Seahawks Could Lose All Their Free Agents...

[Pandion Haliaetus]

...this Off-Season and still be greatly competitive.

Excluding ocurse RFAs like Doug Baldwin.

The Seahawks could lose Tate, Bennett, McDaniel, McDonald, Hauschka, Schofield, Thurmond, Browner, Giacomini, McQuistan, Robinson, Jackson, Davis, etc.

Next Man Up

Obviously, would lose a step losing three bigs on the D-line and depth but with solid developing prospects, ace drafting, and keep plugging cheap veteran stop-gaps there is a possibility we wouldn't lose much in that process.

Tate or no Tate, the offense, imo, is going to get better. A lot of that will be the shoulders of a healthy O-line and a healthy Harvin plus Wilson and all the youth we have getting 1 year. Better, 1 more year acclimated into the league working towards Veteran status. Experience and History can go a long ways in being prepared. Lynch still has one more great year, probably his best yet to come especially if we can pair him an promising explosive heart-breaker in Michael and a healthier O-Line. Michael also had the year to develop his weaknesses while giving little tape to corral his strengths to the Division possibly the NFC because memories of him. Came from AFC games and then he became a non-factor the rest of the season for the most part. Plus, the offensive promise of Luke Willson, as a TE who did it all and looked good in moments whether it was catching as a TE or WR or blocking as a TE or FB. If the Seahawks can keep healthy, I see a Top 5 DVOA offense, and I still see a top 5, within 10 at worst DVOA defense, and top a 5 DVOA Special Teams.

Fortunately the Seahawks likely won't lose everybody, they are going to keep some of those players, personally I would pursue the cheaper players like McDaniel, Giacomini, Hauschka, and Kellen Davis.

But we don't know nothing, its hard not to get caught up in free agency and the speculation, but the way I see it, even if we lose all our free agents this off-season, the Seahawks are still a stacked team and intelligent enough to find the right solutions for replacement whether its the next Man Up, Stop Gap Free Agency or Drafting.

It will suck to whomever we do lose, but I fully trust this company to do what they need to do to keep the competitive window of contending for a championship wide open while succesfully managing the cap in the process.

The Seahawks will see a lot of great players move on but the competitive fire will burn on through philosophies and the legacy of winning creating the expectations of replacing a Champion

 

[Blitzer88]

I would rather not lose all of our FAs lol.

 

[cacksman]

I don't think we lose all our free agents.

 

[Seahaaaawks]

Please please please at the very least keep Baldwin. Hauschka, Thurmond, and Tate... As much as I love this whole team and I wish everyone would stay, these are my top priorities.

 

[joeseahawks]

Teams like Dallas, Patriots could throw lots of money at Bennett. But I think those guys see that we have something special going on in Seattle. They will all be coming back, if offered the right deals.
I thought Robinson was retiring for good.

 

[Hawknballs]

could also lose miller/rice/Bryant/clemons as well depending on who they want to keep.

Going to be interesting.

going to refrain from overanalyzing it though.

Pete and John did what they do and won a superbowl with it so i'll give them the benefit of the doubt

 

[kearly]

The Seahawks are going to lose a lot of free agents and will still be the NFL's best team. This is true. The upside of these departures will be a massive number of day 3 compensation picks in 2015.

To me the most critical aspect of free agency is the defensive line. Bennett is a minor star comparable to 2010-2012 Chris Clemons. We already had one championship flushed down the drain when we lost Clemons at Fed Ex, which kinda highlights how important it is to retain Bennett. Almost as important have been McDaniel, McDonald, Mebane and Bryant. The first two are UFA and the latter two might end up potentially traded/released. Expect Seattle to do a lot of bargain shopping on DL this year. McDaniel, Mebane AND Bryant all turn 30 before the next Super Bowl, so if we keep them it would probably only be for one more season. I'm guessing McDonald (age 27) will get Jason Jones money. I think he's worth it.

I hope we keep Tate, but it's only going to happen if he's hugely under-rated by the rest of the league. Going to be pretty interesting to see what they do with Breno, too.

Seattle should shop several of their players in trades. Bryant, Mebane, Lynch, and Sherman should all be shopped to see if a good deal could be had. Sherman is the only one of those three that I think has any real chance of being on the team in 2016, and even he's kinda dicey if he asks for Revis money.

 

[Laloosh]

The Seahawks are going to lose a lot of free agents and will still be the NFL's best team. This is true. The upside of these departures will be a massive number of day 3 compensation picks in 2015.

To me the most critical aspect of free agency is the defensive line. Bennett is a minor star comparable to 2010-2012 Chris Clemons. We already had one championship flushed down the drain when we lost Clemons at Fed Ex, which kinda highlights how important it is to retain Bennett. Almost as important have been McDaniel, McDonald, Mebane and Bryant. The first two are UFA and the latter two might end up potentially traded/released. Expect Seattle to do a lot of bargain shopping on DL this year. McDaniel, Mebane AND Bryant all turn 30 before the next Super Bowl, so if we keep them it would probably only be for one more season. I'm guessing McDonald (age 27) will get Jason Jones money. I think he's worth it.

I hope we keep Tate, but it's only going to happen if he's hugely under-rated by the rest of the league. Going to be pretty interesting to see what they do with Breno, too.

Seattle should shop several of their players in trades. Bryant, Mebane, Lynch, and Sherman should all be shopped to see if a good deal could be had. Sherman is the only one of those three that I think has any real chance of being on the team in 2016, and even he's kinda dicey if he asks for Revis money.

I love the way you think, Kearly. It's about the organization and keeping a steady stream of young talent. If we could get a 1st and two 3rds for Sherm (Percy Harvin type deal), would you take it?

 

[rcaido]

The Seahawks are going to lose a lot of free agents and will still be the NFL's best team. This is true. The upside of these departures will be a massive number of day 3 compensation picks in 2015.

To me the most critical aspect of free agency is the defensive line. Bennett is a minor star comparable to 2010-2012 Chris Clemons. We already had one championship flushed down the drain when we lost Clemons at Fed Ex, which kinda highlights how important it is to retain Bennett. Almost as important have been McDaniel, McDonald, Mebane and Bryant. The first two are UFA and the latter two might end up potentially traded/released. Expect Seattle to do a lot of bargain shopping on DL this year. McDaniel, Mebane AND Bryant all turn 30 before the next Super Bowl, so if we keep them it would probably only be for one more season. I'm guessing McDonald (age 27) will get Jason Jones money. I think he's worth it.

I hope we keep Tate, but it's only going to happen if he's hugely under-rated by the rest of the league. Going to be pretty interesting to see what they do with Breno, too.

Seattle should shop several of their players in trades. Bryant, Mebane, Lynch, and Sherman should all be shopped to see if a good deal could be had. Sherman is the only one of those three that I think has any real chance of being on the team in 2016, and even he's kinda dicey if he asks for Revis money.

Why would you want to shop Sherman right now? Lynch? Seriously? The team has very good chemistry, the last thing you want is thinking its easy to replace anyone. Our main focus is Thomas & Sherman. I dont think we can keep Bennett. Tate would be too expensive even for a hometown discount, better getting Baldwin. Hauschka & Giacomini should be cheap enough is very important players for the Seahawks.

 

[Penman96]

I'm seeing it from the point of view of the team (as always). Based on that perspective I think these FA's are going to have to present a good contract proposal and make a good case for themselves to be allowed back on our team in 2014. We are the SB champs this year, the odds on favorite to win next year, and we have many FA's who want to come here.

Fact - Playing in our system makes players better. Don't ever think that our late round picks and undrafted FA's were guys we just got lucky with. No Sir! These players were selected for a certain set of attributes, then coached to where they are now. When players leave this system they will be coming down to earth.

Most FA's are making millions either way. However, playing for the Seahawks next year (or any year) should be an honor for any professional, if their true ambition is to improve as a player and win a championship. Conversely if a free agent's true ambition is to spin as much quick money as possible, then they should leave for another team. Not needed here, we have growing cache of hungrier players, more angry outcasts, and now proven veterans, who dearly want to be Seahawks.

 

[warden]

We will lose a lot of FAs. That is why happens when you win a Superbowl, your FAs become to expensive. What we will keep is the core, we will spend on them and use our depth and draft replace the rest. If a core player asks for to much we will explore ways of parting with him too. There is a formula of how how many 6 million dollar player one can keep. We have to play a little money ball

 

[DavidSeven]

I know Pete and John don't put much stock in what the locals think, but the city of Seattle would meltdown if they shopped Sherm this off-season. It would seriously stomp out a lot of the goodwill that came from the championship. It's just not going to happen.

Just think about it. The team put Richard Sherman on stage to speak at the victory parade. He is one of two players the team makes available every week for press conferences. Do we really think they'd start shopping him two months later? Football teams are businesses like everything else. They're very conscious of what they do and the public image they craft. There is a longterm plan for Sherman in place.

People are getting too thrown off by Revis's contract numbers. It's a baloney contract and all window-dressing. He has no guarantees in it. It's like getting franchised every year but at a higher price. He'll either be cut or restructured in Year 3, if not sooner.

 

[Laloosh]

I know Pete and John don't put much stock in what the locals think, but the city of Seattle would meltdown if they shopped Sherm this off-season. It would seriously stomp out a lot of the goodwill that came from the championship. It's just not going to happen.

Just think about it. The team put Richard Sherman on stage to speak at the victory parade. He is one of two players the team makes available every week for press conferences. Do we really think they'd start shopping him two months later? Football teams are businesses like everything else. They're very conscious of what they do and the public image they craft. There is a longterm plan for Sherman in place.

People are getting too thrown off by Revis's contract numbers. It's a baloney contract and all window-dressing. He has no guarantees in it. It's like getting franchised every year but at a higher price. He'll either be cut or restructured in Year 3, if not sooner.

So you wouldn't take a 1st and two 3rds for Sherm? Just curious. We may or may not shop him but I'm curious what people think he'd garner (and what they'd be willing to take).

 

[DavidSeven]

I know Pete and John don't put much stock in what the locals think, but the city of Seattle would meltdown if they shopped Sherm this off-season. It would seriously stomp out a lot of the goodwill that came from the championship. It's just not going to happen.

Just think about it. The team put Richard Sherman on stage to speak at the victory parade. He is one of two players the team makes available every week for press conferences. Do we really think they'd start shopping him two months later? Football teams are businesses like everything else. They're very conscious of what they do and the public image they craft. There is a longterm plan for Sherman in place.

People are getting too thrown off by Revis's contract numbers. It's a baloney contract and all window-dressing. He has no guarantees in it. It's like getting franchised every year but at a higher price. He'll either be cut or restructured in Year 3, if not sooner.

So you wouldn't take a 1st and two 3rds for Sherm? Just curious. We may or may not shop him, but I'm curious what people think he'd garner (and what they'd be willing to take).

No, I wouldn't at all. I think if the Vikings had a good relationship with Harvin, they would be idiots to make last year's trade with Seattle. I think the same of Sherman. You don't trade away young and elite talent for draft picks. And to be clear, I am SUPER selective with who I brand as "elite." Tate is NOT elite. Sherman, Thomas, and Harvin are elite. Trading away youg and elite players is a LOSER's mentality. Plain and simple. It's what the Mariners kept doing. It's what the Sonics did. Are we following their roadmap?

I love what Davis Hsu said on Twitter yesterday re: Sherman & Thomas:

Davis Hsu ‏@DavisHsuSeattle Feb 7
Sick of all the handwringing about paying big stars a big chunk of your salary cap- and here is why......it does NOT doom you IF (1) your big time stars perform (2) u have other good players on rookie contracts from good/high volume drafting... Paying a young ORGANIC (you drafted him) player his 2nd deal is a CELEBRATION for your org- not a damn curse!!! It is IDEAL-...Would you rather pay your big money to someone who played most of their career OUTSIDE of your org or to ORGANIC talent/leadership?...Cuz every tm paying big $$ to someone

What else are we going to spend the money on? Give dumb contracts to a bunch of mid-tier players like the Cowboys or Redskins? I hate to break it to everyone, but guys on our team who are worth "only" $4-7m are likely replaceable via draft and will net you great compensatory draft picks if they leave. There is no comparable solution for losing elite players like Sherman and Thomas.

 

[Hawkboi]

I doubt we lose any but if we do, not many.... These guys don't want to go anywhere else to play... The Agents will do their thing, but I still believe the players will have their say... Unless something is spectacular somewhere else, not going to move... FO get's it done for the best... :thirishdrinkers:

 

[Lady Talon]

I know Pete and John don't put much stock in what the locals think, but the city of Seattle would meltdown if they shopped Sherm this off-season. It would seriously stomp out a lot of the goodwill that came from the championship. It's just not going to happen.

Just think about it. The team put Richard Sherman on stage to speak at the victory parade. He is one of two players the team makes available every week for press conferences. Do we really think they'd start shopping him two months later? Football teams are businesses like everything else. They're very conscious of what they do and the public image they craft. There is a longterm plan for Sherman in place.

People are getting too thrown off by Revis's contract numbers. It's a baloney contract and all window-dressing. He has no guarantees in it. It's like getting franchised every year but at a higher price. He'll either be cut or restructured in Year 3, if not sooner.

So you wouldn't take a 1st and two 3rds for Sherm? Just curious. We may or may not shop him, but I'm curious what people think he'd garner (and what they'd be willing to take).

No, I wouldn't at all. I think if the Vikings had a good relationship with Harvin, they would be idiots to make last year's trade with Seattle. I think the same of Sherman. You don't trade away young and elite talent for draft picks. And to be clear, I am SUPER selective with who I brand as "elite." Tate is NOT elite. Sherman, Thomas, and Harvin are elite. Trading away youg and elite players is a LOSER's mentality. Plain and simple. It's what the Mariners kept doing. It's what the Sonics did. Are we following their roadmap?

I love what Davis Hsu said on Twitter yesterday re: Sherman & Thomas:

Davis Hsu ‏@DavisHsuSeattle Feb 7
Sick of all the handwringing about paying big stars a big chunk of your salary cap- and here is why......it does NOT doom you IF (1) your big time stars perform (2) u have other good players on rookie contracts from good/high volume drafting... Paying a young ORGANIC (you drafted him) player his 2nd deal is a CELEBRATION for your org- not a damn curse!!! It is IDEAL-...Would you rather pay your big money to someone who played most of their career OUTSIDE of your org or to ORGANIC talent/leadership?...Cuz every tm paying big $$ to someone

What else are we going to spend the money on? Give dumb contracts to a bunch of mid-tier players like the Cowboys or Redskins? I hate to break it to everyone, but guys on our team who are worth "only" $4-7m are likely replaceable via draft and will net you great compensatory draft picks if they leave. There is no comparable solution for losing elite players like Sherman and Thomas.

I wonder how far our $25-30m secondary will get us when our offense is hard pressed to move the ball thanks to declining RB, backsliding OL, and oft injured WR corps. Or for that matter, when the opposing offense is running over the tackling dummies we have for a front seven, I wonder if fans will be entirely satisfied surrendering a good 5+ yards per carry and the short passing game that shreds our perpetually changing LB corps. Sounds like a recipe to follow the Steelers and Ravens model and keep our stars on the field until they die of natural causes and bury the team with them on the spot.

Of course, even they weren't stupid enough to sink a vast majority of talent into 1 UNIT on 1 SIDE OF THE BALL.

You forget the Patriots model, you know, the closest thing we've had to a dynasty since realignment. They regularly let their "irreplaceable stars" walk and reload through shrewd drafting, coaching, and key FA's. So stupid they've been a threat to win the AFC for longer then I can remember.

 

[TwilightError]

Baldwin and Bennett are the most important ones imo. Succeeding in the draft is still the number one key in order to sustain success as Super Bowl winners tend to lose their star free agents.

 

[HawkWow]

The Seahawks are going to lose a lot of free agents and will still be the NFL's best team. This is true. The upside of these departures will be a massive number of day 3 compensation picks in 2015.

To me the most critical aspect of free agency is the defensive line. Bennett is a minor star comparable to 2010-2012 Chris Clemons. We already had one championship flushed down the drain when we lost Clemons at Fed Ex, which kinda highlights how important it is to retain Bennett. Almost as important have been McDaniel, McDonald, Mebane and Bryant. The first two are UFA and the latter two might end up potentially traded/released. Expect Seattle to do a lot of bargain shopping on DL this year. McDaniel, Mebane AND Bryant all turn 30 before the next Super Bowl, so if we keep them it would probably only be for one more season. I'm guessing McDonald (age 27) will get Jason Jones money. I think he's worth it.

I hope we keep Tate, but it's only going to happen if he's hugely under-rated by the rest of the league. Going to be pretty interesting to see what they do with Breno, too.

Seattle should shop several of their players in trades. Bryant, Mebane, Lynch, and Sherman should all be shopped to see if a good deal could be had. Sherman is the only one of those three that I think has any real chance of being on the team in 2016, and even he's kinda dicey if he asks for Revis money.

Why would you want to shop Sherman right now? Lynch? Seriously? The team has very good chemistry, the last thing you want is thinking its easy to replace anyone. Our main focus is Thomas & Sherman. I dont think we can keep Bennett. Tate would be too expensive even for a hometown discount, better getting Baldwin. Hauschka & Giacomini should be cheap enough is very important players for the Seahawks.

Consider the roster moves this FO has made in it's short time together....I think I read over 1500. They have churned the entire roster, and in doing so, they gave us one of the best teams ever assembled. So these guys essentially do have a relatively "easy time" replacing people. Look at our depth.

No offense intended, but it drives me nuts when posters / fans find such conversation outlandish, unheard of and/or taboo. Opinions are basically attacked without thought. "You can't trade ML"! "You can't trade Sherman, it would be stupid". Before making such comments, wouldn't it be wise to consider the bigger picture? Like...what if a Cleveland offered us their 2 1s for Sherm...that would be stupid to consider?

What if some franchise, needing asses in seats, offered us a 2nd rd pick for Beastmode? With Michael and Turbin and to degree Harvin in the backfield...would it be stupid to consider that trade, while offloading his contract?

I love these guys. But I am not so sure about how absolutely imperative it is to keep all championship pieces together. Only a handful of teams have ever repeated, and yes, there's many reasons for that, but maybe it's also a matter of not keeping every piece, upgrading, adding younger legs and more hunger or maybe it's even changing things up. Like next year we go 50 pass 50 run.

Hey, if you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room. I have total confidence in Pete and his ability to think outside the box. I think his phone is ringing and I think he and John are listening to those calls.

 

[DavidSeven]

Actually, the Patriots model is exactly what I'm advocating. They pay big money to a handful of core guys and cycle out the very-good players and rely on the draft for those spots. They use mid-level contracts judiciously to fill in gaps.

As far as the offense, Russell/Percy/Tate (if re-signed) would make more than our secondary in 2015, so you're exaggerating that point. Anyway, all of your handwringing basically just assumes Schneider fails at drafting. It assumes Christine Michael is a bust. It assumes we can't pick good receivers and good O-linemen at the top of the 2014 draft. It assumes we can't still afford Mebane. It assumes Bwags isn't on a rookie deal for two more years.

I'm not advocating signing Sherman/ET to lifetime contracts. I'm advocating that we lock them for the next three years. We can stagger heir cap hits and Russell's so that's there's room to make additional moves over the next two years. In Year 3, we have flexibility with Percy, and Marshawn is off the books. It will certainly be a difficult task, but perfectly manageable.

In 2013, we spent $21 million on Zach Miller and Sidney Rice. Didn't kill us, because their cap hits came at an opportune time.

 

[Mick063]

Schneider must continue to hit home runs with 4/5/6 rounders. Those are the type of cheap rookie contracts that enabled the meteoric rise. The staff does an excellent job of coaching young guys up, keeping the schemes simple, and relying on speed/athleticism/physicality instead of complicated game plans. The secondary is the brains of the outfit and everyone else flies to the ball/ to coverage zones / to gap assignments/ to edge contain.

The demise of Seattle will be when they become enamored with players that have become too pricey. They cannot fall into that trap.

Players like Tharold Simon, Benson Mayowa, and Jordan Hill must come up big. Further, the Seahawks must stay relatively injury free....a byproduct of youth. Young guys can get injured just as easy as anyone else. They simply heal faster. Stay young except for about a dozen core players. Youth also breeds hunger, breeds competition, and mitigates complacency. Rookie contracts are the secret to Seattle's success. They can't get away from the winning formula.

In Schneider we must trust.