Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks.
12’s, you don’t need my permission, but if you were looking for someone who agreed with your disappointment, this is the right place. On the other hand, if you think the Seattle Seahawks had a good offseason, I’d like to direct you to my friend Dr. Samantha Saunders, a depressive realism therapist. (Note: Dr. Samantha Saunders is a fictional character, but thank you for Googling her).
It’s okay to be disappointed by the Seahawks this offseason because Seattle has only three draft picks. When was the last time anyone was excited about a Seahawks draft? It’s been a while.
The Seahawks haven’t drafted in the top half of the first round in over a decade. Even after they drafted, it’s hard to get excited. Most so-called experts tend to give Seattle lower than expected grades for their picks.
Yet the Seahawks keep winning. Even with all of that mediocrity or worse throughout their draft history, they still keep winning. Where Seattle picks is another reason not to be excited about this offseason. Due to the Jamal Adams trade last year, their first pick is in the second round (56th overall). The other two picks are in the fourth and seventh rounds.
It’s okay to be disappointed by the Seahawks this offseason, franchise mainstay K.J. Wright is still available in free agency. Our most notable signings have been players that we released and resigned. Carlos Dunlap, one of the reasons we don’t have a lot of draft picks. He came in exchange for a seventh-round pick. Also, not many 12s were disappointed that the Seahawks traded their 2021 fifth-round draft pick to Las Vegas for guard Gabe Jackson, but it’s okay if you were.
Seattle isn’t in a position to make many more moves as they are currently about $7M under the cap. While the draft class won’t take up much of that money, the Seahawks are in a poor position to acquire additional depth (especially if they bring back Wright).
It’s okay to be disappointed by the Seahawks this offseason; after all of the noise that Russell Wilson and his agent caused. This was the most controversial part of the entire period, and it brought out the worst in our fanbase. In truth, it was exhausting.
Some 12’s shut down and refused to watch the madness and media circus. But some of them did not. Some put on their keyboard warrior gloves and started throwing haymakers, which is like trying to knock out Tyson Fury with a paragraph.
It’s hard to be disappointed in the player who has meant the most to the franchise in its history. While Wilson isn’t entirely responsible for winning football games, he is always responsible for losing them, it seems, at least from the armchair quarterbacks that dislike him so strongly.
After the Super Bowl, Wilson demanded (in his Russell Wilson way) that the Seahawks add offensive line help. That sparked some controversy.
Could he use more offensive line help? Of course, he’s been sacked over 40 times every year except his rookie year. But is some of this on him? Absolutely. He routinely has one of the highest snap-to-release averages in the NFL. Part of it is based on really poor play calling, and part of that is Wilson’s desire to always go for the home run on scramble plays.
He also said he wanted more say in both personnel and game planning. Granted, the offense looked stale at the end of the year, but this drew some ire from the fan base.
Wilson’s agent Mark Rodgers followed up his client’s comments with a list of four teams he’d accept a trade to. After all, RW3 has a no-trade clause, so he can veto any move. Those teams were New Orleans, Dallas, Chicago, and Las Vegas.
The Seahawks acquired an offensive lineman from the Raiders. Was that enough? Obviously not. Seahawks GM John Schneider was still talking Wilson trades as recently as a month ago. There was a time this offseason when it seemed that a deal to the Windy City was imminent. Allegedly, the Bears had put together a package of draft picks and players that would’ve been a king’s ransom.
As reported by the Dan Patrick Show, Da Bears’ proposal included three first-round picks, a third-round pick, and two starters. Most rumors had All-Pro linebacker Khalil Mack as the starter headed to the Emerald City. Schneider allegedly considered the deal up until St. Patrick’s Day. But as luck would have it, no agreement was made.
Except for Vegas, none of the teams had either the cap space or draft capital to make a play for Wilson. Even Chicago’s three first-rounders would likely come in the 20s
Then again, maybe that was Russ’ plan all along, using public pressure to get the organization to make changes.
NFC West teams made major moves that will again make the division one of the NFL’s best. According to Vegas Insider, the NFC West has three of the top 10 favorites to win Super Bowl LVI. It’s also the only division to have all four teams at 40/1 odds or better.
It’s a top-heavy quarterback draft class. San Francisco made a huge trade with Miami to move up for the third overall pick. The Niners did it to grab one of the top QBs.
Somewhere along the line, 49ers management said, Jimmy Garoppolo, who? We never heard of him. San Francisco is arguably a strong QB away from being perennial contenders. Especially with their defense and a running game that is the envy of any offensive coordinator.
Los Angeles made a blockbuster trade to get rid of the play-action pass expert, Jared Goff. This didn’t fix their running game, but by adding former top overall pick Matthew Stafford, they instantly become multi-dimensional. A dynamic offense with one of the league’s top five defenses is going to put the Rams towards the top of everyone’s pre-season Super Bowl picks.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray continues to develop. This winter, the organization added the three-time defensive player of the year, J.J. Watt, to their defensive arsenal. J.J. Swatt joins an already talented defensive line, and the Cardinals became more relevant than they already were.
It’s okay to be disappointed by the Seahawks this offseason because, once again, they aren’t projected to contend. No one who follows the team should be surprised by this. Every year the Seahawks are the underdogs.
In the Pete Carroll era, Seattle has performed at their best as underdogs. This season will be no different. They brought back Carlos Dunlap and have a very talented defense. They also will have a healthy stable of running backs, not to mention one of the best wide receiver tandems in the league.
Somehow, the “experts” completely misjudge the team’s resiliency. But, the other teams in the NFC West loaded up.
So maybe there’s no reason to be disappointed in the Seattle Seahawks this offseason. They retained Russell, brought in some offensive line help, resigned Carlos Dunlap, and restructured a few contracts. Maybe there isn’t a reason to be disappointed because we know that the Seahawks have always won with Russell at quarterback no matter what.
It’s easy to be disappointed in the Seahawks this offseason, but it’s also easy not to be disappointed, especially since the biggest move they made was bringing in a young, exciting new Offensive Coordinator who finally gets to work with a fun and talented QB. Shane Waldron, a Pacific Northwest native (Portland, OR), joins the Seahawks after four seasons with the Rams and will bring an exciting approach to the Seattle offense.
It’s okay not to be disappointed; it’s okay to be disappointed. The draft is coming up, and Seattle doesn’t have many holes to plug on the roster.
Joe Swenson is a lifelong Seattle Sports fan, author of Letter #3 and The Key (coming soon), president, director, writer, and producer at www.brokenartsentertainment.com