The 2023 season marks a conclusion for the Seattle Seahawks, who will not make the playoffs.
The Seattle Seahawks miss the playoffs for only the fourth time in 14 years under Carroll
The Hawks' season ended with a win when they beat the Arizona Cardinals 21-20, but since the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 17-9, Seattle's win in Week 18 didn't matter in the end.
With a 9-8 season officially in the books, that means it's the offseason for the Seahawks.
The offseason always has a lot of excitement for every team, and that's especially true for Seattle this year.
Here are the 10 biggest offseason stories to follow for the Seahawks over the next few weeks and months.
1: The future of Pete Carroll
This is the biggest Possible Story with the team this season, and the key word is potential.
A few years ago, head coach Pete Carroll signed an extension through the 2025 season, but according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, Carroll is actually signed through 2024 with an option for 2025 that “can be exercised in the offseason.” Those two also reported that the Seahawks are “always” evaluating and planning for life after Carroll, who just completed his 14th year leading the team.
At 72, Carroll is the oldest coach in the NFL, even if he doesn't act that way. It also means that if he remains coach until 2025, Carroll will be 74 years old.
Although the Seahawks haven't been close to a Super Bowl in some time, the team has been a regular playoff contender and it seems unlikely that Carroll will be forced out before his contract expires and will instead be allowed to walk away with his career. conditions. However, Carroll could decide to call it a career.
But based on what he said after Sunday's win, it looks like Carroll will be running the show again next year.
When asked if he wanted to return for 2024, Carroll told reporters: “Yes, of course I want to. Of course I would love to do it.”
Wanting to do it is one thing. Is Carol Expect Will he return with the Seahawks as head coach next season?
“I do,” he said. “At this point, I do.”
This may not be the season the Seahawks hire their next coach. But if so, that would be the most important piece of business the Seahawks have to take care of.
2: What happens in the middle?
The head coach is very important. The same applies to the quarterback position.
Geno Smith did not repeat his Pro Bowl season from a year ago and has missed time due to injury. The decline in production doesn't all fall on Smith's shoulders as the Hawks didn't have consistency in the run game in 2023 and had a mixed offensive line. But Smith also hasn't played as well as he did a year ago.
The Seahawks can easily maintain the status quo at QB for next year as Smith has two years left on his contract. But the easiest time for the Hawks to get out of a Geno deal is this season.
According to Spotrac, if Smith is cut or traded to a designation before June 1, the Hawks would eat $17.4 million of dead cap and save $13.8 million. If he is cut or traded after June 1, the cap hit would reach $8.7 million for each of the next two seasons and Seattle would receive $22.5 million. And according to ESPN's Brady Henderson, Smith is due a notable roster bonus if he's still on the team on Day 5 of the following league year, which begins in March.
The Seahawks, according to OverTheCap, have very little cap space for next season right now.
Backup quarterback Drew Lock has also not shown to be a viable long-term option, and is a pending free agent.
So what happens with these two, especially Smith and his contract?
And is this the year the Hawks draft a quarterback early? Seattle floated the idea last year when the team had the No. 5 overall pick, but all three quarterbacks were selected in the first round before the Seahawks selected cornerback Devon Witherspoon.
This year is another good quarterback class, headlined by USC's Caleb Williams, UNC's Drake May, LSU's Jayden Daniels, Michigan's JJ McCarthy, and three Pacific Northwest signal-callers in UNC's Michael Penix Jr. Wisconsin, Oregon's Bo Nix and WSU's Cam Ward.
The Seahawks will pick 16th overall in the first round and may not be playing some of their best quarterbacks, but could one of them fall to them?
Seattle could trade a first-round pick, something the franchise has not done under Carroll and general manager John Schneider, but the team does not have a second-round pick due to a midseason trade.
Something else interesting to watch? What the Chicago Bears decided to do at quarterback.
The Bears hold the No. 1 spot thanks to last year's trade with Carolina. If Chicago falls in love with one of these quarterbacks, the Bears could move on from Justin Fields, who just finished his third NFL season and has a lot of promise.
Would Fields be someone the Seahawks would be interested in if he were available via trade?
3: Is Shane Waldron back?
The Seahawks had one of the best and most efficient offenses in the NFL in 2022. That was not the case this year.
The term “identity” is a big one for NFL teams, and offensively at least, the Seahawks have struggled to create one in 2023. There are a lot of factors at play, and play-calling is certainly a key part of that.
The offensive line play was all over the place due to injury, and that played a direct role in the Hawks' inability to run the ball. And football management is a must under Carroll. Seattle was one of the worst rushing teams in the NFL in 2023.
Does this mean the Seahawks might be looking for a new offensive tackle this offseason? Whether Carroll returns or not, that could be on the table.
4: What about Clint Hurt?
Clint Hurt's second year as defensive coordinator started out well, especially against the run, as the Seahawks were terrible in 2022.
But defensive running and general tackling plagued the Hawks down the stretch, playing a major role in missing the playoffs after starting the year 5-2. That was especially evident during the team's last two games.
Hurt is a longtime Carroll assistant, joining the organization in 2017 and serving as an assistant coach for much of that time. Carroll is also loyal to his staff, sometimes to a fault, and gives coaches longer leashes than some on the outside might expect.
Hurt will likely return in 2024 for his third year as defensive coordinator, especially if Carroll returns. But given the defense's lack of growth and Carroll's obvious frustration with the performance of that side of the ball late in the season, anything could be on the table.
5: Jamal Adams questions
Sticking with the defense, one of the team's biggest names and highest-paid players had a year to remember.
Safety Jamal Adams missed all but one game in 2022 with a quad injury. This eventually led to a knee injury this year that cost him to miss most of the season again as Adams only played in nine games.
And when Adams was on the field, he wasn't the impact player the Seahawks were hoping to get when they traded two first-round picks to New York and made Adams the highest-paid player in the NFL.
While Seahawks fans may be done with Adams, the team doesn't have a good path to ending his time in Seattle.
Adams has two years remaining on his contract with a $20.8 million cap hit if this season is cut. This cap number drops if he is traded, but given Adams' contract, injury history and lack of production, that seems unlikely.
So, if Adams returns, the questions then turn to whether sitting out the season completely with less rehab helps him, if he could be better served as a true fullback moving forward, and whether they still view him as a focal point of the defense Or luxury. If he can stay on the field?
6: Leonard Williams
The Seahawks acquired senior defensive tackle Leonard Williams from the New York Giants for a second- and fifth-round pick before the NFL trade deadline.
The Hawks struggled defensively after the possession, though many of those issues began to appear before Williams arrived in Seattle.
But because of what the Seahawks gave up for Williams, a pending free agent, it seems necessary to bring him back this offseason. If not, that's a steep price to pay for half a season, especially since 2023 didn't result in a playoff berth.
7: Other trusts
Adams is a big question mark, and the futures of Seattle's other safeties could come up this offseason as well.
Quandre Diggs has one year left on his contract, and trading him would free up $11 million in cap savings and $10.2 million in dead cap space.
Julian Love, a surprise Pro Bowler, would save $5.69 million in cap savings for the Seahawks and $2.4 million in dead cap savings if he is moved.
Neither of those things seems very likely right now, but given Seattle's defensive struggles, an overhaul isn't out of the question, even if those two things aren't a real issue for the Seahawks.
8: Inside linebacker
Both Seahawks favorites could be on new teams next year.
Franchise icon Bobby Wagner, who returned to Seattle this offseason, was on a one-year deal and is a pending free agent. The 33-year-old Pro Bowler led the league in tackles again and told reporters he plans to play in 2024.
Jordyn Brooks, the Seahawks' 2020 first-round pick, is also a pending free agent as the team did not give him a fifth-year option last season due in part to him coming off a torn ACL he suffered late last season.
Wagner is a legend and a leader, but he's also not the same player he was a few years ago, especially in the passing game.
Brooks is younger and more explosive. He has also been under pressure this season and it is not clear what his market is, although it is likely to be more promising and lucrative than Wagner's.
Fortunately, Devin Bush, who joined the team this offseason and has been mostly a reserve player, is also a pending free agent.
9: Interior offensive line
Going to the other side of the ball, the Seahawks feel good about their young offensive tackles as Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas will return for their third NFL season next year.
The other three spots on the line? This is less clear.
Left guard Damien Lewis, who has started 61 games for the Seahawks since being drafted in 2020, will hit free agency for the first time. Starting center Evan Brown is also scheduled to join free agency, as is right guard Phil Haynes, who has missed nine games with various injuries.
The Seahawks have natural internal replacements for two of those players, with fourth-round pick Anthony Bradford appearing in 13 games this year at guard and fifth-round pick Olu Oluwatimi also seeing time at center.
10: Tight end
Seattle has loved its tight end trio of Noah Fant, Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson, but this room could look very different next year.
Both Fant and Parkinson are pending free agents while Dissly only has one year left on his contract. Cutting or trading Dissly would save the Seahawks $7 million with the cap hit at $3.1 million.
More about the Seattle Seahawks
• Rust: He left the Seahawks with a lot of the same questions from last year
• Immediate reaction: Seahawks' season ends despite win at Arizona
• Salk: Seahawks not implementing their philosophy due to waivers
• Video: Seahawks Football 101 – How Geno Smith and Michael Penix Jr. are similar
