Tag: Julian Love

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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Let’s see how Seattle’s new-look safety room ranks compared to the rest of the NFL

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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33 Seahawks players who are set to become free agents in 2025

Here are 33 players who are set to become free agents next year.

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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Seahawks getting visit from free agent safety Rayshawn Jenkins

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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Seahawks safety depth chart without Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs

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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Julian Love excited for new era under head coach Mike Macdonald

Watch.

It’s going to take some time getting used to saying it, but the Seahawks have a new head coach in former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. The news was reported by Adam Schefter at ESPN in the morning and officially confirmed at the VMAC yesterday afternoon.

At the Pro Bowl the media caught up with the team’s first-time Pro Bowl safety Julian Love. He says he’s excited to see who comes in with Macdonald and carries forward the culture that they have already established. Watch.

Love will be one of the key pieces for Macdonald’s defense, at least for the 2024 NFL season. With both SS Jamal Adams and FS Quandre Diggs being strong candidates to become cap casualties, Love may soon be ascending to the top of the depth chart at his position.

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Seahawks S Julian Love (correctly) agrees with touchback fumble rule

Seahawks S Julian Love (correctly) agrees with touchback fumble rule

The Kansas City Chiefs are headed back to the AFC Championship for the sixth-consecutive season after defeating the Buffalo Bills 27-24 on the road. However, their trip back to the conference title game was hardly assured, especially after their near-disastrous turnover.

Trailing 27-24 towards the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Bills confoundingly attempted a fake punt at their own 30 yard line. The Chiefs immediately sniffed it out, and put an end to the trickery. Kansas City marched all the way down to Buffalo’s three yard line, when wide receiver Mecole Hardman fumbled the ball through the goal line.

This of course predictably restarted the age-old debate online between fans and analysts alike if this is a good rule. Well, put Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl safety Julian Love in the camp that this is in fact a good rule.

Love is absolutely correct. This is a perfectly fine rule, and it makes absolutely no sense to me why there are so many folks adamantly opposed to it. Love’s assertion that this is one of the few rules bent in favor of defense aside, it doesn’t logically add up to why the offense should retain possession if they fumble through the goal line.

A football field is 100 yards long. At any point along these 100 yards, a player can fumble the ball out of bounds and the offense still retains possession. Folks will argue that it should not be different at the goal line/end zone… but why not? The end zone and goal line are already intrinsically different than anywhere else on the field! There have always been special properties associated with these particular ends of the field.

If you are someone who still hates the rule, let me ask you about sacks. If a quarterback is sacked in the end zone, why should it still be a two-point safety then? I mean, after all, if a quarterback is sacked anywhere else on the field it is simply a loss of yards, right?

Do you see how silly that sounds?

In the end, the play did not matter. The Bills were unable to take advantage of the fumble and still lost by the same score as when it occurred.

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Julian Love says he was shocked to make his first Pro Bowl team

What likely sealed Love’s Pro Bowl status was his pair of game-changing interceptions on Monday Night Football.

The Seattle Seahawks have three Pro Bowlers this year. Devon Witherspoon, which was an obvious choice. Bobby Wagner, perhaps a legacy addition more than anything, but still a strong season nonetheless. And safety Julian Love. I think it is safe to say there are those who were a little surprised to hear Love made the team… including Love himself!

Love has been a perfectly capable starting safety in the NFL, but there have been plenty of times this year he was second fiddle behind Jamal Adams. He goes into further detail below in an interview with the media:

What likely sealed Love’s Pro Bowl status was his pair of game-changing interceptions on Monday Night Football. Love intercepted quarterback Jalen Hurts twice in the 20-17 upset victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, including one to seal the win.

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Easily the favorite for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, the former Illinois standout has another accolade to add to his growing resume: Pro Bowler. 

The Seattle Seahawks appear to have found another young star in their growing secondary. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon, the No. 5 overall pick from the 2023 NFL draft, has turned plenty of heads since he stepped on the field.

Originally questioned by some who felt the Seahawks should have taken a defensive lineman, Witherspoon has won over any doubters with his remarkable play this year. Easily the favorite for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, the former Illinois standout has another accolade to add to his growing resume: Pro Bowler.

As one of the three Seahawks named to the Pro Bowl, alongside Bobby Wagner and Julian Love, the rookie took time to explain how he found out:

The Pro Bowl may not be what it once was, but to be named to the series of events is still an incredible accomplishment. It is a sign of respect from fans, fellow players, and those around the league about the high level of play from said player.

Well done, Spoon!

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