the season. In many ways, Brooks is having a career year just in time for his first taste of NFL free agency.
In 2023, Brooks has already exceeded career-highs in sacks (he has 4.5), quarterback hits (5), and likely will exceed his high for tackles for loss (he has 8 and his career high is 10 and there are five games left). The fourth-year pro is not going to get close to his number of combined tackles in 2021 and 2022, but he is also being used in a slightly different way for Seattle compared to 2022. Defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt is trusting Brooks' speed to be more aggressive at the line.
Brooks, like the rest of the defense, does need to work on his missed tackles, though. He has missed a career-high 8.6 percent so far in 2023. While his coverage skills are still not elite, he has a lower yards-per-catch rate (8.7) than in the two previous years. He also has a pick-six which he got against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 12.
The Seahawks did not pick up Brooks' fifth-year option ahead of the 2022 season so the former first-round draft pick in 2020 will be a free agent. He is also just 26 years old, though. He should have a number of very good years ahead of him and hopefully those years are spent with the Seahawks.
Seahawks need to try to bring back Leonard Williams
There are two big questions about Leonard Williams. One is how much he will cost in free agency. The other is whether he wants to return to Seattle as much as the Seahawks might want him back. Seattle traded a second-round draft pick to the New York Giants for Williams after Week 8 and he has been excellent for Seattle in five games with 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, and 4 QB hits. He is extremely disruptive along the interior of the defensive line, though he doesn't get a lot of help at times.
Williams will be 30 years old at the start of 2024, but he has mostly stayed healthy in his nine years. He has made at least $16,126,000 every season since 2020 so he probably isn't going to expect a significant pay decrease beginning in 2024. He has played well enough to keep earning that kind of money.
Seattle could release underperforming Dre'Mont Jones after 2023 and save nearly $5 million and apply all that money toward a new deal with Williams. The Seahawks also aren't up against the cap next year either, and with a few moves or restructures, Seattle should be able to create plenty of cap room to entice Williams to return if he so wishes.
Williams, however, might want to go to a team with a real chance of winning the Super Bowl. Based on 2023, the Seahawks do not appear capable of doing that in 2024. Plus, since Williams came to the team is just 1-4 so nothing the Seahawks have done should make Williams think about sticking around if he truly does want to play for a contender next year.