Seahawks Looking to Trade Key Defensive Players

By Djack

It seems as if the Seattle Seahawks defensive core has seen its last days of playing with each other. Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas could all be on different teams, or in Chancellor's case retired, to start the 2018 season. Amazing to reflect on when the Seahawks won the 2014 Super Bowl, and we all thought about how young this defense was going to be great for years with multiple Super Bowls in their future. Now, just like that the window has closed. That one Super Bowl was all they ended up having to show for it. Truly incredible since we were all certain at the time that at least one more Lombardi trophy was in the cards for the Seahawks with this strong defense. The focus has now shifted to Russell Wilson to lead this team back to the promise land. Getting salaries like Bennett, Sherman, and Thomas off the payroll would be huge for the Seahawks ability to rebuild the offense line through free agency. Trading these guys off would also allow them to acquire a sizable haul of draft picks to help the defense get younger. Will the Seahawks finally go through with reshaping their defense or is this all just smoke again.

​This isn't the first time we've heard the Seahawks are looking to move on from these guys. As a matter of fact, it seems as if this is an offseason routine. Between Thomas, Bennett, and Sherman it will cost the Seahawks about $30 million cap space this season. That's a lot of money to have tied up into 3 aging defensive players. Being able to move  them and free up cap space while being able to acquire draft picks would be huge for the Seahawks future. On the other hand, those guys have been the leaders of that defense for half a decade. Replacing them won't be easy and the defense will certainly take a step back. Last year, the team was riddled with injuries. Therefore, they missed the playoffs, and now the push towards a different future is more in focus. Would we be having this conversation if the Seahawks just won another Super Bowl, unlikely.

Honestly, if I'm a Seahawks fan I want to see these guys get one more chance at bringing home the Lombardi. Russell Wilson has never been better, if that defense stays healthy it's more than possible that the Seahawks could find themselves in a position to win the Super Bowl. Giving up all these special defensive talents would make it a whole lot tougher to compete in the NFC, where the competition is only getting stronger. The future, which would be a year or two down the road would be a lot better suited if the Seahawks were to trade these guys. Ultimately, the decision comes down to would you want to go after a potential Super Bowl this upcoming season, or set yourself up for another 5 year run like you just had, a couple years down the road. What do you think the Seahawks should do?