First half highlights: Seahawks trail Broncos 13-9

First half highlights: Seahawks trail Broncos 13-9

It has been a bizarre and sloppy first half of football for both the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. Increasingly, Week 1 games across the league are becoming this way due to lack of starters playing in the preseason, and this seems to be the case at Lumen Field.

Through two quarters, the Seahawks trail the Broncos 13-9. Things did not start well for Seattle. On their first two plays, quarterback Geno Smith was sacked then threw an interception. Despite the horrendous field position they were put in, the Seahawks did not allow a first down and held Denver to a field goal. Both teams traded punts for several possessions, until the Seahawks managed to tie the game at 3-3 on their fourth drive of the game.

The first highlight of the year for the Seahawks defense came courtesy of Pro Bowl safety Julian Love, who intercepted rookie Bo Nix at the one yard line.

https://twitter.com/Seahawks/status/1832886430286413928

Unfortunately, the good vibes did not last long for Seattle, as they were flagged for holding on the first play following the interception. Since the foul occured in the end zone, it resulted in a safety to give Denver a 5-3 lead. The Broncos did not do much with it, and had to punt the ball away…

…which they quickly got back thanks to a muffed Seahawks punt, putting the Broncos back within Seattle’s goal line.

https://twitter.com/Broncos/status/1832888497012912461

Once more, the Seahawks defense held strong and did their best with the terrible field position. Seattle held Denver to only three points. On their next drive, the Seahawks finally found the end zone thanks to the legs of Geno Smith. The 34-yard run gave Seattle a 9-8 lead, but the ensuring 2-point conversion fell flat.

The two points the Seahawks did not get loomed large. Denver punted once more, pinning Seattle on their own 1-yard line… which resulted in yet another safety to give the Broncos a 10-9 lead. For the first time in my life, I have witnessed a game with two safeties, and I’m sure I’m not alone.

So there you have it, folks. The weirdest way to a 13-9 score any of us have seen in quite some time, or perhaps ever.

The Broncos will receive the ball to start the second half. As for the Seahawks, plenty of adjustments are needed if they want to avoid the Week 1 upset for the second-straight season.

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Julian Love shares his Top 5 favorite “Love” songs

Julian Love shares his Top 5 favorite “Love” songs

It has been an exciting calendar year for Seattle Seahawks safety Julian Love. The man made his first Pro Bowl, earned a debut spot on the NFL Top 100 Players list, and has signed two conttracts with the Seahawks. The latest coming earlier this week worth up to $36 million over the next three seasons.

Suffice it to say, Love is here to stay in the Emerald City for quite some time. The 12th Man is going to get their opportunity to know their starting safety, and the Seahawks Twitter account took the time to share a closer look at Love’s interests off the field.

Shortly after Love signed his extension, he and his wife were asked about their Top 5 favorite “love” songs. A cute play on words with his last name, and certainly topical given the special moment with his family.

What say you, 12’s? How does Love’s list of love songs stack up with yours?

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Seahawks extend S Julian Love with a three-year, $36 million contract

Seahawks extend S Julian Love with a three-year, $36 million contract

It has been a major week for Seattle Seahawks safety Julian Love. On Monday, Love was named the No. 95 overall player on the annual NFL Top 100 list, his first appearance on the coveted ranking. Three days later, he was given something much more valuable: job security.

It was announced late Wednesday evening that the Seahawks extended their Pro Bowl safety to a brand new contract. Love will now be playing under a three-year extension worth up to $36 million.

Seattle signed Love last offseason to a two-year, $12 million contract. He was largely seen as an “insurance” signing with Jamal Adams returning from a season ending injury from 2022. Instead, Love clearly outplayed his contract. Last year, Love started 12 of 17 total games and earned his first Pro Bowl bid.

Now, the 26-year-old will be under contract with the Seahawks for the next four seasons. It is a period of change for Seattle, but clearly Love has earned his keep as a player the Seahawks want to stick around during the early years of the Mike Macdonald era.

One major point to note… Schefter, in the Tweet above, made sure to mention Love’s agent Drew Rosenhaus. Why is this important? Well, Love isn’t the only one with Rosenhaus as an agent. Current free agent center, Connor Williams, is also represented by Rosenhaus.

Why, yes, the very same Connor Williams who is currently negotiating with Seattle and is at Seahawks head quarters in Renton at the time of this article being written. With a deal being made between John Schneider and Rosenhaus, it is evident both sides are currently in a good working relationship.

Perhaps Love won’t be the only client Rosenhaus delivers for this week.

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Seahawks S Julian Love ranked No. 95 on NFL Top 100 list

Seahawks S Julian Love ranked No. 95 on NFL Top 100 list

Julian Love may have been in the NFL for five seasons, but his first with the Seattle Seahawks will certainly be a memorable one! After four years with the New York Giants, Love signed a two-year contract worth $12 million last offseason. For the Seahawks, it was a smart investment.

Love parlayed this new deal into his first Pro Bowl season… as well as his very first appearance on the famed NFL Top 100 list. Coming in at No. 95 is Seahawks safety Julian Love!

Love was signed when folks considered the safety position set for the Seahawks. But in typical shrewd fashion, Seattle’s brass realized they needed an extra boost, especially with then-Seahawks safety Jamal Adams recovering from a season ending injury in 2022.

During the 2023 campaign, Love played in all 17 game and started 12 of them, as he recorded 123 total tackles, defended ten passes, and snagged four interceptions.

Easily, Love’s biggest play last year was snagging the game-clinching interception versus the Philadelphia Ealges, sealing the 20-17 upset Monday Night Football victory. It was Love’s second interception of the fourth quarter.

However, for me, my personal favorite of Love’s inaugrual season in Seattle was in Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns. Trailing 20-17 facing a 3rd-and-three, Love was able to snag an interception (thanks to an assit from Jamal Adams’ ‘Messi’ play) to give the Seahawks new life.

Ultimately, Seattle was able to prevail with a 24-20 victory over the Browns. This would not have been possible without the 95th best player in the NFL.

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Seahawks Top 10 salary cap hits

Seahawks Top 10 salary cap hits

The Seattle Seahawks are not totally in a pickle when it comes to finances, but they are getting close. Recently, I wrote about how the Seahawks were listed as a top landing spot for Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon should New England decide to move on from their pass rush specialist. However, I mentioned the move would be unlikely due to Seattle’s salary cap constraints.

Taking a closer look at the Seahawks situation, they do not have a ton of wiggle room when it comes to spending. Right now, they have only $8,488,020 in cap space, per Over The Cap. At the moment the only teams with less cap space than Seattle are the Broncos, Jets, Panthers, Ravens and Falcons.

How is the used up cap space being distributed for the Seahawks? Currently, here are the Top 10 players taking up most of the cap for Seattle.

Geno Smith taking up the most makes sense. He is the quarterback, and while $26 million is nothing to scoff at, by NFL standards is quite a bargain when it comes to starters. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, even with his recent new contract, still make sense given how vital they are to this offense.

Where things start to get a little sticky is when it comes to Dre’Mont Jones. Jones, entering into year two of his three-year, $51.5 million dollar contract, is making a healthy chunk of change. Unfortunately, his play on the field last season did not really justify such a lofty investment. Hopefully, head coach Mike Macdonald is able to fully utilize Jones in the way we all hoped he would become.

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The Seahawks made some major changes to their safety room this offseason. After a rough year, Quandre Diggs was cut for cap savings, despite having made the Pro Bowl the three seasons before. Meanwhile, Jamal Adams was a less agonizing cap cut. In their place 2023 Pro Bowler Julian Love is now at the top of the depth chart, and he will be joined by free agent pickups Rayshawn Jenkins and K’Von Wallace.

Let’s see how Seattle’s new-look safety room ranks compared to the rest of the NFL. Here’s how Mike Clay at ESPN ranked all 32 safety units around the league after the 2024 NFL draft.

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The Seahawks are now officially in the post-Pete Carroll era, led by general manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald. While that will take some time getting used to the team already has made significant progress in reshaping the roster to fit the new regime. Next year that process will accelerate, as we will see even greater roster turnover. To get a better idea of what the team’s needs may be in next year’s draft, let’s take a look at who may no longer be on the roster at that time. Here are 33 players who are set to become free agents next year.

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Jon Ryan makes peace with Julian Love over cigars after retirement

After the ceremony was over, Ryan got a gift from safety Julian Love of some cigars.

Former Seattle punter Jon Ryan signed a one-day contract with the team yesterday, officially retiring as a member of the Seahawks.

After the ceremony was over, Ryan got a gift from safety Julian Love of some cigars and they made peace. Watch.

This is of course a reference to Ryan’s bizarre Seahawks Way post-game tweet after the team’s Week 18 win over the Cardinals where he derided several players for smoking cigars in the locker room despite not making the playoffs. The players in question were all DBs who were celebrating the end of their season as well as the birth of Julian Love’s first kid.

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We finally have our first reported visit between the Seahawks and an outside 2024 free agent.

We finally have our first reported visit between the Seahawks and an outside 2024 free agent.

According to Jordan Schultz at Bleacher Report, former Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins is on his way to Seattle to visit with the Seahawks.

Jenkins (6-foot-1, 200 pounds) was originally a fourth-round pick by the Chargers in the 2017 NFL draft out of Miami (FL). He played 61 games with them over the next four seasons, followed by three years and 48 more games with the Jaguars.

While Jenkins has not made a Pro Bowl team, he has performed well at his position. What sets him apart from the herd is his coverage, which has been exceptionally tight – especially over the last three seasons in Jacksonville. During that time he has only allowed two touchdowns and his passer rating allowed has dropped from 96.9 to 78.6 to 62.5 last season.

Jenkins is listed as a safety but that belies his versatility. Jacksonville used him all over in 2023 – notably in the box, in the slot and at free safety. If the Seahawks do sign him, he would be projected to start at safety opposite Julian Love.

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Here’s our best guess at what the team’s depth chart at safety looks like right now.

During the Pete Carroll era the Seahawks put more emphasis on the safety position than just about any other team in the NFL. Sometimes it worked out splendidly, as it did with drafting Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor in the early Legion of Boom days.

Other times it blew up in their faces, such as the dismal Jamal Adams trade and the questionable Quandre Diggs contract extension. However, those two mistakes have now been erased. Yesterday general manager John Schneider released both Adams and Diggs, as well as tight end Will Dissly. All together, the three cuts saved the team around $24 million in cap space for the 2024 season.

Among other things, the news pushes safety up on the team’s list of roster needs this offseason quite a bit. While we can reliably say that Julian Love will see a significant role next season, he’s also the only safety on the roster with any real experience at this position.

Here’s our best guess at what the team’s depth chart at safety looks like right now.

  • Julian Love
  • Coby Bryant
  • Jerrick Reed II
  • Ty Okada
  • Jonathan Sutherland (practice squad)

Considering that only Frank Clark had a lower coverage grade in 2023 than Bryant, it might be more accurate to place a few question marks in the spot below Love.

The good news is there are a bunch of qualify safeties that are about to become free agents, including Geno Stone – who played under head coach Mike Macdonald with the Ravens last season, finishing second in the NFL with seven interceptions. However, splurging on another veteran safety doesn’t seem likely at this juncture.

Our best guess is Seattle will sign one cheap safety and target another in the draft.

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