Things change fast in the NFL. Just a couple of weeks ago the Seattle Seahawks had the least dead money in the league for the 2024 season. After making just a handful of roster cuts heading into free agency the team is now all the way at the other end of that list. All together, they have six former players costing them a total of $36,088,326 in dead money this year, according to Over the Cap.
Here is a quick look at each of them and how much Seattle will be paying them this year to play for another team.
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The biggest dead money hit by far for the Seahawks this year is that of former strong safety Jamal Adams. The team could have spread out his dead money hits over a couple of years, but instead they decided to rip off the band-aid and get it overwith. While it’s a big price now, the team will be completely free of Adams’ contract when the 2025 league year begins. That’s worth it.
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Seattle’s other former starting safety is also costing the team a pretty penny this year. Former free safety Quandre Diggs had performed well up until the 2023 season, but his poor tackling last year and his contract made him a cap casualty. The Seahawks are also eating all of Diggs’ dead money this year, meaning they’ll be out from under in 2025. Between Diggs and Adams, the team saved $27.5 million in cap room this year.
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Uncle Will was a popular player dating back to his time at Washington. However, his contract made him an easy choice to cut this year. The Seahawks saved around $7 million in cap space with this move, but they also ate over $3 million in dead money. Since then, Will Dissly has gone on to sign a three-year deal with the Chargers, worth a total of $14 million.
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Nick Bellore was coming off a second Pro Bowl season as a special teams ace, but he got cut anyway, saving the team another $2.85 million in cap space for the 2024 season. Bellore was a valuable piece on special teams, but he will turn 35 years old before next season starts, which was likely the biggest factor in his release.
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Bryan Mone was another salary cap casualty. After sitting out the entire 2023 NFL season with a torn ACL, Seattle released him before free agency, saving another $5.3 million in cap room. Mone has since been replaced on the team’s interior defensive line depth chart by veteran Johnathan Hankins.
(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
2022 fifth-round draft pick Tyreke Smith never got off the ground in Seattle. His rookie season was resigned to the injured reserve list, then a hip injury kept him out for all but one game last year. Smith has since been signed by the Cardinals off the Seahawks practice squad.
