Seahawks Make Decisions On Restricted Free Agents Ryan Neal, Tanner Muse
With a hard deadline approaching for restricted free agents on Wednesday, the Seattle Seahawks placed a right of first refusal tender on safety Ryan Neal and opted not to tender linebacker Tanner Muse.
Coming off a season in which he earned All-Pro votes while filling in admirably for an injured Jamal Adams, Seattle is taking a calculated gamble choosing the cheapest tender option on Neal to save a few bucks against the salary cap. A second round tender would have been twice as expensive paying out $4.304 million next season, but would have netted a second round pick if another team signed him to an offer sheet.
Under the terms of a right of first refusal tender, Neal would earn a slight pay raise at $2.67 million in 2023. Other teams will have the opportunity to put in an offer sheet and the Seahawks would have a chance to match any deal. But if they don't match the offer and let him walk, they would consequently lose the reliable veteran safety without receiving any compensation in return.
Only 27 years old and capable of playing multiple roles on defense as well as special teams, Neal easily could draw interest from other teams seeking safety help. With under $10 million in cap space at the moment, Seattle may not be positioned to match an offer that eclipses the $4-5 million range, especially with Adams and Quandre Diggs being on the books for a combined $32 million next season.
Behind the scenes, the Seahawks could explore a backloaded multi-year contract extension with Neal, which would eliminate the possibility of another team stealing him with an offer sheet. Placing the tender on him before the deadline does provide such flexibility for the front office for extended negotiations to try to strike a deal.
As for Muse, the Seahawks were thrilled by how he played stepping in for an injured Jordyn Brooks late in the season and the converted safety has made great strides at linebacker in his two years with the organization. With Brooks potentially out for the start of 2023 after reconstructive knee surgery and Cody Barton signing with the Commanders earlier this week, it would be wise to keep him for depth purposes.
But as Seattle has done with several other players in the past, including guard Jordan Simmons in 2021, the franchise will likely be looking to re-sign Muse on a more team-friendly deal. Considering the former Clemson star only has 20 tackles on his resume since being drafted in the third round by Las Vegas in 2020, bringing him back at a lower price point than a tender seems like a strong possibility.
With that said, NFL teams have been aggressive signing young linebackers to kick off free agency and with him now being an unrestricted free agent, the 26-year old Muse will have the opportunity to test the market. If another team shows significant interest and offers more money than the Seahawks are willing to pay, he would be free to sign elsewhere without any compensation coming back in return.
Not surprisingly, Seattle also didn't place a tender on restricted free agent Penny Hart. The veteran receiver will become an unrestricted free agent and will be free to sign with any team starting on Wednesday.
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