3 Seahawks impending free agents who need to be brought back
By Lior Lampert
It has been an eventful offseason for the Seattle Seahawks, to say the least.
The Seahawks moved on from their future Hall of Fame head coach Pete Carroll, who was the oldest coach in the NFL last season and replaced him with Mike Macdonald, who is now the league’s youngest coach.
More recently, Seattle informed veteran quarterback Geno Smith he will remain on the roster through this week, which fully guarantees his $12.7 million base salary for 2024. In other words, the team has made a financial commitment to Smith being their starting signal-caller next season.
After missing the playoffs despite finishing the season with a winning record (9-8), the Seahawks will look to retool and remain competitive in 2024, not rebuild — as indicated by their decision to retain their 33-year-old quarterback at a costly amount.
That being said, the Seahawks should bring back these three pending free agents in addition to Smith to make life easier for their young rookie head coach as they look to stay in the mix for the postseason.
3. Leonard Williams
The Seahawks sent a 2024 second-round pick and 2025 fifth-round selection to the New York Giants ahead of the NFL trade deadline in exchange for Leonard “Big Cat” Williams, who they acquired with one year remaining on his contract in hopes of making a playoff push.
Ultimately, Seattle fell short of their ultimate goal, but now they have a decision to make on Williams. Do they take the loss on the assets they already gave up to acquire Big Cat and accept him being a half-year rental? Or, do they extend his contract and try to get what they can out of the assets they surrendered to get him?
Williams played well in his brief time with the Seahawks, logging 41 combined tackles, 11 quarterback hits, nine tackles for loss, four sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass deflection across 10 games. Moreover, Williams is a great fit for Mike Macdonald’s base 3-4 defensive scheme, a front he’s thrived playing in throughout his career.
Considering what they sacrificed to acquire Williams, his statistical output, and fit within Macdonald’s defensive approach, it’d be detrimental for the Seahawks to move on from Big Cat. After hiring a defensive-minded coach, Seattle should emphasize giving him pieces to succeed on that side of the ball.