Seahawks 2023 Schedule: Which Opponents Regressed Most in Offseason?
In what has become a holiday for NFL fans around the world, the league will announce official regular season schedules for the Seattle Seahawks and all 32 teams on Thursday, May 11 at 5 PM PT.
While Seattle's upcoming opponents have been known since the regular season concluded in January, the schedule reveal presents a crucial date on the offseason calendar. Soon, teams will know who they open the season with, how many prime time games they will play, when they play their dreaded Thursday night game(s), and much more.
Looking at their slate of upcoming opponents in the aftermath of free agency and the recent NFL Draft, which teams set to be on the Seahawks schedule regressed the most heading towards the 2023 season?
Arizona Cardinals
From the front office to coaching staff to personnel, it's been a nightmarish offseason to forget in the desert. The Cardinals first axed coach Kliff Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim after a disappointing four-win season, replacing them with Jonathan Gannon and Monti Ossenfort in those respective positions.
Beyond simply starting over from scratch by installing new decision makers, Arizona also lost several key players to retirement and free agency. Future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt announced he would hang up his cleats late last season and then two of the team's top young defenders - defensive end Zach Allen and cornerback Byron Murphy - departed to join the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings on multi-year deals as free agents.
Since receiver DeAndre Hopkins and safety Budda Baker haven't been traded, or at least not yet, the Cardinals still have top-tier talent at a couple of positions. But with quarterback Kyler Murray rehabbing from a torn ACL and potentially set to miss the start of the 2023 season on top of numerous key personnel losses with few notable moves made to replace those players, next season looks primed to be another challenging one for the organization.
Los Angeles Rams
Suffering the ultimate championship hangover, the Rams set an NFL record by winning only five games one season after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Bad luck in the health department proved to be the biggest problem for the defending champions, as quarterback Matthew Stafford, receiver Cooper Kupp, and defensive tackle Aaron Donald all missed extended periods of time with significant injuries.
Looking to clean up the books a bit, Los Angeles jettisoned several star players this spring as the franchise shifted attention towards building for the future. The team released linebacker Bobby Wagner, who found his way back to Seattle, as well as edge rusher Leonard Floyd. General manager Les Snead also dealt cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins for a third-round pick and receiver Allen Robinson II to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a late-round pick in separate cost-cutting deals.
With Stafford, Kupp, and Donald back healthy, the Rams have a chance to return to playoff contention if several rookies from their incoming draft class can make positive contributions early and the stars can avoid further injury. But with a major exodus of talent from their Super Bowl team and no other splashy moves made to offset those departures, there's little margin for error and next season likely will be a transition year before the front office attempts to build their next championship squad.
Tennessee Titans
Similar to the Rams and Cardinals, injuries played a key role in the Titans taking a large step backward last season with a 7-10 finish. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill missed five games, tackle Taylor Lewan missed most of the season with a knee injury before announcing his retirement, and first-round pick Treylon Burks also missed six games, further magnifying the absence of star receiver A.J. Brown, who the team traded to the Eagles during the offseason.
Entering a make-or-break year, Tannehill returning to 2020 form would help Tennessee's chances of pushing back into playoff contention and running back Derrick Henry remains a force in the backfield. But away from those two players, eve after using a first-round pick on Northwestern tackle Peter Skoronski, the departure of Lewan, guard Nate Davis, and center Ben Jones leaves the team with a depleted offensive line and there isn't much talent on the outside away from Burks at receiver or tight end.
Meanwhile, the Titans find themselves in a bit of bind on defense as well. While the franchise did re-sign star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to a lucrative extension, they released oft-injured veteran pass rusher Bud Dupree and lost DeMarcus Walker to the Chicago Bears in free agency. Unless cornerback Caleb Farley can finally get over his injury issues and become a viable starter and a few other youngsters emerge, it could be tough sledding in a rapidly improving AFC South.
Sigh Of Relief For: Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals
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