General manager John Schneider of the Seattle Seahawks has never been afraid to make a move that might help his team. While most of those moves have come before the season, Seattle did acquire left tackle Duane Brown in 2017. One rumor has Seattle sending a player away this season, though.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, teams are asking if Seattle might be interested in dealing cornerback Riq Woolen. Woolen is in his fourth year in the league, has a career quarterback rating allowed of a very good 71.9, but he's a free agent next offseason. Seattle might not want to pay him.
While Woolen is great in coverage at times, he has made a lot of errors this season (he has been penalized five times through four games), and he isn't good against the run. Still, teams don't pay loads of money to cornerbacks because they are good against the run, but rather, because they can shut down good receivers.
Seattle Seahawks could be thinking of trading Riq Woolen
Woolen has shown the capability of being an elite coverage corner. He has also shown he can make terrible mistakes at the worst times, such as he did in the San Francisco 49ers' last drive of Week 1.
Of course, if Schneider doesn't get as much back in a trade as he wants, Woolen will remain in Seattle and stay a starter. Rapoport's report is erroneous in one aspect. He mentions Woolen has seen "diminished" playing time, and this is false. The cornerback has played on 97 percent of defensive snaps for the Seahawks this season.
But if the return is good for Riq Woolen, and this includes a player or a draft pick, then Schneider is going to think about dealing a player he would have to pay too much for next offseason.
The Las Vegas Raiders, led by former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, would be a logical place for Woolen. Carroll would love to reunite with the cornerback. Maybe Seattle could get a third-round pick or wide receiver Jakobi Meyers back in return.
Meyers has requested a trade, so the move makes sense. John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald might not want to trade defense for offense, however.
The Seattle Seahawks are built to win with an efficient offense and elite defense. At his best, Riq Woolen can supply elite defense. Mike Macdonald knows this, or the coach would have made a move to replace the four-year veteran. Most likely, Woolen will stay with Seattle through the rest of this season, but don't be surprised if he doesn't.