Good morning, 12s. Here's a look at what's out there today — Friday, March 24— about your Seattle Seahawks
Insights From College Pro Days On The John Schneider Show
The last week saw an aggressive push by the Seahawks in free agency to add more talent early. With several key signings and extensions, and the looming draft in April, Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton of Seattle Sports 710AM chatted with Seahawks General Manager John Schneider for the weekly offseason show. As the front office brass travels across the country to pro days, Schneider gives the latest on the franchise from the inside.
With Seattle in possession of picks No. 5 (via Denver Broncos) and No.20 in the first round, both Schneider and Coach Pete Carroll have been vocal about the team not closing the door on any options. This week, the team traveled to Ohio State and the University of Alabama for their respective Pro Days. Despite taking selfies with quarterback prospects C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young, Schneider discussed how teams evaluate all of the players in attendance.
"We're constantly trying to get these questions answered on guys," said Schneider. "Some guys have done it in a really strong manner and some guys have just been okay. And that happens. Some guys will try to redeem themselves with more workouts along the way or private workouts. But it's been cool the last couple of days. That focus of having the fifth pick in the draft is why you need to be ready, and do as much of your due diligence as you possibly can. And spending as much time at the school as you can. Today was especially cool seeing Coach Saban and Coach Carroll hanging out, two iconic coaches. So it was pretty awesome seeing that."
Schneider discussed moving on from defensive tackle Al Woods, who played for the team in 2011 and returned from 2019-2022.
"Al's situation was really cash and cap," Schneider said. Everybody has a cash budget in the NFL that you need to work within, and every team is probably slightly different. Although it may show if you go to like websites or whatever and say, 'Hey, where are the Seahawks with their salary cap?' there's a lot of budgeted items that fall into that as well when you talk about incentives, premium roster bonuses, injuries. "So there's a ton of different accounting mechanisms that go into this thing, and we just felt that at this time while we wouldn't shut the door on Al coming back, we needed to create some space to try to get something done. We're still working through some of those issues in how we can use that cap room and the cash effectively. Those calls are not fun … Those are the tough decisions that we have to make in order to just keep moving this thing forward. And like I said, both [Pete Carroll] and I spoke with Al and we won't shut the door on his return."
The speed of free agency is much different from the general manager perspective, as Schneider discussed bringing in linebacker Devin Bush and safety Julian Love last week in a matter of hours.
2024 Free Agency Tracker
Stay up to date with the 2024 Free Agency Tracker to view new additions to the team and those that have re-signed to stay in Seattle.
"Like we talked about last week," said Schneider. "There's stages of free agency, and things move awfully quick. And some agents make decisions quicker than others. We were able to get in with Devin and Julian in a very, very fast manner. Within like three or four hours. Being able to sign both of those guys was huge for us. Not something that we necessarily thought would happen in that short time period."
Schneider continued in praising the young linebacker, who gets a fresh start after four seasons in Pittsburgh.
"As a player Devin is obviously an instinctive player," said Schneider. "Really talented college player. One thing that stands out about this past year is the way he'll strike ya, he can really take on guards. He's not afraid to throw his body around. He still has that short-close about him; closing the distance and playing with good angles. And he plays with good eyes. It'll be fun to see him fit into our group here."
Social Post Of The Day
A quick-look at the new - and returning faces for the Seahawks via free agency.
More from Around The Web
Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic: Seahawks 2023 NFL Draft big board: Prospects to watch in Rounds 1, 2 and 3.
Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times: Mailbag: Will Seahawks find nose tackle in free agency? When will they draft running back?
Brandon Gustafson of Seattle Sports 710AM: Bumpus: How Seahawks’ Julian Love addition can help Coby Bryant.
Maura Dooley of Seattle Sports 710AM: Want to know who Seahawks will draft? Look to the Senior Bowl.
Take a look back at former linebacker Michael Jackson through the years. Jackson played eight seasons in the NFL, 1979-1986, all with the Seattle Seahawks.