Snowball Effect

Well, it took a week, but the Seahawks finally got moving in free agency. Things certainly got interesting really quick, didn't they. With a pair of signings, the front office has managed to do two things.

1) Ruskell has completely revamped the running back position. Two new bodies in Duckett and Jones.

2) Created a lot more questions than he answered.

There are currently four running backs on the roster who don't contribute much on special teams. We all know that won't last, but when will it all get sorted out?

To continue....

For those of you expecting a trade, it would have to be Morris. Shaun would instantly eat up 125K more of cap space if he is traded. No such thing as a June 1st trade. He likely wouldn't have much value anyway because of all the speculation that he will be released.

Also, however, by signing Jones, the team has again eaten into it's minimal cap space. I saw John Clayton estimate that they have about 4 million in space. This is probably close. My spreadsheet has a little more, but I usually assume Clayton knows what he is talking about. At 4 million, the Hawks are going to need some room. They still have holes to fill.

The priority right now has to be on Marcus Trufant and getting him a long term deal. Ultimately, they may reward Tru beyond what they think he is worth because he is willing to work out a team centric deal that only counts 3 million in the 1st year. I would not complain if Trufant got his money, as long as he takes it in a way that best suits the team. By completing this deal and releasing Shaun, the team could clear 10 mil in cap space quick.


It appears that DJ Hackett is the odd man out this year. There has been so little talk about him it is scary. Almost no one could have predicted this. It is much like Pork Chop last year. He thought he would get a starting gig, but his injury history scared teams away and he came back on a one year deal. The longer it goes the closer Hackett gets to rejoining the Hawks on a 1 or 2 yr deal. Freeing up cap space could make this happen.

All this must also be augmented by improvements to the special teams. Right now they aren't looking so special. The team needs a new Kicker, new Long Snapper, and a New Captain. Even if they look to the draft, they will want a veteran kicker to compete in camp.

These are the moves that I look for the Hawks to make in free agency still. The key is Trufant's deal. That is literally the difference between a couple undrafted free agents making the team, or having solid depth. Lets hope that now that the teams biggest weakness has been addressed the team can turn its attention back to its own.