During former president and general manager Tim Ruskell’s tenure, the Seahawks made some splashes during free agency to fill needs as Seattle continued to push for another Super Bowl appearance, including signing linebacker Julian Peterson, defensive end Patrick Kerney, guard Mike Wahle and running back Julius Jones.
However, Ruskell’s preference for high-priced veterans left Seattle with an aging roster in need of upgrades at several critical positions and two consecutive losing seasons.
With new coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider calling the shots, and the Seahawks holding three of the first 40 picks in the draft, expect Seattle’s dabbles in free agency to be more about value and less about enticing top-tier talent to the Northwest as they attempt to revamp the roster.
Schneider said even though a year without a salary cap theoretically allows teams with deep-pocketed owners such as Paul Allen to overspend, don’t expect the Seahawks to break the bank.
“We’re going to proceed like it’s any other year,” Schneider said. “It’s not one of those things where you just automatically go hog wild. You have to be responsible and treat it like it’s your own money.”
However, one player Seattle could be interested in is Green Bay defensive end Aaron Kampman. The 30-year-old struggled in the Packers’ transition to a 3-4 defensive front, and probably feels better suited for a 4-3 defensive scheme, which Seattle employs. Kampman joining Seattle makes some sense because of Schneider’s ties to Green Bay.
Another player to watch is Denver center Casey Wiegmann, a 15-year veteran who has experience in the zone blocking scheme and could be a mentor for Seattle’s younger players.
The capless year likely will happen if league owners and the NFL Players Association fail to come to terms on an extension of the collective bargaining agreement by Friday, creating the first sense of labor unrest in the league since 1987. And if the two sides are unable to reach an accord by next year, owners have threatened to lock out the players, meaning there could be no football in 2011.
But for now, players and GMs are preparing to navigate their way through the uncertain waters of 2010 based on some rule changes. They include:
• There’s no salary floor or ceiling. Last year the cap topped out at $127 million, with a floor of $111 million.
• Players now need six years in the league before becoming unrestricted free agents instead of four, so that means defensive end Darryl Tapp (four accrued seasons) and offensive linemen Chris Spencer (five) and Rob Sims (four) are restricted free agents, along with three-year players in wide receiver Ben Obomanu and offensive lineman Brandon Frye. The Seahawks have the right to match an offer for any of these players or be compensated for losing them. Seattle has not announced the tender amounts for these players.
• A second transition tag now is available to all organizations. Players who are slapped with a transition tag must be offered at least the average of the top 10 salaries for his position during the previous season, or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater.
• The eight teams that advanced to the divisional playoff round this season are limited in their ability to sign unrestricted free agents.
• Teams can dump expensive contracts without them counting against the salary cap. So the Seahawks could rid themselves of high-dollar contracts for players in 2010 such as Kerney ($5.16 million), receiver Deion Branch ($5.47 million) and safety Deon Grant ($4 million).
The Seahawks have 10 players who will become unrestricted free agents this evening, headed by wide receiver Nate Burleson and defensive lineman Cory Redding. They already assigned kicker Olindo Mare the one-year, $2.8 million franchise tender for kickers, assuring his services for next season.
Burleson already has said he’d like to remain in Seattle, and Schneider and Carroll said they wouldn’t mind having the Seattle native back.
Overall, as Carroll and Schneider head into their first free agency period together, they want to make sure they’re prepared for everything.
“We feel like we’re in a strong position, but we’re still going to see it through and execute it,” Carroll said.
Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437
eric.williams@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
