How did the Seattle Seahawks do this offseason?
The six-week stretch between minicamp (June 15-17) and the start of training camp (players report July 27) is the deadest part of the NFL’s year. But by this point we have a pretty good idea of what teams are going to have to work with for the upcoming season.
So did the Seahawks improve themselves this offseason?
Seattle is coming off a strange season. The Seahawks finished 12-4 and won the ultra-competitive NFC West. However, Seattle was upset by the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round of the playoffs, and the Seahawks performed a remarkable Jekyll-and-Hyde act on both sides of the ball — the offense went from cooking in the first half to freezing in the second half, while the defense went from historically bad in the first half to carrying the team in the second.
The biggest drama of the offseason centered around franchise quarterback Russell Wilson, who expressed dissatisfaction with how often he was getting hit, thus unleashing a flood of trade speculation that ultimately came to nothing.
Therefore the Seahawks, quite honestly, don’t look a lot different from last year’s team.
Seattle only lost four starters off last year’s team. Three of those are on defense, as cornerback Shaquill Griffin and defensive tackle Jarran Reed departed as free agents, while linebacker K.J. Wright (who remains unsigned) seems unlikely to return. The only offensive starter to leave was left guard Mike Iupati, who retired.
The most significant incoming individual is probably offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who arrived from the Rams to replace Brian Schottenheimer. Guard Gabe Jackson and tight end Gerald Everett were brought in to bolster the offense, while the defense added cornerback Akhello Witherspoon and a bunch of defensive line options. Seattle only made three draft picks, led by receiver D’Wayne Eskridge in the second round, so don’t expect a ton of rookie help.
Seattle was able to retain two important free agents by re-signing running back Chris Carson and defensive end Carlos Dunlap, both to deals that are more team-friendly than expected. The Seahawks also helped alleviate some salary-cap pressure by including voidable years in deals, which transfers dollars away from this year’s salary cap and puts them on future years, a tactic Seattle has been reluctant to use but was necessary given the decrease in the cap caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
So what do you think? Are the Seahawks a better team as a result of their offseason moves? Are they worse? Did they stay the same? Let us know by voting here:
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