Critics by and large do not like the moves the Seattle Seahawks have made in March. Beginning with the double-whammy of Tyler Lockett's release and DK Metcalf's trade request, the team has upended their passing offense. Geno Smith is out and Sam Darnold is in, Cooper Kupp has replaced Metcalf and the team got a ton of cap space and a couple high draft picks along the way.
Not all of their moves seem to fit (signing DeMarcus Lawrence especially) but overall it's not hard to see what the Seahawks were going for, here. At quarterback they got seven years younger and at least $12 million a year cheaper. At wide receiver they got older but also significantly cheaper, as Kupp's contract is less than half the average of DK's new deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Still, some folks still can't see the vision. The latest negative buzz comes from Bleacher Report, who picked the word "contradictory" to describe the Seahawks' offseason o far.
"It looked like they were fully committed to a rebuild of sorts with Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf and Geno Smith on the way out. And then they handed out more than $100 million to a quarterback who has put together less than one good NFL season in Darnold."
We're just going to ignore the fundamentally flawed media commentary about Darnold's game at this point and focus on the rest of the picture.
It might have made more sense to sign a younger wide receiver than Kupp, who will turn 32 this offseason. However, Kupp was by far the best receiver to actually hit the market this year, as it's become clear that Chris Godwin and Tee Higgins were never going anywhere. Even at this late stage of his career Kupp is not a significant step down from DK - and if he plays 18 games he might even prove to be an upgrade.
The Seahawks should also be getting more credit for re-signing Ernest Jones to a spectacularly team-friendly deal, as well as bringing back Jarran Reed, an underrated piece up front.
Overall, it's really not hard to like the moves Seattle has made - it's the ones that they haven't made that hurt the most. The failure to bring in any interior offensive linemen should officially put Seahawks GM John Schneider on notice.
That being said, the Seahawks don't do total rebuilds, so analysts should know not to expect a radical transformation that could significantly set them back. No matter what state the offenive line is in, this reset gives them a better chance to compete in the long run, period.
