There are a lot of spots on the roster that could be upgraded.
But beyond upgrading, we are going to have to embrace the notion of reloading. While I think the deal will likely get done, the Kam Chancellor example should be an accurate foreshadowing of the difficulties this team is going to face and soon. We have Kam to resign and not much beyond that this year. When we try to extend 3-4 contracts at a time, that effort becomes exponentially more difficult.
Just on offense, here are positions that could afford to have some competition or replacement contingency enacted this year and next:
WR (Tate)
WR (Rice)
OT (Giacomini)
LG (Carpenter)
RB (Lynch/Turbin)
TE (McCoy)
Tate is going to be a difficult resign. It's unknown what Rice will command, but I suspect it'll be significantly less than what we're paying him on the open market. Getting a SE with size and skill is difficult as those are rare. I don't see us resigning both of these guys. Which means taking a WR this year or next to replace one of them. Schneider has said publicly that he likes the quality of the WR position in this draft. I'd take that to mean probably 2 wideouts are selected. Last year, he didn't like them and didn't take any. For a guy who admittedly likes taking a WR every year, I'd say that thus far he's been very transparent about how he regards these positions. WR is a prime candidate for a proactive reload of talent. And if we get lucky and score a replacement for both Rice and Tate -- that's probably going to be close to 14 million in combined 2014 salary that we aren't on the hook for.
Carpenter is difficult to gauge. On the one hand, he looked extremely good at LG. On the other, that was for about 2 quarters until he gimped himself for the season again. If he gets healthy, he's going to be difficult for us to resign. He'll have a hefty price tag that others will pay (just like we paid for Rice even though Minnesota balked because of his extensive injury history with them). If he doesn't get healthy, then he needs to be replaced because he's never available. Either way, keeping him is going to be next to impossible.
Giacomini. Well I can see Breno becoming this generation's Chris Gray. The guy that we annually try to replace for a decade and like Rasputin, he just won't die.
Power running back. It's a core function on this team. I'm not convinced Turbin is up to taking 200 carries should Lynch go down. And he is going to go down at some point. This position should be three deep at all times. Now that Leon is gone, we can carry that.
McCoy. He's been productive. But we need more. He can be more. Seems like a perfect position to infuse some competitive fire at.
On defense:
LDE (Bryant)
1T (Mebane)
LEO (Clemons)
WLB (Smith)
SLB (Wright)
Nickel (Lane)
SS (Chancellor)
Backup FS (Maragos)
Bryant and Mebane are getting towards the peak of their athletic primes. It's not time to put them out to pasture. But they've also been heavily abused. And their penchant for acquiring minor injuries that sap their effectiveness is now becoming a regular occurrence. We need to add depth there. We should add quality there for depth and for when it's time to let them go. Bryant's and Mebane's contracts expire after the 2014 season if memory serves. Which happens to coincide with the first year we can extend Wilson. If we have their replacements on the roster, that's money we can roll over.
Clemons is getting along. And to be honest, I'm stunned he's been this reliable because his history before coming to Seattle was injury plagued. At any rate, this is a position we've shored up with short term UFA band-aids. This is the year we can take a project and hope he shows something by next season. I'd expect a 5th to 7th round pick to be used on just such a project player this year.
WLB. Well the use of the term "USC Backup Crew" should tell us all we need to know. We have backups here. Quality backups. But they weren't trusted enough to supplant Hill. It's another position that could use another face.
SLB. Wright is going to get expensive. He's a prototypical good player who is going to be too expensive to keep for what he does. He's a guy that I admire a lot -- but we are going to have to say goodbye to some of these fan favorites. I love Tate too. Big fan and I love how he struggled and came out the other side. But Tate and Wright are easier pieces to effectively replace than Okung or Thomas or Wilson. We need the next Tate and Wright so we can keep the core of the band together.
There are a whole host of roster spots that should be considered in play. This is the year where the depth guys have to make their move. Scruggs, McDonald, Howard, Baldwin, Moffit, Sweezy, Turbin, Lane, Maragos, Maxwell, Smith etc. Either they need to challenge for starter positions or we need to replace them with prospects that will. Because there are going to be some starters that are going to have to roll off the payroll. That reload process starts this year. These guys' roster spots are imminently in jeopardy as it should be.
I see a lot of opportunity for new players to make this team. I could see 6-7 of our draft picks sticking with the team.