5 early takeaways from the Seahawks’ slow start to free agency

Seattle has taken care of a couple of its own free agents, but otherwise has been content to let others depart.

Technically speaking, Wednesday is the official start of NFL free agency. You’re smart enough to know that the “legal tampering” period on Monday is the real beginning. The Seattle Seahawks have retained a couple of their free agents, let five go elsewhere, and only signed one outside free agent. In other words, nothing too out of the ordinary of many prior Seahawks offseasons, but there’s a different feeling given Pete Carroll is no longer involved in front office dealings.

Here are some of my early observations from Week 1 of free agency.

Par for the course for John Schneider

I suspect part of the disappointment over how free agency started is less about the holes that have yet to be addressed and more of the fantasy of how a Carroll-less John Schneider would operate. For over a decade we’ve only been left to guess what’s a “Pete move” and what’s a “John move” and it just seems both overly simplistic and pointless, almost as if to cling to hope that Schneider’s role was so minimized that he effectively has little responsibility over the general decline of this team since 2014. Carroll might have had the final say, but if Schneider’s team-building philosophy was diametrically opposite of Carroll then he probably would’ve bolted years ago.

Do you see the two teams next to each other in this chart showing free agency spending and wins? I see the Seahawks and Green Bay Packers.

Yeah, where did John Schneider spend the bulk of his time before his return to the Seahawks? That’s right, the Green Bay Packers.

In 2013, the “legal tampering” period was March 9-11, and actual free agency began on March 12. Want to know when the Seahawks signed Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett? March 13 and 14, respectively. The 2010 offseason had a lot more trading than signing, and plenty of cap casualties to boot from an otherwise bad team.

This is how it’s pretty much always been regardless of how good or bad the team is. The exceptions have been few (e.g. 2011, Dre’Mont Jones in 2023). I’m not living in a fantasy world where Schneider has just been a glorified accountant for 14 years. I’d rather the Seahawks be conservative in free agency and be mindful of the 2025 cap space than be in a perpetual state of having a ton of UFAs and a need to make cuts due to limited cap room.

Starting all over again at linebacker

Jordyn Brooks not only didn’t get re-signed, but he left on a fairly inexpensive contract. Then the Seahawks didn’t land Patrick Queen, whose Pittsburgh Steelers contract seems very team-friendly. We’re assuming neither Devin Bush nor Bobby Wagner will be re-signed, which means it’s a clean slate at linebacker. Sounds frightening, doesn’t it?

These situations are not directly comparable, but the Seahawks entered the 2011 offseason (a lockout year, mind you!) with Aaron Curry, David Hawthorne, Leroy Hill, and Matt McCoy as their inside linebackers. Even without the benefit of hindsight, the 2011 off-ball linebacker class was considered weak. Schneider drafted K.J. Wright and Malcolm Smith on Day 3, and signed Mike Morgan as a UDFA.

Are they really going to repeat this tactic? Most likely, because it’s not like they have much choice. The free agent options are slim and the draft class is considered weak. We’ll see if it pans out.

Geno Smith is almost certainly the starter

Drew Lock is off to the New York Giants on a one-year contract, which means the Seahawks have only one quarterback on the roster. Geno already had his salary for 2024 guaranteed and they restructured his contract in such a way that there is zero chance he’s released.

There has been a lot of cryptic talk concerning Geno’s status on the team. I’d say Lock not getting re-signed is another strong sign of Geno’s job security (whether you like it or not). Most of the notable backup quarterbacks have signed elsewhere, with Tyler Huntley a notable exception. Not one of the available QBs would/should usurp Geno as starter.

Seattle is destined to draft a quarterback this year, it’s just a matter of which round and how many. The only ways I see Geno losing his starting job or not being on the Seahawks roster is if a rookie QB beats him out in training camp, or if John Schneider does trade for Justin Fields and sends Geno to the Chicago Bears—I don’t see why the Bears would sit Caleb Williams when recent precedent has been to start the No. 1 overall pick. I don’t see a trade as likely, especially when that would mean taking on another $27 million in dead money (either all of it pre-June 1 or spread out over two years post-June 1) on top of the north of $30 million they’ve already eaten from the Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs cuts.

Not exactly Raven-ous for Ravens… yet

While this isn’t exclusively about free agency, it’s worth noting that Mike Macdonald didn’t bring any 2023 Ravens assistants with him to his coaching staff. He has some assistants who’ve been with him in Baltimore before (Jay Harbaugh and Leslie Frazier), and Josh Bynes went from ex-Ravens player to first-year assistant coach. Baltimore’s defensive staff got poached aplenty across the league, netting new defensive coordinators in Tennessee and Miami, but not by the Seahawks.

As far as the many Ravens free agents, many of the notable ones either stayed in Baltimore (Justin Madubuike, Nelson Agholor, and Malik Harrison) or went to a non-Seahawks team.

Patrick Queen? Off to the Steelers. Geno Stone? Signed with the Bengals. Ronald Darby? Headed for the Jaguars. Del’Shawn Phillips? A Texan. Jadeveon Clowney, Kevin Zeitler, Arthur Maulet, and Kyle Van Noy are still TBD.

I expect the Seahawks to sign at least one Ravens free agent—Zeitler may be a possible one-year solution to replace Damien Lewis at left guard, Maulet could be another nickel option at corner—otherwise this won’t turn into Baltimore West.

The Seahawks are not tanking

A lack of movement outside of keeping Leonard Williams and Noah Fant doesn’t mean next season is already a waste. Schneider doesn’t and shouldn’t have that type of comfortable job security to punt a season for draft picks and hope he hits the lottery in 2025. It’s also a waste of the penultimate season of the 2022 class’ rookie contracts when the likes of Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Boye Mafe, Riq Woolen, and Kenneth Walker III will be extension eligible.

And tanking sucks. I get why it’s done in a league like the NBA, where a single player can turn a franchise around, but the concept still sucks and I wish for it to go away in my lifetime. I’m not counting on the Seahawks to be a Super Bowl contender in 2024 but I’m also confident that Schneider won’t deliberately punt a season away just ‘cuz of that draft capital.

What’s your biggest early takeaway from free agency? Let us know in the comments section, and be quick because the Seahawks could do stuff that will render your opinions (and mine) moot over the next few days!