The first season of Mike Macdonald's career as a head coach of the Seahawks was both a positive, yet wasted season. On a good note Mike showed a lot of improvements as a head coach when it came to managing the team, managing the game, and managing the media/fans. I saw him transform from a guy who looked completely lost in the middle of the season to a coach who was confident. I saw a guy who was unafraid of cutting players and coaches who got in the way of progress. I really hope to continue to see his growth as a head coach and I hope he gets more say on players and personnel going forward (despite his end of year press conference stating the opposite).
The wasted part was the hiring of a college OC who had no business being in the NFL and was simply a local fan favorite because he came from the University of Washington in Seattle. This resulted in a sporadic offense that looked horrible at times and inspired Geno Smith to do what you don't want him to do, hold the ball. This resulted in many penalties, turnovers, sacks, and 3-outs.
Let's summarize another season where the Seahawks needed a single win to be able to win the division and sneak into the playoffs. Unfortunately they allowed the Rams to take the division again due to a poorly managed mid-late season filled with all 3 phases of the game struggling at different times.
The defense dramatically improved by the end of season after Seattle got rid of all their starting linebackers and benched certain players. The special teams was still mediocre by season's end and it's surprising to see Jay Harbaugh still employed. The offense was very up and down all year, with lots of turnovers, lots of penalties, and almost no run game.
The offensive slump was not good. We saw a top 10 offense in Geno's first year as a starter. That went to a bottom 10 offense his 2nd year, and another bottom 10 showing in his third year. Geno was top in the league in turnovers and middle of the league in touchdowns. Geno's best games came when there was a run game to run play action off of and a quick passing game full of easy to complete routes. Geno is at his worst when you put the game solely in his hands and have long downfield route concepts. He's always been terrible at reading a defense and finding the open receiver. He needs an offense that forces him to be decisive early or that gets him out of the pocket.
Now, let's dip into the off-season and look at who's leaving, who should be replaced, and how to fill the gaps.
Coaching:
It's no surprise to see Ryan Grubb get fired. His offense was never going to work in Seattle. It's also not the style that Macdonald would want to run with the style of play he likes. It was surprising to see this hire and I have to imagine the people up high made this call, not Mike. These are the same people who have allowed the starting QB role to be solely in the hands of Geno and they spent two top 5 draft picks on defense instead of a QB.
Who would be a great OC going forward? The Seahawks have been flirting with promoting coaches with zero OC experience. This has failed in the past if you look at the last 3 OC's in Seattle. Instead they need to focus on an established OC who either left a bad program or failed as a HC. Options such as Pederson would be a good fit. Coach Mike wants to run the ball, run play action, and limit turnovers. A west coast offense would be best where there's plenty of unique run packages that also have RPO and PA elements to them.
Scott Huff is most likely to leave next. He came in with Grubb and turned the Seahawks poor offensive line into an even worse line, bottom 5 in the league. Jay Harbaugh also led a very bad special teams. This group had multiple turnovers in 1 game that cost them the game. He seems to put the wrong players in the wrong position. He's only a coach because of his name.
Now let's look at players and see who's leaving and who should come back.
Free Agents:
- DT Jarran Reed: Re-sign (~2 years $9M) - had a fantastic season (UFA)
- TE Pharaoh Brown: Let go (frees $3.2M) - had no impact (UFA)
- DT Jonathan Hankins: Let go (frees $2M) - lost his starting job mid-season (UFA)
- S K'Von Wallace: Let go (frees $1.5M) - had no impact (UFA)
- DE Trevis Gipson: Let go (frees $1.3M) - had no impact (UFA)
- G Laken Tomlinson: Let go (frees $1.2M) - had negative impact (UFA)
- LB Ernest Jones: Re-sign (3 years $30M) - turned the defense around once acquired (UFA)
- CB Tre Brown: Let go (frees $1M) - had no impact (UFA)
- WR Jaelon Dardon: Let go (frees $900k) - had no impact (RFA)
- TE Brady Russell: Let go (frees $900k) - missed most the season due to injury (ERFA)
- LB Josh Ross: Let go (frees $900k) - had no impact (ERFA)
- T Stone Forsythe: Let go (frees $900k) - missed most the season due to injury but was always bad (UFA)
Non-FA's To Release or Trade:
CB Riq Woolen: AGAIN, it's very clear Tariq doesn't care about winning or putting the team first. His only thoughts are being good at coverage and avoiding injury by not getting involved in tackles. His attitude on and off the field this season are not the type of culture the Seahawks should be a part of and they should seek some trade capital for him immediately while he still has value. He single handedly cost the team a couple games by being out of position and by refusing to tackle. They need a corner who can play zone, who rallies to the ball, and who can make a tackle. Cutting him would result in ~$1M in cap hit savings.
WR Tyler Lockett: AGAIN, I love Tyler but it's clear at the end of the season he can't keep up anymore. He's sucking oxygen after every drive, isn't getting as open as he used to, and falls down immediately when he makes a catch to avoid getting hit. It's also clear he's growing his relationships and business outside of football given the amount of articles I'm seeing about him doing real estate. Again, I love Tyler, have his autograph, and want him to have a good ending to his career in Seattle, but I think it's time for him to retire and enjoy his non-football life because JSN has stepped up as the clear #2. Also it's ~$17M cap hit savings to cut him.
WR D.K. Metcalf: AGAIN, I've been saying for 2 years that DK isn't helping this team get to the playoffs and they'd be better off getting something for him while they can before he becomes a UFA. This is his last season on contract and he should be traded while he has some value. The draft picks could bring way more value to the future of the team and keeping him around will ensure the Seahawks won't be good enough to get to the Superbowl.
DE Dre'mont Jones: Dre'mont was a terrible signing by Schneider. He was overpaid for his lack of production and he kept the Seahawks hostage this year as a guy who couldn't play in the schemes that both Pete and Mike wanted to run. At one point this season Mike told him at practice that he would cut him if he was allowed to. That told me all I need to know about this guy's effort. He only cares about the paycheck. Cutting him this season would save ~$11M in cap hit.
RB Kenneth Walker: It's unfortunate but yet again the Seahawks have a star RB who can't stay healthy. With Charbo stepping up, and multiple injuries piling up, it seems like Walker is done with his career. A post 6/1 release would cost the Seahawks $0 in dead cap and save them ~$1.9M in cap savings so it's fairly obvious that he will be cut this summer.
T George Fant: Fant was brought in for O-line depth, especially with so many players being injured on the line this year. Unfortunately he had a season ending injury early on and contributed nothing. Cutting him after 6/1 ensures the Seahawks have $0 in dead cap and would save them $3.5M in cap savings.
S Rayshawn Jenkins: This is a tough one but Jenkins should be traded and if he has no trade value then he should be cut after 6/1. He has a $0 dead cap hit after 6/1 and would save the team $5.4M in cap savings, which would be huge given he lost his starting job to Coby Bryant.
QB Geno Smith: This is a stretch but Geno will have a cap hit of $44M in 2025 and has to be restructured to stay around. He may have some trade value prior to 6/1 but releasing him afterwards would have $0 dead cap hit and would wave the team $31M in cap savings. The team will have to restructure, trade, or release him after 6/1. Keeping him on this current contract will be bad for the team.
2025 NFL Draft:
The unfortunate side of winning the last game of the year is the Seahawks dropping to the #18 overall pick. The Seahawks also may get some compensatory picks so they are projected with 8 picks overall (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 5th, 6th, 7th).
Draft needs: The Seahawks need to target QB, RB, WR, G, C, T, CB
Overall Expectations:
For 2025 I am not expecting much of a difference in the Seahawks results. I project they'll win 9-10 games and be competing for a wild card spot in the NFC. I am expecting big changes to the roster and coaching staff to help the team form its new identity. The important thing is to make the necessary changes to modify the team's trajectory so they can hit a deep playoff run in 2026-2027.
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