Seahawks Offseason
The offseason for the Seahawks started out a lot like a fans worst nightmare.. talk of Russell Wilson forcing his way out of town took center stage. Citing his frustrations with not being more involved in the success of the offense, being under duress too often when dropping back to pass and his voice not having much weight in the game plan from week to week. None of his complaints were off-base in my opinion, but Russ had never spoken so candid like that before. It seemed like doomsday for the franchise was looming in the near future.
Fast forward to now, March 24th and the team has done a lot of good work in way of bringing in value at multiple positions while also not breaking the bank. They opened up $14 million in cap space by releasing Defensive End Carlos Dunlap earlier this month, who was fantastic when he came over but the team decided they simply couldn't retain him at that price. Shaquill Griffin, who had been the teams #1 corner since the departure of Richard Sherman, also walked resulting in him signing a lucrative 3-year deal with Jacksonville.
They replaced Griffin with Akhello Witherspoon, the former 49er on a 1-year prove it deal worth just $4 million with the possibility of still bringing back Sherman (both sides have expressed interest in a reunion). Witherspoon was drafted about thirty picks before Griffin in the 2017 NFL Draft for what its worth. They brought in an exceptional guard in Gabe Jackson in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for just a late round pick, which had to be music to Russell Wilson's ears. On the pass rush front, the team made a pair of great moves just five days ago re-signing DE Benson Mayowa who had 6 sacks last season in a rotational role. Along with bringing in another ex-49er in DE Kerry Hyder who presumably will be in more of a starting role, Hyder logged 8.5 sacks last season while also playing well against the run, due to his 6'2 270 pound frame. Both players contracts coming in at a value equal to or lower than the $14 million that would have been due to Dunlap. RB Chris Carson will also be back on a very reasonable contract in comparison to other players at his position. Carson will make up to $14.625 Million in the next 2 seasons.
Seahawks fans can be unhappy with the departure of a couple key players from last year's team and in Griffin's case, going back further than just last year. Though General Manager John Schneider has done what he does best in the meantime, finding value at key positions.
To end this post, I would like to shine light on the fact that Russell Wilson, who had been fairly quiet ever since his remarks right after the Super Bowl has voiced his support of the recent signings on Twitter. He also brought back his patented "Go Hawks" at the end of a recent video he posted promoting a flag football program in the Seattle area. Breathe easy, 12s.
