The only thing harder than winning a Super Bowl is winning two. Building a Super Bowl-caliber roster is challenging, and keeping it together is even more pressing for the Seattle Seahawks. That means signing Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to extensions, which the team is one step closer to doing after choosing to pick up their fifth-year options this week.
The Seahawks entered the offseason with the sixth-most available cap space. As such, they could've opted to run it back with all of their free agents, or they could've even been tempted to spend big bucks to lure more stars to the team. Notably, General manager John Schneider chose neither.
While he re-signed some of his free agents, he chose not to keep guys like Kenneth Walker III, Riq Woolen, Coby Bryant, and Boye Mafe. He didn't go after Alec Pierce or Maxx Crosby, and the team has yet to make a big move. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and it has everything to do with Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The Seattle Seahawks want to lock up Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon
It's not a secret that the Seahawks want to sign Smith-Njigba and Witherspoon to big-money extensions. They can lock both of them up for the long run as early as this offseason, and there's no point in dragging negotiations; if anything, it'll only cost them more money.
The team is bound to extend them at some point anyway, after picking up their fifth-year options on Friday, so it makes sense to do so now that they have the financial means and a strong enough team to get by without the players who took their talents elsewhere.
According to Over The Cap, the Seahawks have $37.87 million in available cap space. They can gain nearly $5 million more by extending both of them, and that should give them more than enough money to sign all draft picks and still make some moves.
Smith-Njigba might reset the wide receiver market after leading the league with 1,793 receiving yards. He had 119 receptions on 163 targets, averaged a league-leading 14.5 yards per touch, scored ten touchdowns, and ran away with first-team All-Pro and Offensive Player of the Year honors.
Clearly, he was more than ready to be the No. 1 guy, and he became much more than just a slot specialist in his first season without Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. Now, he might look to eclipse Ja'Marr Chase's astronomical $40.25 million annual average value.
Witherspoon, on the other hand, might also be looking at a record-setting payday, topping Trent McDuffie's $31million annual salary. He's established himself as one of the league's main game-wrecking defensive backs, and he's just 25 years old.
Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked him as the No. 1 cornerback among 114 eligible players with an 89.9 overall grade. He was second in coverage grade (84.6), third in pass-rush grade (91.8), and second in run-defense (86.7). He broke up eight passes, gave up just 8.9 yards per catch, and only missed 7.7 percent of his tackles.
Great executives make moves for the future, even if that means sitting one out every couple of offseasons. This team didn't need many tweaks after dominating its way to the Vince Lombardi trophy last season, and they're doing the right thing by keeping their two best players at the center of their long-term vision.