Carlos Dunlap’s $ 14 million salary cap for 2021 was too high for Seattle. (Getty)
The fight begins for the Seahawks in probably the toughest off-season of the Pete Carroll-John Schneider era.
Russell Wilson’s situation puts the Hawks in an unknown and unsettling position
Russell Wilson called on the team to improve on the offensive line a few days after the Super Bowl. This request became more important when the Arizona Cardinals signed JJ Watt, giving Wilson six divisional games against those who managed to get through next season.
Then, on Monday, the Seahawks cut Carlos Dunlap’s defensive end, so adding the speed pass becomes a priority again as Dunlap joins Benson Mayowa and Bruce Irvin as free agents.
Schneider, the general manager of Seattle, will hurry to see if he can get Dunlap back on the list. Clearly, the Seahawks could not maintain it with a salary cap of $ 14,075 million and limited space under a declining ceiling.
No matter how great Dunlap was in getting five sacks and revitalizing the pace in the eight games with Seattle last season, after being changed from Bengal, he is 32 years old. Given that the ceiling will drop by about $ 18 million, to around $ 180 million, 30-year-old non-defenders will have to take less. Watt was released from a $ 16.66 million contract with the Houston Texans. Even though he had a career in the Hall of Fame and has 95.5 bags since 2012, he had to take less when he joined Arizona.
Watt, however, was the lucky one. His salary has not dropped as much as others earning more than $ 10 million, which will be cut next week. He ended up receiving a $ 28 million deal from the cardinals.
Dunlap entered the final year of a contract that paid him $ 13.5 million a year. It is possible that his next contract will reduce his average by 50%. He will have a decent market, though. According to NFL Analytics, he was one of the best in football with his winning percentage over the offensive officers last season. He has been a big fan for a long time, but he has joined the list of the many victims of the league, which continues to grow every day.
The only good thing that could help the Seahawks is that Dunlap liked Seattle. If they can get him to sign again, the canceled years of a new contract can allow him to return with a team-friendly ceiling number. Watt’s two-year contract has an additional three years canceled. He received a $ 12 million signing bonus, and the distribution of the bonus for five years allowed his ceiling number to be only $ 4.9 million – pretty amazing for a $ 14 million a year contract.
The creativity of the cover is important. The cardinals managed to sign the security buddha Baker for $ 14.75 million a year, structuring the contract so that his number this year with limited salaries is just over $ 3.7 million. This could give the Seahawks the incentive to give Jamal Adams’ safety about $ 15 million a year in a contract extension with a ceiling number of less than $ 4 million. He has an option for the fifth year on his current transaction, paying him $ 9.86 million. That could give the Seahawks a chance to bring back Dunlap, Adams and maybe quarterback KJ Wright, for less than the former $ 14.035 million Dunlap.
This doesn’t apply to Adams, but there will be more offers per year than ever before this off-season NFL. If players have to take less with a tight cap, they will get more if they are free agents next year, when the cap could reach up to $ 220 million. Dunlap would be wise to get a one-year deal with a few years that can be canceled, and the Seahawks must be the one to get it.
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