Leonard Floyd, Los Angeles Rams.
Sunday, the NFL wraps up another season. The next important date 12s have to look forward to is March 27, when free agency starts. Unfortunately, the Seattle Seahawks don’t have much money to spend due to a lower salary cap. It will take some tough decisions for the Seahawks to bring back their internal free agents, not to mention adding talent from the outside.
Because of the pandemic, the cap should drop a little over 11 percent or somewhere around $22.2M. That means depending on who you believe; the Seattle Seahawks have between $2.84M (overthecap.com) and 3.59M (spotrac.com) to work with. It’s not what they estimated when they put the 2020 team together.
With key players such as Shaquill Griffin, K.J. Wright, and Quinton Dunbar about to hit the open market, the Seattle Seahawks have some big holes to fill. Holes is an understatement. Defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. faces the unpleasant prospect of losing his best two cornerbacks (Griffin and Dunbar) and a defensive stalwart at linebacker (Wright).
It’s even worse on the defensive line. Starting defensive tackle Poona Ford is a free agent, as is his backup Bryan Mone. The other starting DT Jarran Reed as well as defensive end Carlos Dunlap could become cap casualties.
Our last article looked at how Seattle can open up some additional cap space. Last week we covered the top five internal free agents that Seattle Seahawks General Manager John Schneider has to re-sign. Today, we turn our attention outside the organization with a wish list of defensive external free agents the team should consider.
Yannick Ngakoue – There is little question Yannick Ngakoue that THE top pass rusher on the market. Typically, these types of players don’t make it to free agency. But word out of Baltimore is that Ngakoue didn’t meet up to the expectations or provide the pass rush the Ravens need.
Baltimore has some other pass rushers they want to resign, so Ngakoue could be the odd man out and move on to the highest bidder in 2021. If Ngakoue does hit the market, Seattle would be smart to sign him to a multi-year deal. They can cut Carlos Dunlap and his $14M contract with no cap penalty to make room for the Ravens star edge rusher.
Ndamukong Suh – One of the Seahawks’ biggest areas of weakness last season was stopping the run. The other is an inside pass rush. Ndamukong Suh can provide relief on both fronts. Once regarded as the best defensive tackle in the game, he’s been more of a mercenary, the last few seasons. If the Seahawks and Suh agree to a short term deal for a pretty reasonable price, Suh will do wonders for Seattle’s defense.
Johnathan Hankins – While he’s not on the same level as Suh or Donald, Johnathan Hankins is a good defensive tackle. He’s proven to be an above-average pass rusher while being a stout run stuffer. He would be a classic Schneider signing. He’s a reasonably priced player who brings high-end production onto the field of play.
Leonard Floyd – This is a rob from the rich type of situation. It weakens the LA Rams defense while strengthening ours. After the Matt Stafford trade, Los Angeles is way over the cap. They’ll need to jettison some payroll, and Leonard Floyd could be the sacrificial lamb. K.J. Wright is a free agent and may end up pricing himself out of Seattle’s budget. Floyd would be a nice replacement on the outside, next to Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks.
Haason Reddick – A similar situation to the Floyd signing, except this one comes from the up and coming Arizona Cardinals. Hassan Reddick was a high round pick of the Cardinals that just never panned out for them. Some of that is on the Cardinals for moving Reddick around on defense.
They never gave him one position to focus his talents on. That is until 2020, where he excelled at outside linebacker. I’m always leery of signing players who are coming off career years. It just seems too many of them end up hurting the organization. But if they can’t get Floyd, this is a solid Plan B.
Chidobe Awuzie – A young, big corner? Sign me up! Wait, why is he on the market? He’s coming off an injured season, playing in only eight games in 2020 for the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas defense was atrocious all year, but Awuzie’s play was good. Chidobe Awuzie in the Seattle blue and green will remind fans of Brandon Browner. A big physical corner. Awuzie might be less expensive than a Shaquill Griffin.
Desmond King – Drafted by the LA Chargers, 5th round, then traded to the Titans in 2020 for a 6th round pick. Desmond King has been most successful playing the nickel corner. In 2018 King earned first-team All-Pro defensive back and second-team All-Pro at punt returner. He even played some outside corner last year for the Titans. Just 27-years-old and coming off a down year, King’s price tag should be more than reasonable for the cap-strapped Seahawks.
So, there you have it, 12s, a defensive free agent wish list for the Seattle Seahawks. This article will look genius when these players make it to the market. Or it’ll look not very smart when none or almost all do not. I’ll gladly settle for somewhere in the middle or even just getting one of these signings correct. Who’s on your wish list?