After a whirlwind week, the Seattle Seahawks look a lot different than that of years past, as former Vikings QB Sam Darnold is taking over at the helm for Geno Smith, and DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett aren’t there anymore to help. This Seattle shakeup is sure to intrigue NFL fans as everyone tries to figure out what the Seahawks are doing.

Pros 

The good thing is that the general manager has cleared large swaths of cap space first with the release of several veterans: defensive end Dre’Mont Jones, defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris, safety Rayshawn Jenkins, and tackle George Fant. These moves cleared up nearly $27 million in cap space.

The Geno Smith trade to the Las Vegas Raiders for a 3rd-round pick in this year’s draft created $31 million in cap space even with the Seahawks taking a $13.5 million dead cap hit. The Metcalf deal to send him to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2nd-rounder in the 2025 draft this year creates about $10 million in cap space for John Schnieder. 

With all that being said the Seahawks now have the fourth-most cap space in the NFL, with more than $62 million available for free agency. This allowed them to extend the contracts of defensive tackle Jarran Reed for three years to $22 million and linebacker Ernest Jones IV for three years to $33 million as well.

From the financial and fan interest standpoint, the Darnold signing is a pro for the Seahawks. Instead of paying Smith upwards of $45 million a season, the Seahawks saved $12 million a year by signing Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million deal with only $55 million guaranteed. 

Darnold is seven years younger than Smith and threw more touchdowns (35) than Smith last season (21). This deal reminds me of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, who signed for three years and $100 million. He had 41 touchdowns last year. I am not expecting that but if Darnold gives Seattle 30 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, I think Seahawks fans will be happy campers. 

Cons

The first con for the Seahawks is the loss of talent from this offense. Even though financially the Seahawks are better off, Darnold needs to throw the ball to somebody. There is now a giant hole at the wide receiver position with the loss of both Lockett and Metcalf.

There is still wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and tight end Noah Fant, both of whom were very productive last season. There are going to be some players who need to step up, including wide receiver Jake Bobo, the second-year player out of UCLA. 

The Smith trade is a con because of the fact that Seattle’s single-season passing yards record holder is better than Darnold. Even with the vast difference in touchdowns last season, there is some context needed for these stats. 

These were both quarterbacks who looked destined for backup jobs after both started their careers with the New York Jets. Smith has the better career stats and not just the overall yards and touchdowns. Smith has a higher completion percentage, higher yards per attempt, higher pass yards per game, and a higher quarterback rating than Darnold. 

Even though Smith (34) is seven years older than Darnold, the two-time Pro-Bowler has been a consistent quarterback while Darnold had no sustained success until last season. Minnesota also had the ninth-best offensive line according to Pro Football Network. Seattle’s rank? 31st.

Last, but not least, losing franchise faces like Lockett, Smith, and Metcalf is always hard, and it’s tough to engage fans after losing three of the most famous Seahawks over the last five years. 

Conclusion

It will be interesting to see what Seattle will do this offseason. The Seahawks need to address the lack of wide receivers and they desperately need to address the offensive line, and it needs to happen fast because a lot of names are already gone. Seattle has flexibility with the Darnold deal, they don’t have a lot of money tied up and could get out early but they could also be around 10-7 or 11-6 at the best, but that is why we play the games.

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