3 surprise cuts the Seahawks could make this offseason

The Seattle Seahawks are cap-strapped entering the 2021 season and could resort to cutting one of these three surprise players.

Prior to this past season, the Seattle Seahawks were expected to be a force in the NFC after they pulled off a trade with the New York Jets for stud safety Jamal Adams. It was Super Bowl-or-bust for the Seahawks, and they were shockingly eliminated by the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card Round.

Now, the Seahawks enter an offseason where they have positions needing to be upgraded, but with limited cap space. As of this writing, Seattle has $4.3 million in cap space entering the new league year, per Over the Cap. Not to mention that quarterback Russell Wilson has reportedly expressed frustration with the team.

For the Seahawks to make significant moves that will put them over the edge as favorites to reach Super Bowl 56, they need to free up extra cap space. To do so, they will have to make some difficult choices. Here are three players the Seahawks could choose to release entering the new league year.

While Seattle’s defensive line did struggle, Jarran Reed was one of the bright spots. Reed managed to tally the second-most sacks on the entire team with 6.5, ranking only behind Adams (9.5). Additionally, Reed recorded 38 tackles, 22 quarterback pressures,14 quarterback hits and one forced fumble.

Why would Reed be shown the door heading into the 2021 season? Well, it has to do with his cap hit.

Reed is entering the final season of his two-year, $23 million contract. If he were to remain on the roster, Reed would account for $13.5 million against the cap and carries a dead cap hit of $5 million.

Considering the league’s cap space is only growing to $180 million in 2021, cutting Reed could be a difficult but necessary choice for the Seahawks. What could help Seattle make that move is if they can find a suitable replacement in the NFL Draft.