'We Hope to Be Done': John Schneider, Seahawks Not Expecting More Cap Casualties
Entering the busiest time of the year on the NFL calendar, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider just partook in one of his least favorite parts of the job leading up to the start of free agency.
As is the case every year, NFL teams have to maintain the health of their salary cap, and with that, difficult decisions often have to be made with expensive veteran players. Compared to most years, this offseason has been a far more difficult one for Schneider, who had to sign off on releasing safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, tight end Will Dissly, and defensive tackle Bryan Mone for cap relief purposes.
In the aftermath of those moves, however, Schneider told Seattle Sports 710 hosts Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton that the Seahawks don't plan to trim any more fat off the books prior to next week.
"I hope to be done, yes," Schneider said when asked if the team could make any more cost-saving cuts. "We hope to be done."
After releasing Jamal Adams on Tuesday, John Schneider defended the Seattle Seahawks decision to trade for the oft-injured safety two days later and didn't rule out a possible return.
Coming into this week with only $12 million in available cap space, none of Seattle's decisions should come as a surprise to fans. But even in his 15th season at the helm, that doesn't make things any easier for him as he consults with the personnel department and coaching staff after the NFL combine before ultimately making those tough calls.
Previously acquired from the Jets for a pair of first-round picks, Adams shined in his first season with the Seahawks, making the blockbuster trade initially look like a success with an NFL record for sacks as a defensive back. But unfortunately, injuries dogged him throughout his final three seasons with the organization, as he missed a combined 29 regular season games and only suited up for 10 total games in 2022 and 2023.
Still dealing with knee discomfort resulting from a torn quad tendon suffered in September 2022, which Schneider called "a really, really bad" injury on Thursday, Seattle shut him down in December and placed him on season-ending injured reserve. With a cap hit exceeding $26 million next season, the writing appeared to already be on the wall in regard to his future after another injury-marred season.
While things didn't work out for Adams and the Seahawks and he acknowledged he could have handled some things better with the player, Schneider once again defended the decision to trade for the three-time All-Pro safety, admitting he had grown sick of hearing the notion that the defender shut it down after getting paid a record-breaking $70 million contract in 2021.
"Yeah, I'm getting a little tired of the [narrative]. The trade portion, too," Schneider remarked. "Because it was a COVID year, we were picking 20-whatever and in order to go from wherever we were at 20 to get up to pick a guy like Jamal who was picked in the top five, you gotta give up another first-round pick the next year. He came in here, our coaches did a great job with him. He had 9.5 sacks, goes to the Pro Bowl, completely disruptive."
In the case of Diggs, Schneider didn't provide any specifics behind the decision to jettison the three-time Pro Bowl safety, though a strong crop of free agents at his position may have played into the decision. Like Adams, he had an untenable cap hit next season and after only intercepting one pass last season, the Seahawks decided to part ways with the 31-year old defender to create more than $11 million in cap relief.
Coming to Seattle from Detroit as part of a trade deadline deal in 2019, Diggs recorded 18 interceptions, 16 pass breakups, and 324 combined tackles in four-plus seasons with the team, garnering Pro Bowl honors three straight years from 2020 to 2021. That deadline heist will go down as one of Schneider's best, but at the end of the day, the team needed financial flexibility and without a restructured contract or extension agreed upon, he became expendable in the final year of his deal.
"Unfortunately, you get in a situation where guys have high cap numbers and either you can deal with it and try to work with it, or you can’t and you just decide to move forward and see what the rest of the offseason is going to look like," Schneider said.
Now with six NFL seasons under his belt, Dissly found himself in a similar situation. While he had been a valuable part of Seattle's offense due to his stellar blocking in the run game and ability to move the chains when granted the opportunity to catch passes, the last year of his contract carried a cap hit of $10 million, a price tag typically reserved for top-tier players at the position.
Statistically, Dissly hadn't been at that level, averaging 25 receptions for 260 yards per season with just three total touchdowns since signing a three-year contract in March 2022. Even considering his contributions that don't show up on a stat sheet, he was simply too expensive to keep on the roster with a bloated cap hit.
Looking towards free agency, Schneider and new coach Mike Macdonald want to keep all options on the table. Now flush with $41.6 million in cap space, they will scour the market to see which players from certain position groups fit in their budget and will be quality scheme fits as they try to replenish the roster with talent.
In the meantime, Schneider hopes to avoid handing out anymore pink slips, though that doesn't mean Seattle doesn't have other options for creating additional cap space as needed. After choosing to absorb all of Adams' dead cap hit this season, restructuring receiver Tyler Lockett's contract to open up as much as $7 million in instant space could very much be at the top of the agenda.
Depending on how things play out, could the Seahawks potentially bring back Adams, Diggs, or Dissly? Schneider wasn't about to rule it out on Thursday, and particularly in the case of the two safeties, a crowded market at the position could improve the odds of re-signing them on a far more affordable deal if they circle back around and that is the best option for the team.
"We haven't shut the door on any of them to come back, but when you do these contracts and you try to create cap room, there's ramifications. It’s like a credit card situation. Eventually you’ve gotta pay the bills, and if you want to keep moving forward, you have to address that."
