Seattle Seahawks earn passing grades in the latest offseason report card
Football Outsiders gave the Seattle Seahawks an “A” for how they have handled the early offseason in the NFL.
Unlike the last offseason, things have gone according to plan for the Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle kept starting quarterback Geno Smith on a team-friendly contract. Additionally, the Seahawks signed Dre’Mont Jones as the main addition to the team. Lastly, Seattle parted ways with Shelby Harris, Al Woods, and Quinton Jefferson.
In all, it has been a savvy offseason for a team attempting to compete and rebuild simultaneously.
As a result, Football Outsiders is glowing regarding how the Seahawks have built their team throughout the first week of the NFL's new league year.
Take a look at Vincent Verhei had to say about the Seahawks' offseason:
Seattle Seahawks
Improved Roster: B+
Used Resources Well: A++
Coherent Plan: A
Overall Grade: A
Step 1 for Pete Carroll and John Schneider: Re-sign Geno Smith to an impossibly team-friendly deal. Smith’s three-year contract includes over $27 million dollars in guarantees, but his cap hit in 2023 is only $10.1 million. That’s lower than Mitchell Trubisky’s in Pittsburgh and barely higher than Zach Wilson’s with the Jets. Smith can earn a lot more by hitting performance-based incentives, but if he turns back into a pumpkin, the Seahawks can easily get out of the deal in 2024.
Step 2: Take the money they saved on Smith and invest in their interior defense like they never have before. Multi-purpose lineman Dre’Mont Jones got $51.5 million over three years, a $17.1-million average that is the highest the Seahawks have ever paid for an outside free agent (though less than half that money is guaranteed). They also brought lineman Jarran Reed back from Green Bay, added linebacker Devin Bush from Pittsburgh, and signed former Giants defensive back Julian Love, who can contribute right away at safety or nickelback. (And they still had enough cash to upgrade at center, taking Evan Brown away from Detroit.) The release of defensive tackle Al Woods was a bit of a head-scratcher, but Seattle could use one of their 10 draft picks to replace him, perhaps with Georgia’s Jalen Carter fifth overall.
Seattle is in good hands. It hasn't been a perfect offseason, but if you ask Football Outsiders anything about what Seattle has done, it is going as great as it probably can.
