Analysis: 5 Players Who Could Be Traded If Seahawks Decide to Sell by Tuesday's Deadline
The NFL trade deadline is this Tuesday and the Seahawks find themselves at a bit of a crossroads. At a record of 2-5, most teams would become clear sellers, but this is a roster built to win now and a regime that, for the first time in over a decade, is under real pressure to perform.
The expectation, for now, is that they'll try to do whatever they can to turn things around with the hopes of making a late-season run towards the playoffs. But the harsh reality is: such a feat will be hard to accomplish, even when quarterback Russell Wilson (finger) returns from injured reserve. Faced with one of the toughest remaining schedules in the NFL, it may be in Seattle's best interest to declare itself a seller in this market, at least around the edges of its roster.
Let's cover all the bases from conservative selling to the unlikely scenario of Seattle becoming more aggressive with a midseason teardown. Here are five players who could be dealt over the next few days depending on the scenario.
TE Gerald Everett
Getting Everett involved has been a struggle for the Seahawks thus far. He's caught just 13 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown and missed two games due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. Dealing Everett would open the door for second-year man Colby Parkinson—just one of two tight ends on Seattle's 53-man roster who's under contract past this season—to better showcase his abilities before the team looks to reconstruct the position for yet another offseason. The Packers are one team to keep an eye after losing Robert Tonyan to a torn ACL on Thursday night.
T Duane Brown
If the Seahawks are looking to keep Wilson happy, trading one of his beloved teammates is not the way to go about it. But the fact of the matter is: Brown's inarguably regressed this season, earning a career-worst 66.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus through the first seven weeks of the year. Nevertheless, his veteran presence and history of stability will be attractive to contending teams. Watch out for the Ravens, who lost left tackle Ronnie Stanley to a season-ending ankle injury earlier this month.
DE L.J. Collier
It feels like a matter of "when," not "if" Collier is traded in the coming days. The third-year defensive end has been a healthy scratch in five of Seattle's seven games thus far and reports have indicated the team has been shopping him for weeks now. There should be plenty of suitors looking to take a flyer on a former first-round pick, though the Seahawks have done themselves no favors by sitting him. His trade value will likely be limited to a conditional late-round draft choice at this point.
DT Al Woods
This would leave a pretty massive hole in Seattle's interior defense, but if selling becomes the goal, Woods is one of the better "rentals" (players set to hit free agency this offseason) the team has to offer. Despite committing a major mistake in the Seahawks' 13-10 loss to the Saints on Monday night, he's quite possibly been their most consistent defensive lineman all season. He's recorded 13 stops and 1.0 sack thus far and ranks seventh among all defensive tackles in run stop win rate (42 percent), per ESPN. If he's made available, there should be plenty of teams that come calling general manager John Schneider with something nice to offer.
S Quandre Diggs
It's a long shot, but Diggs could make sense to trade if Seattle is heading towards a rebuild next season. If that's the case, inking a soon-to-be 29-year old safety to a lucrative contract would not be the wisest decision, no matter how well he's played this year. Theoretically, he could land Schneider and company a late Day 2, early Day 3 selection in the 2022 draft. There is just not that many contending teams looking for safety help right now, though.
