With Russell Wilson Watching, Seahawks Fail to Make Splash Bolstering Offensive Line

Unlike some prior seasons, the Seahawks were active shopping for big name offensive line upgrades to help protect Wilson on Monday. But after being out-bid for Joe Thuney and Kevin Zeitler and opting not to make a run at Corey Linsley, the market is already drying up at the guard and center positions, which can't make the franchise quarterback happy.

With John Schneider serving as general manager, the Seahawks have never been big spenders during the early stages of free agency. Traditionally, the team has preferred waiting for bargains later in the process, so it shouldn't come as a surprise they didn't make any moves on Monday.

But unlike most seasons under Schneider's watch, the lack of signings didn't happen as a result of inactivity. After Russell Wilson publicly pleaded for the organization to do something to help improve pass protection and consequently spawned trade rumors, Seattle threw a hat into the ring attempting to lure guards Kevin Zeitler and Joe Thuney to the Pacific Northwest.

In the end, however, while the Seahawks were in the mix trying to sign both players, they weren't able to close the deal with either of them. In their quest to satisfy Wilson and keep their franchise quarterback upright, they swung for the fences and wound up walking back to the dugout empty-handed for numerous reasons.

Looking at why Zeitler and Thuney opted to sign with the Ravens and Chiefs instead, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand their respective decisions. Both players received their best financial offers from those two teams while joining two AFC powerhouses. Zeitler was able to stay in the AFC North where he already has played for the Browns and Bengals, while Thuney gets to join a franchise that has made back-to-back Super Bowl appearances. They'll be blocking for MVP quarterbacks in Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes.

Though Seattle has remained one of the best teams in the NFC and made the playoffs each of the past three seasons with Wilson under center, the franchise hasn't been near as successful in the postseason. Even if Schneider and Carroll broke status quo and opened up the checkbook, the destination may not be near as appealing or as easy to sell to players as it once was, especially given the rampant speculation about an increasingly frustrated Wilson's future.

Financially, unlike teams such as the Chiefs, the Seahawks have been quiet in regard to restructured contracts and extensions to help create cap space, choosing not to shift expenses a year down the road. This left the team with only $17 million to spend, with most of that flexibility created by the decision to release defensive end Carlos Dunlap last week. It remains unclear how much they offered for either player, but that's likely another reason that kept them out of the running for having a realistic shot at signing Thuney or Zeitler.

Now, with those two players as well as prized center Corey Linsley all of the market, Seattle will have to resort to second-tier free agents to try to fill vacant starting spots at left guard and center. The good news is that several proven starters such as Gabe Jackson, David Andrews, and Trai Turner remain available to sign, so upgrades can still be attained while leaving some space to fill other roster needs.

But in the long run, one has to wonder how Wilson views these latest developments. If the Chiefs were willing to restructure several contracts to help protect Patrick Mahomes and sign a top-tier talent such as Thuney, why can't the Seahawks do the same to protect him? Why can't the team make such a financial investment when it appeared to be feasible? It makes his grievances look as if they fell upon deaf ears.

There are plenty of at bats left with free agency not even officially starting until Wednesday, so it's far to early to jump to judgments on Seattle's offseason plans. Time will tell what the team chooses to do in efforts to improve the roster. Nonetheless, the next few days remain critical and if the team isn't able to land difference makers in the trenches as Wilson demanded, it could be yet another step towards the star signal caller pushing his way out the door.