Three first-year Seahawks who didn't earn a second season in 2024

None of these three players deserved to come back to the Seattle Seahawks, even though one has to return. That might not make a lot of sense now, but it will soon enough.

Like every team in the league, the Seahawks will take a flyer or two on a free agent for a one-year prove-it deal. Sometimes those deals work out pretty well. Geno Smith came to Seattle on a one-year deal in 2019 for just $895,000. He was guaranteed a "massive" $25,000. He did alright, despite a minority of detractors. He parlayed that into two winning seasons, a Comeback Player of the Year Award, and two Pro Bowl appearances.

Sadly, not every signee is a Geno Smith. Sometimes the Hawks would strike gold with a player like Jadeveon Clowney. Yes, I know Seattle traded for Clowney, but we're talking about players who spent one season in Seattle, no matter how they arrived. The only issue with Clowney was that he was so good, his price tag was simply too high to keep him, Ziggy Ansah also arrived in 2019. He's definitely in the category of players that didn't earn a second season with the team. As for last year's nominees, let's get to it.

The Seattle Seahawks saw enough of these three players in 2023

I suppose the point is that the Hawks didn't see enough of them, actually. At least not enough production to warrant bringing them back for another season. In the first case, the player wasn't just bad, he actually had a negative overall effect on the team. The second started out with some promise but grew worse as the season progressed. The last was as close to an empty roster spot as you could ever have. But as you'll see, the Seahawks will be keeping him around for a while.

Linebacker Devin Bush

When I wrote "warrant" above, I immediately thought of the former Steelers linebacker. No, he didn't actually commit a crime, but he came close enough in football terms. We'll get to that in a bit. He didn't give Seattle any reason to bring him back based on his overall performance. He got three starts and accounted for 37 combined tackles, five for a loss. He had zero QB hurries and broke up zero passes. He wasn't terrible, but he wasn't exactly good, either.

The biggest problem with Bush was one bush-league play (sorry, I couldn't resist) he made in the last game of the season. As recounted here, Bush dove for Kyler Murray after the Cards QB started his slide. The play was so egregious that Bobby Wagner pulled him aside and had a few choice words for him. Only the gross incompetence of NFL officiating saved him from a penalty and an Arizona first down in a one-score game. Good riddance to a cheap-shot player.