The Seahawks took a risk. Changing coaches after a 9-8 season, one game away from the playoffs, two years after letting go of your star quarterback and rebuilding your team, is a luxury that many NFL franchises would not think of affording themselves. What's more when said coach is named Pete Carroll and has 11 winning seasons and 10 playoff appearances in 14 years, including a Super Bowl victory.
By cutting Carroll, Jody Allen sacrificed security to go for titles. Now we'll see if Mike Macdonald is able to take the Ospreys to a new level.
The captains
- DK Metcalf (WR)
- Charles Nwosu (EDGE)
- Devon Witherspoon (CB)
In a team that generally disappointed, DK Metcalf held his place, despite the criticism. With 1,114 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns, the receiver seems to have expanded his palette. To see if the system of Ryan Grubb, the new offensive coordinator, will suit him.
The only outside linebacker capable of containing opposing runs, Charles Nwosu is not just a sack machine. His injury cost his team dearly, whose defense disintegrated after his injury and his ability to return will be under scrutiny.
Devon Witherspoon is the representative of a team where young people have taken power. The 5th pick in the 2023 draft is favorite for the title of Defensive Rookie of the Year. The cornerback, capable of playing nickel as well as outside, and valuable when he blitzes, remains one of the only satisfactions of a defense which probably cost Pete Carroll's job.
Honorable mention to Tyler Lockett, still valuable even if less predominant in attack, and to Boye Mafe who is one of the rare satisfactions on the defensive line. Kenneth Walker is also a good player, but Seattle's line didn't let him show off his running skills.
The undesirables
- Whenre Digggs / Jamal Adams (FS/SS)
- Will Dissly (TE)
48 million: this is the current cumulative weight of the contracts of Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams on the salary cap from Seattle. The two players alone weigh more than 17% of the cape of their team. A weight not only exorbitant for safeties but also terrible when we consider fairly weak performances on the field where Adams appeared overwhelmed for his return from injury, while Diggs had a difficult year which once again showed his weakness against the race.
In the absence of restructuring, seeing the two stay in Seattle therefore seems difficult. Except that it's not that simple, since Adams' contract will count for at least 10 million against the cape (compared to 26 if he plays) and cutting Quandre Diggs would save 11 million (out of 21). To see if Macdonald wishes to extend Diggs (who has one year left on his contract) to dilute his salary cost and try to finally relaunch Adams' career.
Will Dissly has never really evolved in terms of his contract (around 8 million per year). Cutting it would save 7 million: in a team that has big needs (see below) without having any cape currently available, its status as a public favorite should not protect it.
Some would also mention Dre'mont Jones (DL), whose performances did not live up to his 17 million annually, but Seattle could also bet on a renewed performance from him after only one year on the team.
Man of the Summer: Mike Macdonald (coach)
It was easy to want Pete Carroll gone, it will be much harder to replace him. If Macdonald's tactical intelligence is not to be proven and a tactical update of the team is expected, he will have to prove his ability to manage a franchise, which was precisely the great quality of his predecessor, capable of producing correct seasons in all circumstances.
The new Seahawks coach has his work cut out for him to revive the defense, one of the 5 worst in the league. He has strong choices to make to revitalize a squad and reinstate a requirement that seems to have been lacking among the players this year.
It will be difficult for Macdonald to do an autopsy on a team that is not doing that badly, even if it constantly gives the impression of underperforming, even though none of its players are a reference absolute in his position. The Seahawks are a strange team that can appear both solid and bad on paper: few stars, and few players whose names rhyme with catastrophic performance. Hence the difficulty of doing better without going against the good, and the importance of a coach who pulls the team to the top.
Top free agents
- Leonard Williams (DT)
- Bobby Wagner (ILB)
- Jordyn Brooks (ILB)
- Drew Lock (QB)
Arriving this season in an exchange that cost a second round for 6 months, Leonard Williams did his part to earn a contract. He may be expensive, but it would be difficult for Seattle not to try to convince a player at a position where the franchise is weak.
The situation of the linebackers is, along with that of the safeties, the biggest thorn in the side of the franchise. It's simple, the three players capable of playing inside, Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks and Devin Bush, are free agents, and only the first two are competent.
At 33, Wagner is no longer the same player and serves as a punching bag for the attacks of Sean McVay (Rams) and Kyle Shanahan (49ers) who exploit his slowness in the passing game, but he remains a natural leader who has made good in run defense.
Jordyn Brooks has impressed in his return from injury, but he's not a benchmark against the pass either, although he probably wasn't helped by Clint Hurtt's defensive scheme. The Seahawks need fresh blood at the position. However, it would be difficult to start from a completely blank page. Once again, the choice of Macdonald will be crucial.
Needs
- Linebackers
- Interior offensive line
- Defensive line
- Safeties
- Tight ends
To go higher, the Ospreys must strengthen their game to finally assert themselves in the physical fight, a priority which was underlined by Macdonald at a press conference.
Seattle must therefore imperatively strengthen itself at the linebacker position where after Wagner has never been managed or prepared inside. On the outside, imagining that the Seahawks keep their 3-4 hybrid, Nwosu is the only complete player, however we will see if Macdonald can give Darrell Taylor a sense of the game. Despite progress this year, the defensive line lacks punch and talent compared to its division rivals.
On offense, the Seahawks are armed with interesting skill players (Metcalf, Lockett Smith-Njigba as receivers, Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet as runners), but they are not helped by an interior line incapable of creating space for the run and crumbly in pass protection. Damian Lewis and Phil Haynes, the starting guards, and center Evan Brown, are free agents. Behind them, Anthony Bradford (G) and Olu Oluwatimi (Center) showed potential, but didn't play much. At right tackle, Abraham Lucas' nagging knee injury could force consideration of a stronger alternative than Stone Forsythe.
Among tight ends, Will Dissly (see above) is threatened, Noah Fant is a free agent and will not be a priority. Colby Parkinson won't be able to do it alone.
The target: Tyrel Dodson (LB, Bills)
By imagining the extension of Leonard Williams, Seattle will have already invested a significant amount of its little room for maneuver in the offseason, and the biggest names on the market seem untouchable.
The defensive line might seem to be the number 1 need, but the Seahawks have shown lately, especially with Boye Mafe, and even if Derick Hall is not yet a success, that they pretty much know how to select defensive linemen.
At the linebacker position, it’s tragedy. If Jordyn Brooks is satisfactory, it has been a long time since the franchise has put its hands on a reference to this position, and the 2024 vintage does not look grandiose. By recovering a solid linebacker like Tyrel Dodson, author of an incredible 2023 season with Buffalo. The Seahawks would offer themselves a future at this position and defensive improvement at lower prices than star edge rushers. Associated with Jordyn Brooks (with why not Wagner as a replacement), Tyrel Dodson would form a coherent duo potentially making it possible to better contain the attacks of the Rams and the 49ers (0-4 last year).
Honorable mention to Jadeveon Clowney: already spent by Seattle, the 34-year-old had his best season in a long time with Mike Macdonald in Baltimore. While it is not a long-term solution, it would instantly improve the Ospreys' ability to contain outside runs. Justin Madubuike (DT, Ravens) would be an exceptional reinforcement too, but not sure the Seahawks can afford him.
The draft: Taliese Fuaga (OL, Oregon State)
QB or not QB, that is the question. The Geno Smith case divides. At 33, Geno Smith will never be Patrik Mahomes and doesn't have many seasons left in him. Enough to leave the temptation to look for a quarterback, especially with the team's nice choice 16. But his contract (25 million/year) is entirely reasonable given his performances, and the needs are numerous: no quarterback in history would have made this group win last year. By not cutting him before February 15, the Seahawks activated a clause guaranteeing him 12 million: Geno should be there in 2024.
Growing a young pitcher under his wing would be a wise choice, especially since legend says that John Schneider has flair when it comes to pitching, he who had scouted Russell Wilson before taking a very close interest in players like Josh Allen or Patrik Mahomes. So, in addition to re-signing Drew Lock, who might not cost very much, Seattle could take a chance on Michael Penix Jr., who was also at the University of Washington, under Ryan Grubb.
But on our side, we are leaning towards strengthening the lines. With Abraham Lucas uncertain, the Seahawks are arming themselves on the offensive line with Taliese Fuaga (OL, Oregon State). He will have the ability to play right tackle or significantly strengthen the guard position if Lucas can hold his position. Enough to relaunch a racing game with difficulty, which should be one of the priorities of both Macdonald and Grubb given their previous experiences.
Kamren Kichens (safety), and Jer'Zhan Newton (DL) are also to watch.
