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Seahawks will cut special teams ace Nick Bellore tomorrow

Cutting Bellore will save the team another $2.85 million in cap space.

According to a report by Tom Pelissero at NFL Network, the Seahawks will be cutting fullback/linebacker/special teams ace Nick Bellore on Monday.

Cutting Bellore will save the team another $2.85 million in cap space.

Bellore was a useful piece – making two Pro Bowls as a special teamer – but he’s also 34 years old and part of a team that’s embracing a youth movement on their roster. The Seahawks never use a fullback on offense anymore and Bellore is not reliable as an off-ball linebacker, so they were essentially paying him only to play special teams.

Cutting Bellore is the third cap-saving move we have seen the team make this weekend. Yesterday, wide receivers Tyler Lockett and Dee Eskridge both agreed to restructured contracts that are essentially pay cuts. Prior to that, Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, Bryan Mone and Will Dissly were also cap casualties last week.

There are a lot of balls in the air as it pertains to Seattle’s salary cap situation. Our best estimate is the team will be somewhere between $50 and $55 million under the cap going into the legal tampering period.

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Embattled Seahawks WR/KR Dee Eskridge agrees to a pay cut

Wide receiver Dee Eskridge has also agreed to a pay cut

The Seahawks are getting their salary cap ducks in a row as we approach the unofficial start of free agency tomorrow. Last week the team made several players salary cap casualties, cutting safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams as well as tight end Will Dissly and nose tackle Bryan Mone.

Yesterday, we learned of two more players getting their contracts restructured going into 2024. Wide receiver Tyler Lockett is the far more significant of the two, essentially taking a pay cut but keeping the final two years on his current contract.

Wide receiver Dee Eskridge has also agreed to a pay cut. Eskridge was originally due around $1.47 million this year, but he’s agreed to a new one-year deal worth a little over $1 million. Aaron Wilson was the first to have reported the news.

The move saved the Seahawks roughly $400,000 in cap room.

Injuries have derailed whatever promise Eskridge might have shown coming out of Western Michigan when Seattle drafted him in the second round back in 2021. All together he has appeared in 24 games and missed 27. Outside of some decent kickoff returns, when Eskridge has been on the field the results have been sloppy and he’s been out of sync with his quarterbacks.

We don’t have all the details on Lockett’s new deal yet, but assuming they net around $7 million in cap room, when combined with Eskridge’s new deal it should put the Seahawks around $50 million in cap space as free agency begins.

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Tyler Lockett and Seahawks agreed to restructured contract

According to a report by Mike Garafolo at NFL Network, the Seahawks have restructured the contract of wide receiver Tyler Lockett.

According to a report by Mike Garafolo at NFL Network, the Seahawks have restructured the contract of wide receiver Tyler Lockett. Lockett keeps the remaining two years on his current deal, but it’s now a $30 million deal with $13 million guaranteed in 2024. If he hits all his incentives, Lockett can earn up to $34 million.

Before restructuring, Lockett was set to have cap hits a little under $27 million in each of the next two years, which made him a good candidate to get cut. This new contract makes that unnecessary. While we don’t have all the details yet, according to Over the Cap, the team could save a little over $7 million by restructuring Lockett’s deal this year.

Lockett is coming off a bit of an off season in 2023 – totaling just five touchdowns, his lowest since he became a starter back in 2018. His catch rate was also uncharacteristically low, coming in at 64.8%, about five points lower than his career average. Lockett still managed to post 79 catches and 894 yards, though.

Looking ahead, Lockett might see his role diminish further as Jaxon Smith-Njigba inevitably takes a larger share of targets. However, on his new deal Lockett is still a high-value receiver even if he’s not going to be producing the same numbers that Seahawks fans have grown accustomed to.

The Seahawks also restructured the contract of wide receiver Dee Eskridge, saving another few hundred thousand in cap room. Assuming Lockett’s new deal saves them around $7 million, that should give Seattle roughly $50 million in cap space going into free agency.

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Seahawks also releasing tight end Will Dissly for cap savings

This move saves the Seahawks another $7 million in cap room.

When it rains it pours. That’s especially true in the Pacific Northwest, where a quiet offseason of Seahawks news has suddenly burst with a bunch of roster moves. Only moments ago we learned that the Seahawks were releasing both strong safety Jamal Adams and free safety Quandre Diggs, freeing up some $27.5 million in cap space for the 2024 season.

Just minutes later, Tom Pelissero at NFL Network followed up with another reported roster cut for Seattle: tight end Will Dissly. This move saves the Seahawks another $7 million in cap room.

Dissly was a fan favorite in Seattle, having previously played for the University of Washington in college. All together he appeared in 72 games with the Seahawks, totaling a little over 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The good news for Dissly is that he’s entering a very weak market for tight ends and might be able to earn even more as a free agent than he would have in Seattle for 2024. Yesterday ESPN reported that even third-string tight end Colby Parkinson is getting some buzz as a sleeper free agent.

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NFL sets salary cap for 2024, what it means for the Seahawks

So, what does it mean for the Seahawks?

The NFL can’t exactly print money just yet, but at this rate they’ll get there eventually. The league just announced the salary cap ceiling for the 2024 season and it’s significantly higher than the original projections were.

According to Tom Pelissero at NFL Network, the cap has been set at $255.4 million this year.

That’s $30 million more than last year and $13 million more than the Over the Cap projections.

So, what does it mean for the Seahawks?

Yesterday the team did a simple restructure of Geno Smith’s contract, converting a roster bonus that was due next month into a signing bonus. The move saved them $4.8 million in cap room for 2024. That pulled them about even with the old projected cap ceiling.

However, with the new cap ceiling number the Seahawks now have just under $13 million to spend. Their effective cap space, which includes the cost of their draft class is now roughly at $7.89 million.

This means we should start to see some roster movement soon. Priority free agents for Seattle to re-sign include Leonard Williams, Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks. Potential cap casualties include Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs and Tyler Lockett.

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Seahawks restructure Geno Smith’s contract, save $4.8 million in cap room

General manager John Schneider got the job done by converting the $9.6 million roster bonus that was due on March 17 into a signing bonus.

According to a report by Field Yates at ESPN, the Seattle Seahawks have restructured the contract of starting quarterback Geno Smith. The move saves the team $4.8 million in salary cap space for the 2024 NFL season.

General manager John Schneider got the job done by converting the $9.6 million roster bonus that was due on March 17 into a signing bonus.

It’s an interesting move by the Seahawks, the kind that can often be a prelude to a larger transaction. Maybe this is a maneuver the team needed to make in order to fit a new contract for defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who will become a free agent in three weeks.

The real question here is how it impacts Geno Smith and whether the move makes him more tradeable or if it confirms that he won’t be going anywhere, at least this year.

The answer remains to be seen. For now, the move does one thing – the Seahawks are now pretty-much cap compliant. According to Jason Fitzgerald at Over the Cap, the restructure gets them about even with the cap limit, which needed to happen by March 13.

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Seahawks hiring Leslie Frazier as their assistant head coach

The Seahawks are hiring Leslie Frazier as their assistant head coach under Mike Madonald, according to a report by Tom Pelissero at NFL Network.

The Seahawks are hiring Leslie Frazier as their assistant head coach under Mike Madonald, according to a report by Tom Pelissero at NFL Network.

Frazier played cornerback in the NFL in the 80s and was a member of the 1985 Bears, considered the greatest defense of all time.

He’s been coaching at this level since 1999, when he got started as a DBs coach for the Eagles. Since then he’s served in a variety of defensive roles for the Bengals, Colts, Bills, Ravens and Buccaneers. He was head coach of the Vikings from 2011-2013. From 2020-2022 he was an assisant head coach and defensive coordinator for Sean McDermott in Buffalo. This past season, he was an advisor for John Harbaugh and the Ravens.

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Seahawks giving Mike Macdonald a 6-year deal as their head coach

According to Tom Pelissero at NFL Network, Macdonald is getting a six-year deal with Seattle.

The Seahawks have a new head coach. News just broke that the team is expected to hire Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to replace Pete Carroll, although the deal is not officially official as of yet.

According to Tom Pelissero at NFL Network, Macdonald is getting a six-year deal with Seattle.

Macdonald got his first coaching gig at the high school level, serving as linebackers and running backs coach for Cedar Shoals in Georgia. From there he moved up to Georgia as a graduate assistant, then two years as their defensive quality control assistant.

In 2014 he got his first job in the NFL as a coaching intern with the Ravens. From there, he worked his way up to defensive assistant, then defensive backs coach, then linebackers coach. In 2021 he spent a year under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan as his defensive coordinator, then he returned and spent the last two seasons as Baltimore’s defensive coordinator.

At just 36 years old, Maconald is now the youngest head coach in the league.

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Seahawks expected to hire Ravens DC Mike Macdonald as head coach

We will have more on the new head coach as it develops.

According to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN, the Seattle Seahawks will be hiring Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as their next head coach, making him the NFL’s youngest.

Schefter clarified that the deal has not been finalized as of yet, but it is expected to be.

Despite a disappointing end to their playoff run, Macdonald led the best defense in the NFL this season by a wide margin and did nothing to tarnish his candidacy along the way. Macdonald will be tasked with turning around a Seattle defense that finished the year ranked near the bottom of the league in points and yards allowed and No. 28 in defensive DVOA.

We will have more on the new head coach as it develops.

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Seahawks interviewing Ravens DC Mike Macdonald again today

Apparently they liked Macdonald enough to invite him for a second interview today in Seattle…

After three weeks of high drama and speculation, the search to replace Pete Carroll and find the next Seahawks head coach may be drawing to a close.

Seattle waited until after the Ravens were eliminated from the playoffs in order to interview their sharp young defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, which they did on Tuesday. Apparently they liked Macdonald enough to invite him for a second interview today in Seattle, this according to a report by Tom Pelissero at NFL Network.

Macdonald helmed the NFL’s top defense this year, with the Ravens coming in first in sacks, points allowed, yards allowed and defensive DVOA.

While nothing has been reporetd about an actual offer as of yet, for the Seahawks to bring Macdonald right back for another interview the next day is a strong sign that they are seriously pursuing his services. With Ben Johnson bowing out of the search and sticking with the Lions, Macdonald should be considered the clear favorite to win the job.

Other candidates who are rumored to still be in the mix include Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.

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