1st Priority For The Seahawks

[RichNhansom]

Top priority to me is to get back to when Zach Miller, MRob and beast all helped out blocking on passing downs.

We are deviod of a good blocking TE and with the inevitable changes coming we need an elite level blocker there.

We are average at best at FB with Tukuafu and again putrid at RB without Lynch.

Center is likely a little below average with Lewis and the center is the real glue that makes or breaks growth along the entire line.

Drafting these three positions is great for the future but our window is wide open right now. We need to scour FA and even potential trades to solidify those three positions or our line will look very much like last years.

Don't expect the league to do us any favors either. Last year our line was going to be horrible to start the season and it was obvious when the schedule was being made. How did that work out? 2 road games to start the season and most of the best D-lines we would see all year were all stacked up front. Expect that to happen again because right now we look like we will start out poorly on the line again.

Quick passes will help if we have the ability but I would love to see us move Gilliam to LT as tackle eligeable and actually use him as a receiving option.

 

[firebee]

Top priority to me is to get back to when Zach Miller, MRob and beast all helped out blocking on passing downs.

We are deviod of a good blocking TE and with the inevitable changes coming we need an elite level blocker there.

We are average at best at FB with Tukuafu and again putrid at RB without Lynch.

Center is likely a little below average with Lewis and the center is the real glue that makes or breaks growth along the entire line.

Drafting these three positions is great for the future but our window is wide open right now. We need to scour FA and even potential trades to solidify those three positions or our line will look very much like last years.

Don't expect the league to do us any favors either. Last year our line was going to be horrible to start the season and it was obvious when the schedule was being made. How did that work out? 2 road games to start the season and most of the best D-lines we would see all year were all stacked up front. Expect that to happen again because right now we look like we will start out poorly on the line again.

Quick passes will help if we have the ability but I would love to see us move Gilliam to LT as tackle eligeable and actually use him as a receiving option.

This is why I'm heavily in favor of us signing Zach Line and drafting Tyler Higbee, the TE out of Western Kentucky... reminds me a lot of a young Jason Witten... both as a receiver and a blocker. As for our line... I'm really really hoping we can bring Mitchell Schwartz and Bradley Sowell on board via FA... Then draft Sebastian Tretola. Schwartz and Sowell are both younger than Okung and they have waayyy less injury concerns. Maybe draft Joe Haeg or Fahn Cooper towards the end of the 2nd day or early on the 3rd day of the draft. I think we'd be looking really really good across the board on offense with Zach Line, Mitchell Schwartz, Bradley Sowell, Sebastian Tretrola, Tyler Higbee and Joe Haeg or Fahn Cooper plus a bigger downfield threat at WR added to the roster.

 

[brimsalabim]

I think we need to reward Mike Bennett first and foremost then at least make an attempt to get Kam back in the fold. The. We have to pick a lane with our OL and DT issues. We can't address it all in free agency or expect to fix it entirely through the draft. If we can upgrade our protection and find some one who can bring pressure up the middle every thing else will fall into place.

 

[firebee]

I think we need to reward Mike Bennett first and foremost then at least make an attempt to get Kam back in the fold. The. We have to pick a lane with our OL and DT issues. We can't address it all in free agency or expect to fix it entirely through the draft. If we can upgrade our protection and find some one who can bring pressure up the middle every thing else will fall into place.

Well... As it stands right now, with the Salary Cap being figured at around 155 million this year and Lynch's retirement, we're sitting on about 28.5 million in cap space. I think resigning Lane, Rubin, Mebane, Sweezy; renegotiating Bennett and Kam and resigning most of the lesser FAs we have will chew up around 20 million of the cap and that's if we don't resign Okung or Irvin, leaving us with about 8.5 million in cap.

We're just too thin to have 9 million dollars tied up on a player that we're unsure about heading into next season. Under the circumstances, we simply can not afford to keep Graham around at 9 million on the year and 10 million next year. If you think Kam had beef before because of the contract Cary Williams got, wait until you see what kind of beef he has if we keep Graham on at 9 million this year while trying to keep Kam on the same contract he has. With Luke Willson and the prospects of drafting a quality TE like Tyler Higbee; Graham is expendable in my opinion, but I don't get all tied up with the name of the player or how they used to play. To me, Graham is no better than Willson.

 

[Barthawk]

Doug Baldwin should be the first one in line for the renegotiation.

 

[Largent80]

I'm glad I'm not the GM, unless it is my payday.

 

[jammerhawk]

Well... Their's no indications that this is a priority, but I think the 1st priority for JS & PC should be renegotiating Jimmy Graham. Currently, he's slated to make 9 million this year and 10 million next year. If we released him, we'd clear 7 million in cap. He only has 2 million guaranteed left on his contract. I'd think we could renegotiate him to a 3 year deal with more guaranteed money at less of a cap hit this year if it was a backloaded contract.

3.5 Million Base and 3 Million Bonus this year - 1 Million in incentives
4 Million Base and 3 Million Bonus next year - 1 Million in incentives
5 Million Base and 2 Million Bonus in the 3rd year - 1 Million in Incentives

Even though Graham takes less on the year, the guaranteed money makes him essentially unreleasable until the 3rd year of the contract and he still gets paid what he'd get paid on his current contract. If JS & PC don't have enough confidence in Graham to guarantee him over the next 2 years, then holding onto him at 9 million this year and not clearing 7 million in cap is totally self defeating. You're paying a player that you don't have confidence in 9 million to hopefully play up to that contract this year.

I've been behind redoing Graham's deal since he got hurt. Your formula above makes some sense. For all those who want to get rid of his contract and the player they clearly haven't heard JS or Pete as to Graham's future with the team. Is this a first priority though? With him I'd suspect the team will redo his deal after they know how his rehab is progressing. If things are going well then the contract gets redone improving the team's cap position to do other deals this offseason, otherwise they'll wait.

I think the first priority for the team is to overhaul the OLine. If not that to redo some of the deals on the DLine.

 

[firebee]

Well... Their's no indications that this is a priority, but I think the 1st priority for JS & PC should be renegotiating Jimmy Graham. Currently, he's slated to make 9 million this year and 10 million next year. If we released him, we'd clear 7 million in cap. He only has 2 million guaranteed left on his contract. I'd think we could renegotiate him to a 3 year deal with more guaranteed money at less of a cap hit this year if it was a backloaded contract.

3.5 Million Base and 3 Million Bonus this year - 1 Million in incentives
4 Million Base and 3 Million Bonus next year - 1 Million in incentives
5 Million Base and 2 Million Bonus in the 3rd year - 1 Million in Incentives

Even though Graham takes less on the year, the guaranteed money makes him essentially unreleasable until the 3rd year of the contract and he still gets paid what he'd get paid on his current contract. If JS & PC don't have enough confidence in Graham to guarantee him over the next 2 years, then holding onto him at 9 million this year and not clearing 7 million in cap is totally self defeating. You're paying a player that you don't have confidence in 9 million to hopefully play up to that contract this year.

I've been behind redoing Graham's deal since he got hurt. Your formula above makes some sense. For all those who want to get rid of his contract and the player they clearly haven't heard JS or Pete as to Graham's future with the team. Is this a first priority though? With him I'd suspect the team will redo his deal after they know how his rehab is progressing. If things are going well then the contract gets redone improving the team's cap position to do other deals this offseason, otherwise they'll wait.

I think the first priority for the team is to overhaul the OLine. If not that to redo some of the deals on the DLine.

The main reason why I think renegotiating Graham's contract should be the 1st priority is because that's going to be the big elephant in the room when we're looking at renegotiating Bennett, Kam and Baldwin, resigning some of our own guys or signing a free agent. I can just hear the agents at the negotiationg table when we start trying to put together a deal.
"Well.. You guys are paying Jimmy Graham 9 million this year and you don't even know if he's going to produce." "He's not even one of your core players. You just brought him in last year." "Do you think he's more valuable than X player?" Jimmy Graham's contract is going to be the big pink elephant in the room when our FO starts trying to renegotiate or negotiate other contracts. That's the main reason why I think renegotiating his contract should be the first priority. It sets the precedent for the negotiations they're going to have with other players and their agents.

 

[hgwellz12]

Not sure how anyone who watched the last season says anything other than OLINE.

 

[jammerhawk]

The main reason why I think renegotiating Graham's contract should be the 1st priority is because that's going to be the big elephant in the room when we're looking at renegotiating Bennett, Kam and Baldwin, resigning some of our own guys or signing a free agent. I can just hear the agents at the negotiationg table when we start trying to put together a deal.
"Well.. You guys are paying Jimmy Graham 9 million this year and you don't even know if he's going to produce." "He's not even one of your core players. You just brought him in last year." "Do you think he's more valuable than X player?" Jimmy Graham's contract is going to be the big pink elephant in the room when our FO starts trying to renegotiate or negotiate other contracts. That's the main reason why I think renegotiating his contract should be the first priority. It sets the precedent for the negotiations they're going to have with other players and their agents.

Thing is the team doesn't know for sure just yet how JG is going to recover from his knee injury. With that being the case the team would be better of keeping the ability to axe Graham with no residual cap charge and yo recoup the whole of his contracted value. However they'd be throwing yet another 1st rd pick away as a sunk cost. If he's going to be become healthy then I'm totally onboard with redoing his deal.

 

[Overseasfan]

QB is fine with Wilson and any semi-capable UDFA or cheap journeyman behind him. A RB group with Rawls, Michael and whoever is among the best in the league and at the very least more than enough to complement the passing attack. FB isn't that big of an issue, getting an average FB isn't that hard. WR is fine even if Kearse leaves. The TE group won't be that amazing if Graham isn't ready for week 1 but it'd still be serviceable. If Graham is ready that would immediately catapult our TE group to one of the best in the league again so I'm not that worried here. The secondary is absolutely loaded with all the talent we have on it now. LB will be among the best in the league once again even if Irvin leaves. We might very well have the most potent DE group in the NFL with Bennett, Avril, Clark and Marsh. DT is a bit of an issue but signing Rubin for about the same or a bit more than last year coupled with a cheap veteran NT or a solution in the (absolutely loaded for DT) draft.

Of course O-line will be our biggest concern. Okung and Sweezy might very well leave and I'm really not confident in Britt starting either. He was a huge liability. That would leave us with Lewis and Gilliam as returning starters and both of them are average at best. We're going to invest heavily in both FA and the draft here. I'm not even asking for a great line, just average is good enough. I mean look at the carreer numbers Wilson managed to put up once the line started gelling a bit and played decently the second half of the season. The most logical starting line I can come up with is probably FA LT - day draft pick LG - Lewis - Glowinski - Gilliam. Lewis, Glowinski and Gilliam are all very young and show plenty of promise, mix that with a veteran LT who can provide decent protection and one of the top guard prospects of the draft at LG to finally plug that hole and we should be ready to go.

I don't think we should spend all our resources on O-line though as there are other gaps to fill (NT, SAM, RCB, RB3, FB, P, QB2, WR3, SS?) The way I put it now would probably put us at less than we spent on the line last year and definitely at number 32 again in terms of cap percentage directed to the line, so we could get another FA vet at G or C to provide an immediate boost but we're going to need more info on who leaves and stays to determine if that's possible.

 

[BeanieHawk]

Our 1st Priority should be the Oline in BIG!! way like a few posted...we've continued to neglect this position for a long time. I believe our last 1st round pick on an Oline man was Okung at least 4 or 5 years back. I have faith in our front office but c'mon JS and Pete let's spend our 2016 1st pick on a LT, C, or Guard this year!!!

 

[Willyeye]

Well... Their's no indications that this is a priority, but I think the 1st priority for JS & PC should be renegotiating Jimmy Graham. Currently, he's slated to make 9 million this year and 10 million next year. If we released him, we'd clear 7 million in cap. He only has 2 million guaranteed left on his contract. I'd think we could renegotiate him to a 3 year deal with more guaranteed money at less of a cap hit this year if it was a backloaded contract.

3.5 Million Base and 3 Million Bonus this year - 1 Million in incentives
4 Million Base and 3 Million Bonus next year - 1 Million in incentives
5 Million Base and 2 Million Bonus in the 3rd year - 1 Million in Incentives

Even though Graham takes less on the year, the guaranteed money makes him essentially unreleasable until the 3rd year of the contract and he still gets paid what he'd get paid on his current contract. If JS & PC don't have enough confidence in Graham to guarantee him over the next 2 years, then holding onto him at 9 million this year and not clearing 7 million in cap is totally self defeating. You're paying a player that you don't have confidence in 9 million to hopefully play up to that contract this year.

I've been behind redoing Graham's deal since he got hurt. Your formula above makes some sense. For all those who want to get rid of his contract and the player they clearly haven't heard JS or Pete as to Graham's future with the team. Is this a first priority though? With him I'd suspect the team will redo his deal after they know how his rehab is progressing. If things are going well then the contract gets redone improving the team's cap position to do other deals this offseason, otherwise they'll wait.

I think the first priority for the team is to overhaul the OLine. If not that to redo some of the deals on the DLine.

The main reason why I think renegotiating Graham's contract should be the 1st priority is because that's going to be the big elephant in the room when we're looking at renegotiating Bennett, Kam and Baldwin, resigning some of our own guys or signing a free agent. I can just hear the agents at the negotiationg table when we start trying to put together a deal.
"Well.. You guys are paying Jimmy Graham 9 million this year and you don't even know if he's going to produce." "He's not even one of your core players. You just brought him in last year." "Do you think he's more valuable than X player?" Jimmy Graham's contract is going to be the big pink elephant in the room when our FO starts trying to renegotiate or negotiate other contracts. That's the main reason why I think renegotiating his contract should be the first priority. It sets the precedent for the negotiations they're going to have with other players and their agents.

I agree with some of your ideas, but I have a few comments regarding that strategy: first, JG has ZERO dead money left on his contract. If the Hawks cut him, they save a full $9 million, not $7 million. Given the circumstances of JG's injury, $9 million is a HUGE risk. It is a businees, and I was never really in favor of the JG trade to begin with. I think they should probably just part ways with him. $9 million would likely give them enough space to really make a difference this year, and I think the receiver corps would be fine without JG. I'd even like them to keep Kearse (I like his chemistry with RW) as long as it's for less than $4 million. If they do keep JG, I totally agree that they need to make cuts to his salary.

Next, the only player of the three you mentioned that is entering his contract year is Baldwin. If they really want to extend Doug, they could actually do it in a way where they could save cap space for 2016 if they want to, and still give him a nice raise for the following 3 or 4 years.

After last year, I don't feel that Kam deserves any kind of renegotiation, and I don't think they'll do it. I think they'll make Kam either play for his previously agreed-upon salary, or they might even trade him. Kam not only caused hard feelings with the FO, but there are some of his teammates that are still not happy about Kam's holdout. If there's any "big pink elephant in the room", it's Kam's holdout last year.

Bennett will likely be an exception to their unwritten rule of not negotiating before the final year of a contract. He has totally outplayed his contract, and I think most of his teammates would agree that he deserves some reward even if it comes a year early. And they could still structure a new deal for him that doesn't cost them much more this year. And I don't believe it sends the wrong message to players for future negotiations. I think it sends the message that if you play hard, excel without holding out, that you can ultimately be rewarded.

This would end up giving the FO a lot of extra space to work with this year. And I'm not talking Irvin, Okung, Sweezy or Mebane...I think Okung and Mebane have seen better days and will be overpaid this year...also, this is the last chance to take advantage of Compensatory Picks for their loss. They could sign at least a few strategic O-Line and D-line FA's. Maybe even a LB to replace Irvin. My one hope would be that they sign cut players or FA's after June 1 so that they don't count against the Compensatory Picks for 2017. If they spend their draft picks wisely, they could really make huge improvements to the team this year.