We’re a couple of weeks away from the start of the 2024-25 NFL league year, and we’re already seeing teams part ways with notable players for cost-cutting reasons. The Miami Dolphins released former All-Pro corner Xavien Howard, the Chicago Bears moved on from safety Eddie Jackson and center Cody Whitehair, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have released former starting center Mason Cole (among others).
What about the Seattle Seahawks? Jamal Adams is the obvious cap casualty candidate so we are going to rule him out of this discussion. The only question is whether he’ll be pre-June 1 ($7,327,332) or post-June 1 ($17,122,000).
Here are the next highest potential cap casualties based on cap space saved:
Quandre Diggs ($11 million)
Tyler Lockett ($7,105,000 pre-June 1, $17 million post-June 1)
Will Dissly ($6,970,000)
Julian Love ($5,680,000)
Bryan Mone ($5,390,000)
Jarran Reed ($4,440,000)
I don’t think Love is going to get released but he’s only there to note that he is one of the few Seahawks whose release would net at least $4 million in cap savings.
Diggs is on an expiring contract and I don’t know what his trade value is at this point. It’s still possible the Seahawks keep him and Mike Macdonald will be able to get him back to something close to his absolute best form.
Lockett is a big question mark because they could just restructure his contract, but now that he’s on the other side of 30 it’s possible that Seattle will just look to move on and pass the torch to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Dissly essentially being TE3 by the end of the season does not inspire confidence that he’ll wrap up the final year of his deal.
Mone is almost certainly gone, which is a shame because that injury cost him the whole of the 2023 season.
Reed had a much better return to Seattle than expected but I do not believe it’s an undeniable lock that he’ll be staying in 2024. I’d say it’s a strong chance he remains a Seahawk in September but not 100 percent.
Another name not on here but worth mentioning is Nick Bellore. He’s a fullback and linebacker but plays neither of those positions in the regular season. No doubt he’s a popular player in the locker room and a key special teams player, but the Seahawks save almost $3 million if they let him go.