In what has been a busy offseason for Seahawks GM John Schneider, the Seahawks have already started completely revamping their offense. Gone are Tyler Lockett, Geno Smith, and DK Metcalf. In is Sam Darnold, and likely a receiver from the draft or free agency. I'm going to make some bullet point overriding thoughts I have about these moves for each player, go into further detail, and then talk about the outlook for the Seahawks this coming season, despite the rest of free agency and the draft needing to happen.
- We knew Tyler Lockett was going to be cut
Unfortunately, the NFL is a business, and Lockett was making too much for the production he was providing. It was inevitable. There is still a small chance they bring him back on a team friendly deal, especially since Tyler's real estate business is centered here. His veteran presence will be missed, but perhaps the Seahawks will bring a cheaper veteran in to training camp. - Geno's gone because he overvalued himself
Sounds like the two sides were far apart in negotiations. Sure, you can try to find a middle, but it seemed like neither side wanted to compromise that much. Geno's TD/Int ratio was only 1.4 last season. That's below league average for a starting quarterback these days. I wonder if there was any chance of waiting until after next season was over. But rumor is because they couldn't reach a deal, Geno wanted a deal with someone else, then. I think we had seen Geno's ceiling, which was a winning QB, but not a QB with success in the playoffs. Might as well try something new. - DK Metcalf is a great talent, but has his flaws
Fortunately for the Steelers and Mike Tomlin, DK's problems are primarily mental. He sometimes lets his emotions get the best of him. DK also doesn't hold onto the ball the best and occasionally will drop a pass. That stuff can be fixed. The Steelers will either make or break the rest of DK's career. I wish we could've gotten a first for him, but a 2nd will have to do. Hopefully we can get a good player from it--more of a Bobby Wagner than a Marquise Blair (Both 2nd round picks by the Hawks). I'll miss DK's freakish athleticism, but I won't miss his immature attitude. - Sam Darnold, the next Matt Flynn?
Interesting how history sometimes repeats itself. The Seahawks signed Matt Flynn in 2012 after he had one good game after being mostly a backup. The Seahawks signed Sam Darnold after he had one good season after being a backup the last few years. Perhaps we will take a QB in the 3rd or 4th round of the draft who may be our next Russell Wilson. I'll certainly be watching out for that. But Darnold likely is the starter at first, regardless of who we take in April's draft. But we also thought that about Flynn after we signed him. I think Darnold will do okay, but the key will be protecting him and establishing the run. So our next focus has to be offensive line.
Next season will certainly be interesting. I, for one, am optimistic. I just really hope that we get at least two starter-quality interior linemen. I'm not worried about the defense, which I believe will be even better in 2025. The offensive side of the ball will largely determine the team's success in 2025. Funny, no one thought the Vikings would win 14 games under Sam Darnold, yet they did. I know most in the rest of the country will largely be counting the Hawks out in 2025, but that's fine with me. They could use a chip on their shoulder. But first, the draft in April will be huge now that we have a couple extra picks. I don't think I'll be doing a post before the draft, but I'll do one after, possibly grading the picks and talking about how they might fit into the team.
