With the NFL trade deadline quickly approaching on November 4, plenty of eyes around the league are fixated on the Seattle Seahawks and what the team may look to do with cornerback Riq Woolen. The 26-year-old has been at the center of trade rumors and speculation for weeks all while dealing with injuries.
It’s not exactly clear if the Seahawks will want to move Woolen. After all, he is a starter, and the Seahawks have dealt with depth issues in the secondary because of injuries. Josh Jobe and Darien Kendrick have played mostly well, but not so much so that the Seahawks can just ship out a starter to get some mid-round picks in next year’s draft.
Still, reports and rumors indicate that teams around the league believe that Seattle could budge with the right offer. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell thinks he might have the deal Seattle is looking for.
Could a Riq Woolen trade offer a balanced return for the Seattle Seahawks?
As one of his 13 hypothetical trade suggestions around the league, Barnwell proposed that the Seahawks trade Woolen to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for fellow cornerback Kelee Ringo. Seattle would also send a 2026 fifth-round pick and receive a fourth-round pick in return in the mock trade.
Clearly, the move would make sense for Philly. Woolen would slot into a defensive secondary there that Ringo isn’t quite ready to crack. Woolen would see just as much, if not more traffic, but would have a supporting cast with Super Bowl experience to keep him going if nothing else.
For Seattle, they get cornerback depth, a young player with some promising potential, and a slightly better draft pick, in theory, than if they just let Woolen walk in free agency. All told, it’s not the most exciting trade Seattle could make at the deadline, but it could be viewed as a positive or net-neutral move.
Certainly, if the Seahawks are buyers at the trade deadline, they’ll be looking for a starting-caliber guard, an elite pass-rusher, or a linebacker who can rotate in. But if Woolen is the only bargaining chip they have, then there might not be a buyer who’s willing to part with Seattle’s needs.
One of the few guards that has been mentioned in trade rumors and such is Las Vegas Raiders second-year lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson. Maybe Pete Carroll would be willing to bring Woolen into his secondary in a similar trade to the one Barnwell proposed. After all, Woolen had far more success with Carroll than he’s had with Mike Macdonald, at least from a consistency point of view.
Either way, if Seattle is going to move on from Woolen within the next few weeks, Seahawks fans will likely be hoping for a more compelling offer than what Barnwell suggested.