John Schneider, Seattle Seahawks.
Thursday, Seattle Seahawks General Manager Jon Schneider held a press conference at the NFL Combine. He was optimistic about the upcoming season, but that isn’t discussion-worthy. Among the most important things, Schneider said, was that he’d like to re-sign all his internal free agents. The phrase he used was, “what we’re going to try to do is to keep everybody.”
It’s a nice sentiment, and loyalty is important, but resigning everyone is a bad plan. First of all, it’s not financially feasible. Even though Seattle has the eighth-most cap space, it’s still just $34M. There is absolutely no way Schneider can afford to do it.
Aside from the money needed to sign this year’s draft picks and without restructuring a few veteran contracts, $34M is nowhere enough money. Players will want raises, and in some cases, they earned a raise. Bringing back just DJ Reed, Quandre Diggs, Duane Brown, and Rashaad Penny would eat up a good chunk of their available cap space. And by doing that, Schneider risks leaving several gaping holes on the Seahawks roster.
For the sake of argument, let’s say the Seattle Seahawks did have enough money to sign all their internal free agents. Why would he bring back everyone from a 7–10 team? With quarterback Russell Wilson approaching his mid-30s, there should be a premium on improvement.
Excluding safety Quandre Diggs and defensive tackle Al Woods, none of the Seattle Seahawks’ internal free agents can’t be replaced. Not only replaced but upgraded.
Schneider was being nice at the presser when he said, everyone. Because there is no way the Seahawks would seriously consider keeping right tackle, Brandon Shell. Undrafted free agent rookie Jack Curhan played as well, if not better at times, when filling in for Shell.
On the other side of the line, Duane Brown was good, not great at left tackle in 2021. He staged a pseudo-hold-out during camp because he wanted a new contract. Brown will be 37 next season, and it’s unlikely he’ll take a big pay cut from the $11.5M AAV in his expired contract. That money (and, to be fair, a little more) is better invested in someone younger with a longer shelf life.
Alex Collins (also a Seahawks UFA) showed that NFL running backs are interchangeable. The old days of a team riding their “Bell Cow” back are over. It takes more than one running back for a team to succeed over a 17-game season.
Rashaad Penny kicked some serious butt at the end of last season. However, his injury history, combined with the way RBs are used today (especially in Pete Carroll’s system), it’s not worth opening the vault for him.
The situation is the same for most other Seattle Seahawks free agents. This sounds harsh, and in one way, it is, but football is a business. Before coming off as totally heartless (or some might say clueless), several Seattle UFAs can help the team again in 2022.
It’s not a huge list but keeping cornerbacks Reed, and Sidney Jones is probably a good idea, although neither is a classic NFL shutdown corner. But the duo works well as the Seahawks CB2 and nickel. Tight end Will Dissly is another good candidate to re-sign because of his familiarity with the offense and incredible work ethic.
A few more unrestricted free agents are in the “it would be nice to have them but at a reasonable cost” category. Bryan Mone showed he could be a valuable substitute on the defensive interior. Additionally, when called upon, safety Ryan Neal has been an outstanding replacement when injuries hit the secondary.
Again Schneider should be thinking upgrade, not status quo. He has to go out and get a shutdown corner. Just shoring up that one position improves several others, such as the pass rush and all the incredible things safety Jamal Adams can do when he’s not stuck in deep coverage.
Also, Wilson deserves a set of top-tier bookend tackles to keep him upright. Finally, a center that makes solid line calls and can keep the middle from collapsing in on Russ is needed. With enough time in the pocket, RW3 can work miracles.
Do you think the Seattle Seahawks should sign all their internal free agents?