David Montgomery is not coming to Seattle. Despite being heavily linked to the Seahawks, the Houston Texans pulled off a trade with the Lions today, giving up a fourth and seventh rounder plus offensive lineman Juice Scruggs.
The Seahawks weren’t going to be able to compete with that kind of offer given their limited day three draft stock.
It does leave them in a bit of a bind though. Albert Breer suggested today that Ken Walker could be about to get around $14m a year on the open market. That almost certainly ends any shot of him returning to the Seahawks (and rightly so — that’s a mega salary that is incredibly difficult to justify).
With a thin draft class at the position and the remaining free agent options a mix of ‘not very good’ or ‘about to be paid more than they should be’ — the Seahawks might have to settle on a cheaper veteran and hope Zach Charbonnet can make a quick recovery.
It’s not ideal but if they were able to land someone like Mike Washington Jr in the draft, at least the physical potential is there to claim a possible solution.
Breer also discussed Maxx Crosby’s situation, suggesting he thinks he might be traded this week. The key seems to be a team stepping up to the plate and being prepared to offer the Raiders a package that they can sell to their fans, given they’re trading away a highly popular franchise lynchpin. Nobody appears willing to offer what they reportedly want (two firsts and a player) so is there a compromise deal out there?
We’ve been talking about Crosby to Seattle for a long time on here and I still think the Seahawks will be actively pursuing this, within reason. They can’t be reckless but a certain degree of aggression is necessary.
For me this is the key to remaining highly competitive next season. The Seahawks can’t afford to potentially lose DeMarcus Lawrence and Boye Mafe and replenish with young or average players. We’ve seen this story before. The Seahawks didn’t do a good enough job replacing both Frank Clark and Jadeveon Clowney. They have to use that as a cautionary tale. The 2026 version of Benson Mayowa and Bruce Irvin won’t get the job done.
Yet if another team simply offers a deal for Crosby you can’t compete with, there’s not much you can do. Who could they pivot to?
Rashan Gary is nowhere the same standard as Crosby. However, he is someone who has produced 24 sacks in his last three seasons. This is despite a drought of 10 games (including playoffs) to end last season without a sack.
His production falling off a cliff has led to widespread speculation that he could be on the way out in Green Bay. He’s 28-years-old and it feels like he could do with a fresh start. The Packers are also currently $6m in the red for effective cap space. They need to save some money.
It’s possible he’s cut this week to save $11m. However, that would also come with a $17m dead cap hit. They’ll save the same amount of money to give him away via trade. Would they be willing to just do a deal on the cheap for a throwaway pick? Better to get something than nothing.
His base-salary in 2026 would be $18m. It’s not ideal and you’d rather it be cheaper. Yet it’s also not so high to make you want to curl up in a ball and start crying. Gary playing at his best level is worth that money. In 2023 his PFF grade was an 80.0. Even as his play has regressed, his run-defense has still been reasonably good.
They can’t replace Lawrence with a rookie. They’d need to determine whether Gary has the fire and determination to get his career back on track and come and fight to reach his best level again. I would suggest this is very much in ‘could do a lot worse’ category.
What are some other options? The Vikings need to make major savings as they are $50.5m over the cap. Trading Jonathan Greenard would save $12.25m. Is Alex Highsmith expendable in Pittsburgh following the emergence of Nick Herbig?
Free agency will be very expensive at this position and it’s hard to see where they could get value and/or quality. Finding a solution here, to me, is the key to the off-season. Landing Crosby would set them up for further success. Let’s see if they can get it done, or whether they have to switch to alternatives.