Hooper31
Footballguy
Its good to be the king. Who knows how long it will last? In today's NFL the obvious answer is much shorter than longer. Starting lists of possible player changes. I don't know them all. Will update as people point out my errors.
Unrestricted Free Agents:
DL Michael Bennett
WR Golden Tate
CB Walter Thurmond
CB Brandon Browner
K Steven Hauschka
DT Clinton McDonald
DT Tony McDaniel
QB Tavaris Jackson
OG Paul Mcquistan
OT Breno Giacomini
TE Anthony McCoy
S CHris Maragos
TE Kellen Davis
OC Lemuel Jeanpierre
LB O'Brien Schofield
?? FB Michael Robinson ?? -unsure of his status
Focus here for me is the D-line. Bennett and both the McD's are priority one in my book. I think Tate is entertained. He has voiced his hope of staying in Seattle on twitter letting the team know he will take less money. Pretty sure his agent had an aneurysm at that moment. Wouldn't be surprised to see Browner and Thurmond both return as their off field issues will cause other teams to shy away. No idea what QB Tavaris Jackson is thinking. Does he see himself as a starter in this league? Don't we all sort of hope he feels like he has a home as WIlson's backup? I see it as a huge comfort knowing we have a backup that can win games.
Restricted Free Agents:
WR Doug Baldwin
S Jeron Johnson
LB Mike Morgan
Baldwin likely a 2nd round tender. I have serious doubts anyone gives up a second for Baldwin given the incoming draft class is so strong at WR.
Potential cap casualties:
WR Sidney Rice ($7.3 million in savings in cap space)
DE Chris Clemons ($7.5 million in savings in cap space)
DE Red Bryant ($5.5 million in savings in cap space)
TE Zach Miller ($5.0 million in savings in cap space)
Egos are going to be hurt. Life in the NFL I guess. Will be curious to see how the team handles this. In the past we watched the team pay players for past performance. That time is over if Schneider and Carroll hold true to their beliefs. I can't see more than one of these players getting paid (Bryant IMO). Perhaps Miller, but I have my doubts. I think Rice's likelihood of resigning with the team went up when he got hurt. Won't be surprised to see the team wait until the last moment before cutting him and then renegotiating. He probably realizes he won't find a better landing spot than here in Seattle. Play for one year and then look for his last big contract. That said, no receiver is likely to post big numbers in Seattle. I just think he'll look to show he can still play.
Players eligible for contract extensions:
S Earl Thomas
CD Richard Sherman
LB KJ Wright
Interesting stuff going on here. They can renegotiate with Thomas and Sherman and talk extension. However, all three of these guys hit escalators in their contracts for the coming season. Sherman and Wright's contracts have automatically more than doubled due to the escalators. I think this is the toughest call for Schneider. I'm sure he doesn't want to bruise any egos here by focusing on one of the three.
Potential free agents to grab:
DE Brian Orakpo would fill in nicely at the LEO. I don't think any of the potential free agent WRs look appealing to me. My guess is they wait a few rounds and take one in the draft.
NFL Draft:
WR will be the talk, but I think they go offensive line or defensive line. That will change depending on who stays or gets cut.
For people that like to follow this closely I highly recommend reading Davis Hsu. He regularly posts on Twitter and at Field Gulls. You'll be hard pressed to find another fan that knows more about the Seahawks cap situation.
Unrestricted Free Agents:
DL Michael Bennett
WR Golden Tate
CB Walter Thurmond
CB Brandon Browner
K Steven Hauschka
DT Clinton McDonald
DT Tony McDaniel
QB Tavaris Jackson
OG Paul Mcquistan
OT Breno Giacomini
TE Anthony McCoy
S CHris Maragos
TE Kellen Davis
OC Lemuel Jeanpierre
LB O'Brien Schofield
?? FB Michael Robinson ?? -unsure of his status
Focus here for me is the D-line. Bennett and both the McD's are priority one in my book. I think Tate is entertained. He has voiced his hope of staying in Seattle on twitter letting the team know he will take less money. Pretty sure his agent had an aneurysm at that moment. Wouldn't be surprised to see Browner and Thurmond both return as their off field issues will cause other teams to shy away. No idea what QB Tavaris Jackson is thinking. Does he see himself as a starter in this league? Don't we all sort of hope he feels like he has a home as WIlson's backup? I see it as a huge comfort knowing we have a backup that can win games.
Restricted Free Agents:
WR Doug Baldwin
S Jeron Johnson
LB Mike Morgan
Baldwin likely a 2nd round tender. I have serious doubts anyone gives up a second for Baldwin given the incoming draft class is so strong at WR.
Potential cap casualties:
WR Sidney Rice ($7.3 million in savings in cap space)
DE Chris Clemons ($7.5 million in savings in cap space)
DE Red Bryant ($5.5 million in savings in cap space)
TE Zach Miller ($5.0 million in savings in cap space)
Egos are going to be hurt. Life in the NFL I guess. Will be curious to see how the team handles this. In the past we watched the team pay players for past performance. That time is over if Schneider and Carroll hold true to their beliefs. I can't see more than one of these players getting paid (Bryant IMO). Perhaps Miller, but I have my doubts. I think Rice's likelihood of resigning with the team went up when he got hurt. Won't be surprised to see the team wait until the last moment before cutting him and then renegotiating. He probably realizes he won't find a better landing spot than here in Seattle. Play for one year and then look for his last big contract. That said, no receiver is likely to post big numbers in Seattle. I just think he'll look to show he can still play.
Players eligible for contract extensions:
S Earl Thomas
CD Richard Sherman
LB KJ Wright
Interesting stuff going on here. They can renegotiate with Thomas and Sherman and talk extension. However, all three of these guys hit escalators in their contracts for the coming season. Sherman and Wright's contracts have automatically more than doubled due to the escalators. I think this is the toughest call for Schneider. I'm sure he doesn't want to bruise any egos here by focusing on one of the three.
Potential free agents to grab:
DE Brian Orakpo would fill in nicely at the LEO. I don't think any of the potential free agent WRs look appealing to me. My guess is they wait a few rounds and take one in the draft.
NFL Draft:
WR will be the talk, but I think they go offensive line or defensive line. That will change depending on who stays or gets cut.
For people that like to follow this closely I highly recommend reading Davis Hsu. He regularly posts on Twitter and at Field Gulls. You'll be hard pressed to find another fan that knows more about the Seahawks cap situation.