Official Training Camp Thread

[Sibelius Hindemith]

Riq Woolen?

[Michael K.]

That is a very good question. I think probably Metcalf...only because I think he would absolutely change the game if he was allowed to.

1. Metcalf
2. Cross
3. Woolen
4. Smith
5. Jones
6. Lockett
7. Wagner
8. Nwosu
9. Diggs
10. Walker

I almost put Jones and Lockett ahead of him. I think the rookie slot kid we drafted makes it easier to move Lockett down now, and I just think Smith at QB is more important than Jones at DT. BUT, if you look at the talent level of the top 10 and rank them by that and importance to the team? I think Metcalf, Cross and Woolen have to be above Smith. Smith had a Pro Bowl season, but if you remember his struggles during the skid at the end of the season? Yeah, I realize we couldn't stop the run and that killed us, but Smith made some big time mistakes that cost us dearly in those losses.

[SeattleAddict]

Diggs restructured his contract just now. This years salary is now a bonus. Frees up quite a bit... a move might be coming.

[D-train]

By Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter
The day before NFL training camp typically includes a flurry of roster moves.

So it was with the Seahawks, who waived three players Tuesday — including 2020 fifth-round pick Alton Robinson — while getting one of their two remaining draft picks under contract (running back Zach Charbonnet) and creating some salary-cap space by restructuring the contract of safety Quandre Diggs.

Here’s a look at each move:

Seahawks waive Robinson and two others, sign three more
Seattle waived Robinson and cornerbacks Isaiah Dunn and James Campbell but immediately filled those spots by signing defensive tackle Roderick Perry, edge Levi Bell and cornerback Andrew Whitaker.

The moves with Robinson, Dunn, Campbell and Perry were all reported on NFL transactions while the expected signings of Bell and Whitaker were reported by several NFL reporters, with a league source also confirming Seattle’s expected signing of Whitaker.

Both Robinson and Dunn ended last season on injured reserve and were limited or out during the offseason program. The NFL designations for them did not include any mention of being waived as injured.

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But with Robinson, his knee injury, suffered in an exhibition game last August, was undoubtedly a factor. Robinson had been off to a good start in camp in his third season with the team. But coach Pete Carroll said in June it was “going to be a while” before Robinson would be able to play and there was no set return date.

Robinson made five sacks in 30 games with Seattle in 2020 and 2021, including four as a rookie when it appeared as if the Seahawks had found something of a diamond in the rough selecting him with the 148th overall pick.

Dunn, claimed off waivers from the Jets last August, played in five games on special teams last season before suffering a hamstring injury and going on IR.

Campbell was signed in May as an undrafted free agent out of Montana State.

Perry, listed at 6 feet, 2 inches and 300 pounds, played in two games last season with the Browns and likely will join the competition at nose tackle, one of the most uncertain spots on the team with Bryan Mone recovering from a December knee injury.

Perry played his final two college seasons at Illinois after beginning his career at South Carolina State. He was waived by the Browns in May.

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Whitaker, a graduate of Division III Washington University in St. Louis, has no NFL experience, but took part in Seattle’s rookie minicamp in May.

Bell, listed at 6-1, 275, went undrafted this year out of Texas State, but was signed after the draft by the Ravens before being released a few days later. He then signed with the Michigan Panthers of the USFL and had four sacks and 16 tackles in six games; he had the highest pass-rush win rate in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.

The moves leave the Seahawks with one open spot on their 90-man roster.

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Charbonnet signs, Witherspoon to come?
Seattle entered the day with two of its 10 draft picks unsigned — first-rounder Devon Witherspoon, the fifth overall pick; and running back Zach Charbonnet, taken 52nd.

Charbonnet signed a four-year rookie deal, which will pay him up to $6.8 million and carries a 2023 cap hit of $1.25 million.

That leaves Witherspoon as the last remaining unsigned draft pick in the NFL.

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Witherspoon’s four-year deal will pay him up to $31 million under terms negotiated as part of the league’s collective-bargaining agreement and carry a cap hit this year of just over $5.7 million. But while years and total value are not negotiable, things such as when bonus payments will be paid out can be and that is likely the hold up with Witherspoon, who is set to get a bonus of just over $20 million.

Diggs’ redo opens up cap space
Diggs revealed on social media that his contract had been restructured to convert his 2023 salary of $13.49 million into a signing bonus. The salary became fully guaranteed in February, so Diggs was going to get the money one way or another. The conversion simply means that instead of being paid it during the season he gets it all now.

By doing that, Seattle can spread out the cap hit of the salary over the two remaining years of Diggs’ deal — this season and 2024.

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Via OvertheCap.com, that brings down his cap hit from just over $18 million for this year — which would have been the second highest on the team behind Jamal Adams — to $11.97 million, shaving off $6.1 million, while increasing it to just over $21 million in 2024, the final year of a three-year contract Diggs signed in March 2022.

That came a day after the Seahawks signed linebacker/rush end Uchenna Nwosu to a new three-year contract extension that also incorporates the remaining year on his current deal, keeping him under contract through 2026. Full details of that contract have yet to be revealed, but it was reported that it will be worth up to $59 million when including the 2023 season, with new money of a combined $45 million in the 2024, 2025 and 2016 seasons.

Since the details on Nwosu’s deal are not yet out, it’s unclear exactly how much cap space the team created with the extension. But speculation is that it likely brought down what was to be a cap hit of more than $13 million by possibly as much as $5 million.

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Including the Diggs restructure but not Nwosu’s contract, OvertheCap.com listed the Seahawks with $13.3 million in available cap space. Nwosu’s contract, as noted, could add another $5 million to that total.

So, are the Seahawks lining up to make a big move, and maybe specifically on the defensive line, the position that remains the biggest question mark entering the season?

Possibly, as there are a few veteran defensive linemen who remain available, including Shelby Harris, who started 15 games for the Seahawks last season after being acquired from Denver as part of the Russell Wilson trade. Harris was released in March in a move that saved $8.9 million in cap space and was just days before he was due to receive a $2 million roster bonus.

Harris, who turns 32 next month, has yet to sign with a team, which has led to continued speculation he could reunite with the Seahawks, albeit on a contract that would pay him far less than he had initially been due to receive — he was set to receive a $6.5 million salary in 2023 as well as the aforementioned bonus.

Other veterans who remain available include Michael Brockers, Akiem Hicks and Ndamukong Suh.

Seattle also needed some space to sign Witherspoon and Charbonnet.

Teams also need to keep some cap space for things that happen during the season, such as paying for the 16-man practice squad and players who go on IR. Seahawks general manager John Schneider has also often talked of the value of having cap-space flexibility to pounce when players become available during training camp or the season.

[trharder]

Nwosu signing a 3 year extension, 32m guaranteed, up to 59m. There was talk among pundits about cutting him for cash savings, I guess that puts that to bed. Dunno if this is value or overpay, but he had a great year and we definitely want him around and he definitely deserves to get paid.

On the KJ Wright show on 710 last year, KJ consistently said good things about Uchenna, and he was not that kind on a lot
of the 2022 defense. Clint Hurtt on the new deal had glowing praise for Uchenna. He really really likes the guy.
This maybe should have had it's own thread.

[D-train]

First sign of Trouble at the VMAC. Guessing his agent is just trying to make a name for himself while squeezing out a few more pennies.

[Donn Beach]

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Brady Henderson
@BradyHenderson
·
Follow
Don't know what the holdup here, but it often centers around the signing bonus. The total amount is predetermined, but teams/agents haggle over what % is paid now vs. later. Teams want to defer a chunk of it for cash-flow purposes. Players want as much as possible up front

There are probably details that need to be ironed out that aren’t exactly of the most urgent nature. The money is theirs and the contracts will be signed in due time. There’s no true rush, and the difference in their ability to contribute on the field if they sign today as opposed to signing four weeks from today is absolutely zero. In addition, given that the states in which both played football in 2022 have individual income tax rates significantly higher than the 0% income tax rate in Washington, it would be prudent to have established residency in Washington prior to inking a contract that could potentially send significant amounts of money into the coffers of a state in which they no longer reside.

[D-train]

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Brady Henderson
@BradyHenderson
·
Follow
Don't know what the holdup here, but it often centers around the signing bonus. The total amount is predetermined, but teams/agents haggle over what % is paid now vs. later. Teams want to defer a chunk of it for cash-flow purposes. Players want as much as possible up front

There are probably details that need to be ironed out that aren’t exactly of the most urgent nature. The money is theirs and the contracts will be signed in due time. There’s no true rush, and the difference in their ability to contribute on the field if they sign today as opposed to signing four weeks from today is absolutely zero. In addition, given that the states in which both played football in 2022 have individual income tax rates significantly higher than the 0% income tax rate in Washington, it would be prudent to have established residency in Washington prior to inking a contract that could potentially send significant amounts of money into the coffers of a state in which they no longer reside.

Thanks. Bigger question to be me is if he plays in the slot or outside. The former will call into question whether he is worth a #5 pick but maybe it shouldn't.

[D-train]

[D-train]