We may see a ton of turnover for the Seattle Seahawks' roster this offseason. Even after restructuring the contract for Leonard Williams the team is still some $16.7 million in the red in effective cap space, which means some painful cuts and surprise trades might be in the cards.
The biggest chip the Seahawks have to play is veteran quarterback Geno Smith. Cutting or trading Smith would represent a huge hit to the depth chart, but it would also save the team $31 million in cap room. After Smith, the next most-important pieces who might get moved are wide receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
As strange as it is to think about, there is a possibility that both of them will be out of the picture by the time next season starts. Here's how Seahawks Pro Bowlers Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njiba reacted to the idea when Kay Adams posed the question on her podcast.
JSN, Spoon react to DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett possibly leaving Seahawks
Metcalf probably isn't going anywhere - especially since a trade would come with a dead money penalty twice as big as the cap savings if it's before June 1 - and not much better after. DK is also still in his prime and may not have reached his ceiling yet.
Lockett is another story, though. Not only can the team save $17 million by cutting him, his performance has dived off in a bad way over the last two seasons and it's impossible to justify keeping him unless he agrees to a steep pay cut. Lockett already did that last year to stay in Seattle, and he says he wants to keep playing, whether it's with the Seahawks or another NFL team. Odds are Lockett will have to find a new home if he's going to continue his career in 2025.
