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.
This list is not going to get easier for you Seahawks fans.
At the start of the season, the Seahawks pass rush underperformed. Yet, they were bailed out by Wilson’s MVP play on the offensive side of the ball. To ensure Wilson received help from his defense, the Seahawks acquired defensive end Carlos Dunlap from the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for offensive lineman B.J. Finney and a 2021 seventh-round draft pick.
Dunlap was an immediate upgrade for Seattle at the line of scrimmage. In eight games with the team, Dunlap recorded 14 tackles, 18 pressures, 14 quarterback hits and five sacks. It was truly an underrated trade for the Seahawks.
The edge rusher is entering the final season of the $40.7 million deal he signed with the Bengals. For the 2021 season alone, Dunlap will count for $14.1 million against the cap and the Seahawks would not accumulate any dead money with the move. While many would view this as unlikely, desperate times call for desperate measures by the Seahawks. Besides, they only gave up a seventh-round pick and a backup offensive lineman for Dunlap, so it’s not like they gave up a ton for him anyway.
This move will ruffle some feathers for sure, but this piece is titled “surprise cuts” for a reason!
Duane Brown was a huge trade acquisition by the Seahawks back in 2017 from the Houston Texans, and paid immediate dividends for the team. Brown was named to the Pro Bowl in his first season with the team and was only penalized a total of eight times during his tenure with the Seahawks. In fact, Brown only surrendered two sacks to opposing defenders this past season, per Pro Football Focus.
But why would the Seahawks part ways with their left tackle? Well, Wilson is not exactly thrilled with the play of the offensive line and said that he is “frustrated with getting hit too much.” That is understandable, considering the quarterback has been sacked 394 times in his nine-year career.
While Brown is the best offensive lineman on the team, he is under contract for one more season and carries a cap hit of $13 million. If the Seahawks are to move on from Brown, they would only be charged with a $2 million dead cap hit, per Spotrac.
Cutting Brown could be a tough pill for the Seahawks to follow, but they could potentially draft his replacement in the second-round of the upcoming draft. Or, they could pull off a trade for a certain disgruntled Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle.
Hey, anything for cap space.