6 Seahawks free agents remain unsigned
Here are six who are still free agents.
Tag: Quandre Diggs
Quandre Diggs impressed by Texans trading for Stefon Diggs
If the Texans weren’t already a serious AFC contender, they certainly are now.
No NFL team has improved nearly as much as the Houston Texans over the last calendar year. Since they avoided the landmine that is Bryce Young and landed rookie superstar C.J. Stroud in last year’s draft, the team’s fortunes have done a dramatic reversal. At the end of free agency, we had Houston ranked among the league’s top-10 teams. They just got a whole lot better, too.
This morning news broke that the Texans have pulled off a trade for Buffalo Bills star wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Apparently they’re sending a second-round pick to Buffalo and the Bills are sending back a fifth and a sixth.
To be specific:
— It's a 2025 2nd round going to Buffalo (Minnesota's).
— The #Bills are giving a 5th rounder in 2025 and a 6th this year, and Stefon Diggs. https://t.co/gPdruAC0Gb— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 3, 2024
This deal is grand larceny. Diggs is one of the league’s best wide receivers and he dramatically boosts what was already an underrated WR room for Houston.
One guy who approves of the trade is former Seahawks free safety Quandre Diggs. Here’s what he shared on Twitter after the news broke.
Texans gon be hella nice!!
— Nino (@qdiggs6) April 3, 2024
This is coming off a sharp free agency period where they added Denico Autry and Danielle Hunter up front and Jeff Okudah to the back end of their defense. If the Texans weren’t already a serious AFC contender, they certainly are now.
As for Buffalo, it’s another body blow for a roster that’s taken a ton of them this offseason. Adam Schefter shared a recap of all the key pieces that they have shed the last few weeks:
Among the players the Bills now have moved on from this offseason…
🏈WR Stefon Diggs
🏈S Jordan Poyer
🏈CB Tre’Davious White
🏈C Mitch Morse
🏈WR Gabriel Davis
🏈LB Tyrel Dodson
🏈LB Leonard Floyd https://t.co/WlL4mAaavz— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 3, 2024
Josh Allen is admittedly an alien, but it’s tough to compete in this league without a strong supporting cast, no matter how talented your QB is. Consider the Bills just outside the list of AFC heavyweights for now.
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Falcons named best fit for former Seahawks safety Jamal Adams
According to Bill Barnwell at ESPN, the Falcons are the best fit for Adams.
Former Seahawks guard Damien Lewis and linebacker Jordyn Brooks cashed in on the first day of free agency, getting the Seahawks projected fourth and fifth-round comp picks next year in the process. However, the rest of Seattle’s key free agents have not fared nearly as well on the open market – not counting the tight ends.
The toughest outlook is for Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, who were cut just before free agency began, joining a crowded market at safety that includes multiple Pro Bowlers and one All-Pro. As of yet we have heard no reports of interest in either one to get signed. However, we do expect both to find new teams for this coming season eventually.
According to Bill Barnwell at ESPN, the Falcons are the best fit for Adams.
“Best fit: Atlanta Falcons. Jessie Bates has one safety spot locked down, but 2021 second-round pick Richie Grant regressed badly last season and is entering the final year of his contract. Adams could push second-year safety DeMarcco Hellams for a starting role and offer an oft-moribund Falcons pass rush some extra juice as a blitzer.”
Atlanta’s defense doesn’t have many needs, but they could use a thumper like Adams to disrupt things in the box. As Barnwell mentions, he can still be useful in the right role when he’s healthy.
Seattle will be paying a high price to get rid of him, though – taking on over $20 million in dead money in 2024. However, they’ll be completely out from under his contract next year.
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Seahawks have ‘not shut the door’ on any players they have cut
John Schneider won’t rule out re-signing Seahawks players who have been cut
The Seahawks are about to join the free agency frenzy, as the league’s legal tampering period is set to begin in a couple of hours. So far, there hasn’t been much news regarding this team and their efforts in free agency. We only have word of one outside free agent visit – that being former Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins. We also have heard that middle linebacker Bobby Wagner will hit the open market and is unlikely to return to Seattle.
While Wagner’s second exit from the Seahawks is another bummer, fans don’t necessarily have to think every player who’s been cut over the last week or so may not ever come back. In fact, general manager John Schneider said last week on ESPN’s Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton show that they haven’t shut the door on bringing back anybody, H/T Seahawks.com.
“To be able to have (the coaching staff’s) opinions on players obviously is very important, we haven’t shut the door on any of them to come back, but when you do these contracts and try to create cap room, there’s ramifications.”
We can probably safely assume that strong safety Jamal Adams does not count in the group of players who might be returning. However, if they’re willing to come back on a smaller contract, Will Dissly, Bryan Mone and especially Quandre Diggs are all worth considering.
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The supply of free agent safeties has exploded, and that’s good for the Lions
The free agent safety market supply has exploded, and that’s good news for the Lions
The last few days have been tough on NFL safeties. However, it’s become a bullish buyer’s market for teams looking to add a safety or two from the upcoming free agency pool.
One of the top names on the list is Detroit’s own C.J. Gardner-Johnson. He’s been joined in recent days by a slew of 2023 starters who have been unceremoniously thrown into the free agent pool, mostly for salary cap purposes.
Since the NFL Scouting Combine safety workouts last week, all of these safeties have been released by their teams:
Rayshawn Jenkins, Jaguars
Jamal Adams, Seahawks
These are not insignificant players. Poyer was an All-Pro in 2022. Simmons earned second-team All-Pro status in four of the last five seasons. Diggs is third in the NFL in interceptions since the prior Lions regime traded him away in 2019.
Earlier in the offseason, Chicago unloaded longtime (and good) starter Eddie Jackson. Detroit, of course, parted ways with longtime starter Tracy Walker, too.
They join a group that already features appealing starters like Xavier McKinney (formerly of the New York Giants), Kam Curl (Washington Commanders) and Micah Hyde (Buffalo Bills) — and that’s far from a complete list of safeties worthy of signing around the league.
The Lions’ current safety room has Kerby Joseph, Ifeatu Melifonwu and Brian Branch, though Branch played just 41 of his 738 snaps at strong or free safety in his rookie season (he’s a slot defender). With Gardner-Johnson, Walker and Will Harris all pending free agents, the entirety of the depth behind the starters is 2023 undrafted rookie Brandon Joseph.
In short, the Lions have real needs at safety. That could involve bringing back Gardner-Johnson and Harris, but the unexpected bumper crop of available free agents opens up a lot of possibilities for Brad Holmes and the Lions.
15 free agents the Ravens can sign that don’t count against compensatory picks
We’re looking at 15 free agents the Baltimore Ravens can sign that don’t count against compensatory picks for 2025
The NFL’s new league is less than a week away. With the legal tampering period scheduled to start on Monday, Baltimore will look to retool on defense while making cost-effective decisions.
All-Pro pass defensive tackle Justin Madubuike is the biggest concern this offseason after getting the franchise tag, but the Ravens must also navigate 26 looming free agents.
GM Eric DeCosta has clarified that he’s prepared to lose several key starters and retool via the draft with a handful of 2025 compensatory picks.
The formula is simple.
If you lose more unrestricted free agents than you sign, you are eligible for that many compensatory selections. What round they come is determined by how big their contract is.
DeCosta and other general managers can take advantage of the rule by signing players released before their contract expires. Those players don’t count toward the formula.
According to Over The Cap, plenty of players who can help the team and not detract from the formula will be available.
Here are 15 players Baltimore could sign that wouldn’t count against 2025 compensatory picks.
15 free agents the Eagles can sign that don’t count against 2025 compensatory picks
We’re looking at 15 free agents the Philadelphia Eagles can sign that don’t count against compensatory picks for 2025
The NFL’s new league is less than a week away. With the legal tampering period scheduled to start on Monday, Philadelphia will look to retool on defense while making cost-effective decisions.
All-Pro pass rusher Haason Reddick is the biggest concern this offseason, but the Eagles must also navigate 20 looming free agents.
GM Howie Roseman has clarified that he’s prepared to lose several key starters and retool via the draft with a handful of 2025 compensatory picks.
The formula is simple.
If you lose more unrestricted free agents than you sign, you are eligible for that many compensatory selections. What round they come is determined by how big their contract is.
Roseman and other general managers can take advantage of the rule by signing players released before their contract expires. Those players don’t count toward the formula.
According to Over The Cap, plenty of players who can help the team and not detract from the formula will be available.
Here are 15 players Philadelphia could sign that wouldn’t count against 2025 compensatory picks.
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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How much cap space do the Seahawks have after trio of Tuesday cuts?
The Seahawks made a few painful but necessary roster cuts on Tuesday.
The Seahawks made a few painful but necessary roster cuts on Tuesday. The team’s popular tight end Will Dissly, gifted free safety Quandre Diggs and embattled strong safety Jamal Adams have all been released outright. That gets their dead money off the books by next year and saves a bunch of salary cap space for 2024.
How much? All together, Seattle saved around $24 million in cap space, according to Jason Fitzgerald at Over the Cap. That brings them to around $36 million in total cap space, which ranks around the middle of the pack.
“The Seahawks ended up opening up about $24 million in cap room with the three releases. They now have $36.22 million in cap space for 2024, which ranks 16th in the NFL.”
The Seahawks also went from having the least dead money in the league ($237,492) to the most ($34.4 million).
Wide receiver Tyler Lockett was also a good candidate to become a salary cap casualty this offseason. However, yesterday’s news makes that less likely – but a restructure may still be coming for No. 16. According to OTC that would save the team a little over $7 million.
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Former Lions safety Quandre Diggs cut by Seahawks
Diggs was a popular player in Detroit before being sent away by Matt Patricia
Former Detroit Lions safety Quandre Diggs was released by the Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday. Diggs had been with Seattle since midway through the 2019 season, when he was traded by the Detroit Lions.
Detroit selected Diggs in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft as a cornerback prospect out of Texas. He would convert to safety after two seasons, and that is where he has found the most success in his career. During his four full seasons in Detroit, he would play in 60 out of 64 games but started in only 35 of them.
After being traded to Seattle, Diggs saw his ball production rise exponentially. He had a total of 30 combined pass breakups and interceptions with the Lions, but after being traded he would have 50 in 4.5 seasons in Seattle. That type of production attacking the ball and disrupting plays earned him three consecutive Pro Bowl honors before his production fell off last year.
Could a return to Detroit be in the works for Diggs? Perhaps the team could find a role for him one way or another, maybe as a package-dependent type or as a full-time starter on a one-year deal. He is worth taking a shot on, and his style could fit well with the current staff and team makeup. The secondary is expected to get younger this offseason through the draft, and Diggs could bring the added benefit of veteran leadership.