Seattle Seahawks Likely Finished Making Free Agent Signings

Using up most of the salary cap space created with a series of roster cuts earlier this month, the Seattle Seahawks likely won't make any more significant free agent additions before the 2024 NFL Draft.

Mere weeks after opening up north of $45 million in salary cap space through roster cuts and contract restructures, the Seattle Seahawks don't have much wiggle room left with free agency now winding down to a slow crawl.

Per Brady Henderson of ESPN, the Seahawks signed defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, safety K'von Wallace, and guard Tremayne Anchrum to one-year contracts with cap hits of $2.05 million, $1.5 million, and $1.155 million respectively. With the value of those three remaining unknown deals now revealed, according to OverTheCap.com, the organization has $2.37 million in available salary cap space, which doesn't account for rookie contracts and the top 51 contracts on the roster.

Some may scoff at how quickly general manager John Schneider blew through cap space created by releasing safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs as well as tight end Will Dissly, but Seattle had some expensive business to take care of at the start of the new league year.

Johnathan Hankins

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First, the Seahawks re-upped defensive tackle Leonard Williams, who arrived via trade from the Giants back in October in exchange for a second and fifth-round pick, signing him to a three-year, $64.5 million deal with a $10.4 million cap hit in 2024. Striking a new two-year, $21 million deal with tight end Noah Fant as well, that contract further depleted cap space by $7.5 million next season, shedding nearly half of the financial room opened up before free agency began.

In the aftermath of those two re-signings, Schneider didn't make any other splashy moves given the team's financial limitations, but he handed out several one and two-year contracts to help replace departed former starters such as linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner and add depth on both sides of the ball that quickly ate up the rest of Seattle's limited cap room.

Headlining Seattle's crop of newcomers, Schneider played the compensatory pick game by signing safety Rayshawn Jenkins and linebacker Jerome Baker, who were cut by the Jaguars and Dolphins prior to free agency. Since the two players were outright released, neither will count towards the compensatory pick formula.

Previously starting in the secondary for the Chargers and Jaguars, Jenkins received a pink slip despite eclipsing 100 tackles, intercepting two passes, and only allowing one touchdown in coverage last season. With prior experience playing both safety spots, he should jump into the starting lineup alongside Pro Bowler Julian Love in more two-high looks as a successor to Diggs and Adams after signing a two-year, $12 million deal.

Given new coach Mike Macdonald's past preference to frequently use three-safety looks to aid pre-snap disguises, Wallace arrived on a one-year deal with the flexibility to play multiple positions as well, including both safety positions and slot cornerback. Though he likely won't start, he should be in line to compete for substantial snaps in sub packages alongside Jenkins and Love in a retooled Seattle secondary.

As for Baker, per Schneider on his weekly radio show on Seattle Sports 710, the Seahawks intend to start him at weakside linebacker after inking him to a one-year contract worth $7 million. Starting nearly 90 games in six seasons in Miami, he has been a consistent threat as a blitzer, racking up 22.5 career sacks along with 46 quarterback hits. Additionally, he has 587 combined tackles and five interceptions on his resume.

Next to Baker, former AFC East foe Tyrel Dodson will step in for Wagner at the MIKE linebacker spot with a one-year, $4.26 million deal of his own following a strong finish last season with the Bills. Starting 10 games in place of an injured Matt Milano, he set career-highs with 74 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and eight tackles for loss and at 237 pounds, he will present more of a thumper in the middle against the run game.

To cap off free agency, Schneider re-signed an old friend in tackle George Fant, who started his career as an undrafted signee out of Western Kentucky in 2016. Developing into a starter-caliber player during stints with the Jets and Texans, Seattle handed him a two-year deal worth up to $14 million, providing a quality insurance option for starting right tackle Abraham Lucas, who missed all but six games with knee issues last season and recently underwent surgery.

Away from Fant, the Seahawks added much-needed depth in the interior of the offensive line by taking a one-year flier on Anchrum, who could have a chance to compete for a starting spot after only playing sparingly in his first four seasons with the Rams. Playing tackle primarily in college at Clemson, he has seen most of his action in the NFL at right guard and could compete against second-year blocker Anthony Bradford for a spot in the lineup.

In totality, Seattle didn't splurge on one or two free agents as some fans desired, but Schneider went back to his typical blueprint filling out the roster with affordable, mostly experienced veterans on short-term contracts. Those moves should open up more options heading towards next month's draft, where they currently hold only two picks in the first 100 selections following trades for Williams and quarterback Sam Howell.

As for any additional free agent signings, as demonstrated last May when the team signed Mario Edwards and Artie Burns, it's possible a few more signings could happen after the conclusion of the draft. But with minimal cap space to work with at the moment, nothing more than adding bottom of the roster competition should be expected, and the incoming draft class will round out the rest of the Seahawks roster for the 2024 season.