Seaside Journal, March, 2022: Part 3

Plus: Bobby Wagner is why you don't wait too long to trade a player

Matthew Stafford, Von Miller, and now Bobby Wagner have all joined the LA Rams within the last year or so, all of them after a storied decade-plus career with one team. Miller is also a great example of how much draft value a star linebacker can have on the trade market… if the team doesn’t wait too long.

For any readers out there who still don’t want to admit that the Seahawks are a bad team in 2022, that’s your prerogative and I admire the will to Goonies the team and “never say die.” But for the contingent of us who had little optimism for the Seahawks a year ago, I saw it necessary to evaluate the possibility of trading Bobby Wagner or Tyler Lockett while they still had some trade value left and to kickstart Seattle’s rebuild ahead of schedule.

It’s difficult for me to say what a team would have been willing to sacrifice for the right to pay Wagner a $13.1 million base salary in 2021. Coming off of five straight nods as a first-team All-Pro though, it’s safe to say that Wagner remained a hot commodity at age 30.

But at age 31, the Seahawks released Wagner after it became apparent that no team would pay his salary in addition to giving up a draft pick. Had Seattle acted sooner, perhaps they could have matched the second and third round picks that the Denver Broncos received from the Rams in exchange for a half-season of Von Miller.

My suggestion was to offer Wagner to the Browns at the price of a late first round pick. Post-Von, that request no longer seems like a stretch.

Now Wagner replaced Miller as the veteran linebacker presence in the locker room and while I don’t doubt that he can continue to play at a high level for a couple seasons, I hesitate to think that he will remain a member of the Rams for more than 40-percent of his five-year pact. And as to whether or not Bobby Wagner’s intel on Seattle will be “of use” to the Rams, I doubt that too.

There’s hardly been any “rivalry” since Aaron Donald and Sean McVay arrived in L.A., and the Seahawks are already looking past 2022 and into the era that comes after Bobby Wagner. If they didn’t wait to accept what they were a year ago, perhaps Seattle would have had their chance to put Wagner in another division too.

Should the Seahawks be hesitating to trade any players this year?

Today is part three of the Seaside Journal for March. I’ve had a lot of requests and e-mails from fans asking for MORE premium content, for MORE premium features, and for MORE opportunities to help contribute to this daily Seahawks newsletter. BUT I simply can’t acquiesce to these demands quite yet, not during this pivotal draft month,. so there will be plenty of Premium Seaside Joe content ahead and if you want to contribute, we are grateful for it, but don’t worry about whether or not you’ll find a lack of free content. You won’t! I’m just looking to add subscribers, so please tell a friend!

Read Part I of March links here

Read Part II of March links here

Seaside Journal, March, 2022: Part 3

Which QB options are left for Seahawks after Matt Ryan traded to Colts? (3/21)

“By staying out of the Watson, Ryan, and hopefully Mayfield drama, Seattle will be one of those teams that increases their odds of landing the best quarterback of 2023.”

This is what Pete Carroll believes about QBs that 99-percent of Twitter doesn't understand (3/21)

“It must be torture. To have spent every day since the Russell Wilson trade expecting Pete Carroll to trade for or sign a quarterback significantly better than Drew Lock, for no reason at all based on any historical evidence we have to draw from over 12 previous years in the organization.”

The best 3 2022 NFL Draft QB prospects who fit the Seahawks ACTUAL NEEDS right now (3/22)

“Despite what you’re hearing there are zero first round-quality quarterbacks in 2022.”

Seahawks and Jimmy Garoppolo? It's possible (3/22)

“I’m almost never writing what I “want” the Seahawks to do. This is not about wants. This is about observing the NFL landscape and then reporting what is possible, what is plausible, and what is probable.”

Grading Seahawks 2022 mock drafts: Who 'stands out' in a crowded field? (3/22)

“Mocks have a monopoly over our attention leading up to the draft and this leads to some inherent issues with mock drafts. None bigger than “How do I stand out in a crowded field?” As soon as a writer starts trying to answer that question before trying to be informationally accurate and honest, then all the words on the page that come after that are meaningless.”

The real story of the Seahawks and the offensive tackle market (3/23)

“The Seattle Seahawks want to retain Duane Brown, but do Seattle’s offensive needs mesh with paying a 37-year-old left tackle upwards of $16 million per season?”

Jordan Love vs. Every 2022 NFL Draft QB (3/23)

“THIS is the 2022 NFL Draft class of quarterbacks. And that guy I started writing about in the beginning is Packers second or third-string quarterback Jordan Love. Nobody wants to trade a day three pick for Love. Why would anyone spend a day one pick on any of these other comparable prospects?”

MASSIVE TRADE AGAIN: What it means for DK Metcalf emergency contract talks, Seahawks (3/23)

“Pete Carroll wants to “lock up” Metcalf this offseason. But in order to do that off the back of these contracts, he might need to lock up more than $25 million in cap space per year from 2023-2025, at least.”

Updated Seahawks top-20 big board: A new number 1! (3/23)

“Seven of these players are on defense, which makes up 12 of my top 20. Among the eight offensive players are SIX offensive linemen and two wideouts. This is a year that Carroll builds up his offensive line and defense in the draft.”

Ok, Here's My Pitch: Alabama WR Jameson Williams (3/24)

“If the Seahawks make a pick that people both love and hate, then the people who both love and hate what the Seahawks are doing will end up satisfied.”

VIDEO: Rob Staton on Seahawks draft needs (3/25)

Epic 2-hour 2022 NFL Draft podcast.

Nick Foles on trade block, who is Jack Coan, and what choices are left? (3/25)

“It has only been four days since the Matt Ryan trade and when I last updated which quarterback options were left for the Seattle Seahawks to bring in as competition for Drew Lock. Not much has changed, but the choices are slightly slimmer and once again narrowing focus on QBs such as Nick Foles.”

The #1 reason that the Seahawks SHOULD pay DK Metcalf (3/25)

“So once you assume—as you should—that the Seahawks won’t be paying Tyler Lockett his $24 million cap hit in 2024, then what the hell is that money for? Which receiver is it going to, if not Lockett or Metcalf?”

3 things the Seahawks SHOULD NOT DO with their 1st round pick in 2022 (3/26)

“Here are three things that the Seahawks could do in the first round that they might be second-guessing in the near and long-term future.”

We need to be honest about the Seahawks' talent level before the draft starts (3/27)

“In the wake of Russell Wilson’s trade to the Denver Broncos, I was shocked to learn that many Seahawks fans believed that the team had been in contention in recent years and that they would be in contention in 2022. This is in stark contrast to how I’ve viewed Seattle in recent years.”

Seahawks 2022 NFL Mock Draft showdown: Which class is better? (3/27)

“The Seahawks build up the trenches with their first two picks because the offensive line and edge rushing options were underwhelming; the top-two cornerbacks were already gone by pick nine too.”

5 Day 3 prospects to watch (3/28)

“That’s related to my concern with how people tweet and write about the NFL Draft and prospects in the NFL Draft, especially the quarterbacks. How much of our worldview is being distorted by users on Twitter who are not driven by the truth, but are instead motivated to tweet that which will get them retweeted?”

Malik Willis could be available to Seahawks on Day 2 (3/28)

“Even though recent mock drafts have Liberty quarterback Malik Willis going anywhere from two (Detroit Lions) to nine (Seattle Seahawks) in the top-10, we also know from a recent Seaside Joe article that Willis’s rise into the first round didn’t even begin to happen until February. The last time that Willis was considered to be a consensus second round pick was less than two months ago.”

If Colin Kaepernick wants to return to NFL, these 10 teams make more sense than Seahawks (3/29)

“I’m just expressing stupefication at the idea that SEAHAWKS fans are criticizing the SEAHAWKS for not signing COLIN KAEPERNICK.”

Pete Carroll, John Schneider speak to the media from NFL Owners Meetings (3/29)

“Both Carroll and Schneider used the word “intend” when it comes to extending DK Metcalf to a long-term contract. ESPN’s Brady Henderson noted that the Seahawks often wait to extend players until after the free agency period is completed, with Tyler Lockett being an exception last year for cap purposes.”

Possible Seahawks trade up scenarios (3/30)

“In 2016, we saw the Eagles trade up to two even though they weren’t sure if they would get Jared Goff or Carson Wentz. Why can’t we see a similar scenario play out for the 2022 edge rushing rivalry quietly bubbling up between Aidan Hutchinson and Travon Walker?”

Malik Willis and 8 evaluations that ask: "Why is he a 1st round pick?" (3/30)

“It leaves me no choice but to ask the question: What the hell is the point of a “X round grade” if all roads still lead to Malik Willis ending up with the Lions, Panthers, or Seahawks in the top-10?”

7 Senior Bowl standouts from Jim Nagy (3/31)

“Jim Nagy was shooting out some tweets this week about Senior Bowl standouts from February. I wanted to highlight a few of them for Seaside Joe readers today because there’s a virtual guarantee that multiple names from the game will be in Seattle this year.”