The Offseason Champions! (Tied for 3rd Best Offseason)
Seahawks Masterfully Concoct a New Look Offense or Impending Doom.
Summary: Seattle’s gamble of an offseason. Will it payoff? This could be the sixth best offseason of these six teams, but I’m ranking them as if it all works out.
What a mixed bag of feelings when thinking about the Seahawks offseason. They are signifying a new era is inbound for the organization by letting their aging veteran at QB go after doing him right with an extension. The trade to Vegas gave them back a third rounder and then the Seahawks traded DK to Pittsburgh for another second rounder. After settling with five picks in the first three rounds of the 2025 Draft the organization swooped in and cashed the biggest Darnold discount ever conceived. They paid Vikings QB Sam Darnold $100.5 million over 3 years with no money guaranteed beyond this upcoming season. They are asking Darnold to prove it and earn an early extension. It’s a savvy move, but Darnold needs serious protection around him considering he can’t move well. I guess that’s what at least two of the first five picks will be spent on in the 2025 draft because this draft has an abundance of offensive lineman. They MUST draft offensive lineman this year or else things could get real ugly.
The next moves they made beyond Darnold were quite intriguing. By promoting JSN to WR1 and letting go of Metcalf and Lockett in the offseason they needed a wideout. They opted for Seattle native and supreme talent Cooper Kupp to immediately replenish the offense. He gets injured a whole lot, but when he plays he still has it. It’ll be interesting to monitor how his usage is and if that could maybe keep him healthy. If JSN cements himself as the one, K9 gets increased usage from his new play caller, and Seattle doesn’t put too much wear and tear on Kupp then it could be a nice recipe for a dangerous playoff team. It’s just a flip of a coin though with one of their stars getting injured. K9 and Kupp being injury prone could come up or if Darnold implodes with more offensive line woes in Seattle the team could spiral. At least Kupp only costs a guaranteed $17.5 million. It looks worse when the 3 year $45 million figure is shown for the headlines considering Kupp is approaching 32 years of age. Constant injuries along with father time usually isn’t a nice combo for success. Kupp still has it though. He still routes people up with ease and never drops the ball. I’m curious to see what new Seahawks Offensive Coordinator, Klint Kubiak puts forth in 2025.
Kubiak has already indicated he’d lean heavily on Kenneth Walker III, which should bode well for Seattle’s offense. Once he gets going in the passing game and Kubiak begins to settle in and dial things up the Seahawks could take down the NFC West. Kubiak got results with one of the worst offensive lineups in the NFL last year in New Orleans. Anybody who can prop up a 2024 Derek Carr with zero offensive line or receiving threats at his disposal deserves a medal of honor. With Kubiak entering the fold Seattle’s floor to ceiling is wild with the huge overhaul they had in the offseason. I like all the Seahawks moves if injuries were turned off on a Madden franchise simulation, but in the real world it’s hard to look past the injury risk entering 2025. Long term though Seattle has shielded themselves from injuries killing their cap space. Their last deal was dismal.
Signing DE Demarcus Lawrence in the big 2025 is just unfathomable. He is completely washed, will be 33 heading into 2025, and was in his prime back in 2017/18. Giving him up to $42 million over 3 years with $18 million guaranteed is such a weak move. It might help incrementally on Seattle’s defensive line, but there are just SO many other options to explore. He is a depth piece with a modest guarantee so it could be worse, but man Lawrence is far from being a serious factor. In Seattle it all goes wrong or everything goes right. It’s hard to envision there’s an in between. I like it though. A crafty way to experiment with a new identity, whilst not committing your pockets to the concept before it takes flight.
