2016 Free Agency Plans -- What I would do if I was JS

[xgeoff]

Here is a list of the Seahawks upcoming Free Agents and What I would do with them, along with other offseason contract issues. Relevant Current salaries are in parens next to the players name:

Unrestricted (Can sign with any team)

-Russell Okung, T ($8 million) -- If we could sign him at a decent price (~$6 mil) then I would say do it. I don't think this is going to happen, and frankly I don't think he is that good. See this link for some backup on that http://www.fieldgulls.com/seahawks-anal ... ahawks-nfl

-Jermaine Kearse, WR ($2.4 million) -- I like Jermaine, I think he's underrated and makes some big time plays, but there is no way he is as successful on another team. No way. If we can sign him for cheap, keep him. Otherwise start Lockett in his place.

-J.R. Sweezy, G ($2.2 million) -- I don't think he's that good. If we can get him cheap, keep him. Unlikely though.

-Bruce Irvin, LB ($2.3 million) -- I am not impressed with Irvin. I don't think he rushes the passer well and I don't think his track speed translates into game speed. I'd cut him loose and try to move Kam to his spot.

-Brandon Mebane, DT ($5 million) -- This guy is a conundrum. At times he looks so good, and in general plays the run well. He just seems to have forgotten how to rush the passer. Someone needs to work with him on his pass rushing. I'd keep him at his current $5 mil but not pay him any more.

-Ahtyba Rubin, DT ($2.6 million) -- love this guy. Can absolutely dominate the run game at times. Would like to see a little better pass rush from him but I think this guy is a stud.

-Jon Ryan, P ($1.5 million) -- resign him and tell him not to hurdle anybody ever again.

-Jeremy Lane, CB ($560k) -- definitely resign him unless he wants Byron Maxwell money. He's better than Cary Williams though, so $7 mil is not out of the question.

-Will Tukuafu, FB ($820k) -- I would resign him, he should be comparitively cheap.

-Demarcus Dobbs, DE ($825k) -- Don't know much about this guy. Can't say what I'd do.

-Tarvaris Jackson, QB ($1.5 million) -- I'd drop him like a bad poker hand. I think BJ Daniels can run the offense as well if not better and I thought RJ Archer looked way better than T-Jack. Thankfully Russell has been injury free but I would also try to pick up Vernon Adams JR in the late rounds (7) of the draft and bring him in to be Russell's understudy.

-Lemuel Jeanpierre, C ($745k) -- Not sure what happened to this guy. He played well enough last year filling in for Max Unger and was MIA this year. I'd resign him and bring him into camp to compete.

-Fred Jackson, RB ($900k) -- I like Fred and his versatility but I wouldn't sign him to a large or long-term contract. Great to have on the team, though, at his current price point.

-Chase Coffman, TE ($745k) -- I would sign this guy. I think he has potential and was once considered the best TE in the country when he was in College. Given that we are slim in the TE dept, I would sign this guy and let Jimmy Graham go.

-Michael Morgan, LB ($1 million) -- Would keep him as long as his salary demands remain low (~$1 mil)

-Anthony McCoy, TE ($660k) -- I think about this guy's size and athleticism and I get giddy, but he's injury and drop prone. Not a good combination. If his salary demands stay low, I'd bring him back into camp.

-Bryce Brown, RB ($660k) -- I'd resign him and let Marshawn Lynch go. Don't get me wrong, I love Marshawn, I just think that this offense needs Offensive Linemen more than it needs Beastmode. I almost feel ashamed saying that, but it's the truth as I see it. Brown has shown me really good running instincts. I actually prefer him to Christine Michael, though I think Michael has played well.

Restricted (Players have until April 22 to sign offer sheet from Seahawks. Seahawks have right to match offers from other teams, but could receive draft compensation if they don’t)

-Patrick Lewis, C -- Absolutely bring him back to start at C! He stabilized the whole line in the latter part of the season. Russ Wilson should buy this guy something.

-Christine Michael, RB -- I'd keep him, he's earned another shot.

-Ricardo Lockette, WR -- ugh, tough call. Like his special teams play and he layed his body on the line for the team. Has good speed.... I'd let him go UFA and sign him back at that point.

-Derrick Coleman, FB -- Right of First Refusal tender

-Alvin Bailey, T -- Right of First Refusal tender

-Jesse Williams, DT -- I'd like to see this guy in camp again. Thought he did well in pre-season last year and was close to making the team. I would probably let him become an UFA and sign him at that point.

-Nick Moody, LB -- I don't know much about this guy but I gather he was a starter for the 49ers under Harbaugh. Can probably let him go to UFA and sign him then.

Exclusive Rights (Team must make offer by league-imposed deadline or become unrestricted)

-Marcus Burley, CB -- Make offer, I think he's played well at nickel or dime at times

-Deshawn Shead, S -- Make offer. I love Shead's versatility. He even carried the ball on a fake punt against Carolina. Can play CB or S. No brainer here.

-A.J. Francis, DT -- Don't know anything about him

-Eric Pinkins, LB -- Make offer

-Steven Terrell, S -- don't know anything about him.

-Mohammed Seisay, CB -- Make offer

-Cooper Helfet, TE -- Make offer. I like this guy. Is improving, is fairly athletic and we are slim at TE.

Other Issues

-Marshawn Lynch, RB ($12 million) -- cut to make salary cap room unless he signs a sweet deal, which he won't

-Michael Bennett, DE ($7.1 million) -- rework his contract with penalty clauses for each offsides he gets called on

-Kam Chancellor, SS ($7 million) -- rework contract and think about moving him to OLB in place of Irvin and put McCray at SS. Then try to draft Jayron Kearse to compete at both SS and OLB

-Jimmy Graham, TE ($10 million) -- I know statistically he was having a good year, but I didn't see anything in Graham that made him look special. His replacement in New Orleans (Ben Watson) was just as productive. He was a product of the New Orleans system. And he's a liability as a blocker. Just not worth the money. I would cut him. Too bad, he seems like a good guy who fits with the rest of the guys.

 

[2_0_6]

Wow, that's a lot of guys resigning. As much as I would like to keep the guys together, sometimes its a good thing to bring fresh guys in

 

[xgeoff]

Wow, that's a lot of guys resigning. As much as I would like to keep the guys together, sometimes its a good thing to bring fresh guys in

Yep, absolutely. But remember that resigning them, unless they are high profile, means bringing them into camp to compete. Not a lot of it is guaranteed money.

 

[2_0_6]

Most guys that have made it for a year or two through this system will have betters offers outside the VMAC.

 

[seahawkfreak]

Wow, that's a lot of guys resigning. As much as I would like to keep the guys together, sometimes its a good thing to bring fresh guys in

Really agree with this. Hard to find gems/cheap young talent if there are no spots on the roster to compete for. Can't sign everone. None of us really knew how good Sherman was until he started playing in games. I'm really intrigued to see if we part ways with Kam and give Mcray a shot.

 

[xgeoff]

Most guys that have made it for a year or two through this system will have betters offers outside the VMAC.

In most cases we would have the right to match those offers.

 

[2_0_6]

Most guys that have made it for a year or two through this system will have betters offers outside the VMAC.

In most cases we would have the right to match those offers.

Yes, and our cap room would vanish very quickly

 

[onepicknick]

I'm glad your not in charge of the personal LOL. I would let Graham go give that money to Kearse and Baldwin and are you serious about Beast Mode this guy has played with nothing but HEART and SOUL for the Hawks gave everything he has could you imagine what he would have done with the 05 OL I think records would have been shattered. He has never had a good OL but he sure produced every team was concerned about stopping him. Cam stays enough said on that all we need is for the Pete to realize we need a good line on both sides of the ball keep Bennett and Avril but we need someone in the middle who can push the pocket straight back with Bennett and Avril collapsing the ends . I truly wish they would get an OL maybe Wilson could give back a little cash for his protection it was horrible this year.

The pass rush was horrible without Bennett and Avril it would of looked a lot worse.

I am definitely with you on Okung let him go maybe we could get two good OL for the money that can play all 16 games if this happens again we might not have a QB the whole season he just as well become a RB.

If we lose to many guy's we'll be competing with the 49ers next year for Draft spot.

 

[WilsonMVP]

I said it in another thread but we should DEF try to keep kearse as much as reasonably possible

In the playoffs he is top 40 ALL TIME in receiving TDs and only has 2 less TDs than Gronk does. 1 more postseason TD ties him at 19th in TDs. He is argurably our best playoff WR

 

[Rob12]

I'm glad your not in charge of the personal LOL. I would let Graham go give that money to Kearse and Baldwin and are you serious about Beast Mode this guy has played with nothing but HEART and SOUL for the Hawks gave everything he has could you imagine what he would have done with the 05 OL I think records would have been shattered. He has never had a good OL but he sure produced every team was concerned about stopping him. Cam stays enough said on that all we need is for the Pete to realize we need a good line on both sides of the ball keep Bennett and Avril but we need someone in the middle who can push the pocket straight back with Bennett and Avril collapsing the ends . I truly wish they would get an OL maybe Wilson could give back a little cash for his protection it was horrible this year.

The pass rush was horrible without Bennett and Avril it would of looked a lot worse.

I am definitely with you on Okung let him go maybe we could get two good OL for the money that can play all 16 games if this happens again we might not have a QB the whole season he just as well become a RB.

If we lose to many guy's we'll be competing with the 49ers next year for Draft spot.

Love Marshawn, would love to see him back, but not at his $11.5M cap hit. No way that happens. Just no way.

 

[kearly]

There are very few players on this list I don't want back. It makes sense that Pete talked about how the focus this offseason will be keeping guys.

 

[Overseasfan]

Part ways with Lynch, Okung, Sweezy, Mebane, Coleman, McCoy, Fred and Tarvaris.

Try to keep for the same or a bit more: Kearse, Irvin, Rubin, Tukuafu, Bennett, Kam, Graham, Ryan, Lane, Shead, Lewis, Michael.

Try to get them for a minimum otherwise let go: Dobbs, Jeanpierre, Morgan, Moody, Burley, Coffman, Brown, Lockette, Bailey, Francis, Jesse, Pinkins, Terrell, Seisay, Helfet.

 

[onanygivensunday]

Must keep either Rubin or Mebane... likely Rubin because Mebane was been overpaid the last couple of years. He's no longer a 3-down DT so he shouldn't continue to be paid like one. If unable to keep bot, we're back into FA looking for a cheap DT vet on a one-year contract.

Must keep Lane if at all possible. I fear that he'll be a hot commodity if we don't re-sign him before FA starts. See if we can get him for another couple of years at close to $4M/year.

Next I would extend ADB for another 2 years at $5.5 - $6.0/year, tying him up through the 2018 season. He's outplayed his contract.

Next up, Bennett. Likewise, extend Michael for another year at $8.5/year, tying him up through the 2018 season as well. And he's outplayed his contract as well.

Continue to play hardball with Kam. If he holds out again, trade him for whatever you can get. Minimize the distraction factor.

Far as I am concerned, Okung and Irvin are gone. I'm ready to move on from Russell and we can't afford to pay Bruce at what he'll likely get offered in FA, which I expect will be in the $8M/year range as a pass rushing OLB in a 3-4 system.

And Marshawn is gone as well. I believe that the Hawks will designate him as a post-June 1st cut at the appropriate time, and therefore spread his dead money over 2016 and 2017.

Re Sweezy, that's a tough one. If we can get him for close to $4M/year I say we lock him up for the next two years.

And I'd re-sign Ryan, Bailey, Burley, Seisay and Lewis... and let the rest walk.

EDIT: I should have addressed Graham as well. My preference would be to extend him and also get his salary/cap hit down into the $8M/year range if at all possible without poking a stick into a hornet's nest.

 

[Popeyejones]

It makes sense that Pete talked about how the focus this offseason will be keeping guys.

Yep, which I 100% think is the right way for them to play it.

The problem with dedicating your spend to bringing in outside guys when cap room is really tight is that they're really high variance, and those misses become more painful than ever.

With your own FAs you already can basically predict how they'll perform in your system.

Basically, when you've already got a good team and the cap room you have to play with ends up being pretty high stakes, the question has to shift from "Who can we afford to bring in?" to "Who can we afford to keep?"

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

Must keep either Rubin or Mebane... likely Rubin because Mebane was been overpaid the last couple of years. He's no longer a 3-down DT so he shouldn't continue to be paid like one. If unable to keep bot, we're back into FA looking for a cheap DT vet on a one-year contract.

Must keep Lane if at all possible. I fear that he'll be a hot commodity if we don't re-sign him before FA starts. See if we can get him for another couple of years at close to $4M/year.

Next I would extend ADB for another 2 years at $5.5 - $6.0/year, tying him up through the 2018 season. He's outplayed his contract.

Next up, Bennett. Likewise, extend Michael for another year at $8.5/year, tying him up through the 2018 season as well. And he's outplayed his contract as well.

Continue to play hardball with Kam. If he holds out again, trade him for whatever you can get. Minimize the distraction factor.

Far as I am concerned, Okung and Irvin are gone. I'm ready to move on from Russell and we can't afford to pay Bruce at what he'll likely get offered in FA, which I expect will be in the $8M/year range as a pass rushing OLB in a 3-4 system.

And Marshawn is gone as well. I believe that the Hawks will designate him as a post-June 1st cut at the appropriate time, and therefore spread his dead money over 2016 and 2017.

Re Sweezy, that's a tough one. If we can get him for close to $4M/year I say we lock him up for the next two years.

And I'd re-sign Ryan, Bailey, Burley, Seisay and Lewis... and let the rest walk.

EDIT: I should have addressed Graham as well. My preference would be to extend him and also get his salary/cap hit down into the $8M/year range if at all possible without poking a stick into a hornet's nest.

With you on all of this except Okung who I'd try to keep at around 8 per. Likely won't happen though so..........

 

[Erebus]

-Chase Coffman, TE ($745k) -- I would sign this guy. I think he has potential and was once considered the best TE in the country when he was in College. Given that we are slim in the TE dept, I would sign this guy and let Jimmy Graham go.
...
-Cooper Helfet, TE -- Make offer. I like this guy. Is improving, is fairly athletic and we are slim at TE.
...
-Jimmy Graham, TE ($10 million) -- I know statistically he was having a good year, but I didn't see anything in Graham that made him look special. His replacement in New Orleans (Ben Watson) was just as productive. He was a product of the New Orleans system. And he's a liability as a blocker. Just not worth the money. I would cut him. Too bad, he seems like a good guy who fits with the rest of the guys.

You keep saying we are slim at TE, but yet we have one of the best TEs in the league when used properly. Cutting him would make us thin. With Russell's evolution, it seems safe to predict Graham could go back to that level for us. With Graham and Willson, that's a pretty good top two TEs, and better than what most teams have. We just need a third option, preferably someone who can block.

 

[Barthawk]

If they can sign Okung to a 4yr 32-35M deal, do it. He may not be a world beater, but is still a quality LT and those are hard to find.

Rubin/Mebane- keep at least one if not both. $$$ from letting Beast go should go here.

Make competitive offers to Lane and Sweezy, if they prefer more $$$ to go somewhere else, tell them thank you for their 4 years and best wishes.

Irvin will be tough to keep because I think he is going to get 7-8M per from a 3/4 team. He is criminally underrated versus the run and would be great edge rusher in a 3/4 scheme IMO.

Keep Graham. Top flight TEs can flourish in the offense once we become a RW led team.

Extend Doug. He earned it.

Beast- thank you for everything you gave us for 6 years. ROH for you someday Marshawn.

Kam- Love the guy, but getting a Pro Bowl nod will only strengthen his opinion of his contract and will be more of a distraction this offseason. I believe they are going to put him on the trade market. Dan Quinn would salivate to have a decent safety to bolster his porous secondary (minus Desmond).

Kearse- I dunno. Big plays, but disappears for long stretches. Game plan or not getting open.. I don't know. I have no clue how this will transpire.

 

[mrt144]

Okung is an albatross. Draft the best available LT you can find and never look back. 8 Mil a year for injury prone mediocrity is easy to find.

 

[redhawk253]

cut or trade lynch, trade kam chancellor (he is done.. lost 2-3 steps post surgery or was half assin it because of his contract either way we dont want that on the team and his relationship with other players seems to be irreparably damaged.. he was a liability in every aspect run support, tackling, coverage etc.. and 1 forced fumble every 6 or 7 weeks just doesnt make up for that.. mccray fit the space just fine but there are lots of safeties in fa this year) ask avril to restructure we save 5 mill moving on from his 6.5 mill salary.. i like him a lot but i also believe frank clark needs to be on the field a lot more and avril seems to have been getting banged up quite a bit the past 2 seasons.. so we have leverage there.

give bennett a raise.. i dont care if he has an offsides once a game.. its just like with russell yeah he takes some bad sacks sometimes but he makes a crazy scramble and a downfield completion more often than he is sacked in those scenarios.. bennett may get an offsides every game but his timing the snap generally allows him to get into the backfield an instant after the snap 5-10 times a game for big impact sacks, tackles for loss, or forced fumbles. too bad the refs werent calling carolina for going low on him when engaged or simply tackling him all damn game last sunday.....

let okung walk dont make him an offer even if its cheap. hes terrible.. he cant stay on the field.. no.. just no.. anybody else that thinks they are worth big time money let em go too.. i want mebane back he is a stud and should retire a hawk.. but if he wants too much.. bye bye.. pay kearse a mediocre contract.. i think 2.5 mill a year is about all he is worth.. golden tate only got 3, 3, 7, 9 in detroit - i think you only sign him to about a 3 year deal at about 10-12 mill max 2.5, 3.5, 5.5.. i also dont think he succeeds anywhere else so we have leverage cuz he wants to be here grew up here etc.. also.. lockett is better than him and should really break out next year i think eventually becoming our #1 - he is more similar to antonio brown than i believed from draft comparisons as well as his own declaration.

my dream scenario is use that money we save from moving beast and put it towards alex mack who is expected to opt out in cleveland and said he just wanted to go somewhere he could win, we attempted to trade for in november.. along with mack cleveland was also trying to trade joe thomas.. if thomas is willing to restructure trade chancellor straight across for him.

you now have to of the most important pieces on the o line and you can squeeze any hot dog stand salesman in between mack and thomas and that left side will be good.. then draft some o linemen in the earlier rounds.. lots of safeties on the market for free agency can replace kam temporarily but address it in the draft as well.. also get a corner in the draft but i am really hoping stanley jean-baptiste can be developed into that guy - saints are terrible at developing or even evaluating secondary talent.. detroit not much better.. he is a guy that was being compared to sherman coming out of college and we were interested in taking him but he went to high.. this could be a dream scenario recoop project for us. beyond that you go get a complete tight end (no you dont get rid of jimmy graham you are insane if you think he was a product of the system in new orleans.. jimmy woulda had a huge 2nd half if he hadnt gotten injured and we were running the same offensive scheme we did post cardinals game.. thats the kind of offense he thrives in.. we just sucked in the 1st half of the season because bevell is a fool that shouldnt have a job)

which leads me to the next step.. get rid of bevell.. please god some college team make him an offer to become head coach. also kris richards may have been given a little too much for him to handle.. we need to atleast get a vet dc in behind him to help him out.. numerous times on both sides of the ball this season i felt we were getting beat due to bad play calling - carolina game there was no excuse for olsen to be wide open as often as he was.. especially when he was the main cog in defeating us in the 1st game.. shoulda had sherman shadowing him atleast half the time.. but the worst defensive play of the game was sending in the call to have lane cover olsen on that td pass.. yeah i like lane he sticks like glue but he is too small and should be on slot type guys - he covered olsen well but we saw why you dont put a small cb on a tight end/wr hybrid.. he literally just outsized him and out muscled lanes great attempt to rip the ball out.

 

[uncle fester]

The one time of the year I feel sorry for the accounts department.

Do you think at some stage Schneider walks in, he's had a bad morning, not enough coffee, his back hurts, the dog is ill, nearly got in a traffic collision on the way to the office - and he says "Screw it, we're keeping 'em all - hey Accounts, you do the sums, I'll be in my office having a snooze".

We've all phoned it in at some stage. Except maybe Pete.