Member » The Seattle Seahawks have always been a team known for

"roster churn" since Pete Carroll took over in 2010 Delano Hill Color Rush Jersey , it’s just the names that are getting bigger. And after losing virtually all of their..." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesField Gulls homepageHorizontal - WhiteField Gullsa Seattle Seahawks communityFollow Field Gulls online:Follow Field Gulls on TwitterFollow Field Gulls on FacebookLog in or sign upLog InSign UpSite searchSearchSearchField Gulls main menuFanpostsFanshotsSectionsSeahawksOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 321 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections VideosCoffee and CigarettesGame AnalysisThe Numbers GameCigar ThoughtsSeahawks have major flexibility in 2020New,23commentsPDTThe Seattle Seahawks have always been a team known for “roster churn” since Pete Carroll took over in 2010, it’s just the names that are getting bigger. And after losing virtually all of their stars from 2013 barring two — Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner — the question turns to how Seattle will respond after extending the former and keeping us guessing on the latter. Will they extend the 29-year-old Wagner or are they a bit more contract trigger shy following the disappointing returns on Kam Chancellor and others, which is what may have led to the departure of Earl Thomas.Regardless of the decision on Wagner though, the team has a ton of flexibility next year not just in terms of cap space, but in who will be occupying roster spots with so many more set to be free agents again.Among expected starters to become free agents are Bobby Wagner, Jarran Reed, Germain Ifedi, Ezekiel Ansah, and Mike Iupati. Should he remain out of jail, Mychal Kendricks could also become a free agent after playing out a new one-year deal and if he does miss the season for legal reasons, he would remain with the team in 2020. Playing roles anywhere from regular snaps to starting are Jaron Brown, Barkevious Mingo, George Fant, Nick Vannett, Quinton Jefferson, Cassius Marsh, Akeem King, and Neiko Thorpe. Of course, not all of those players are even guaranteed a spot on the 53 next season, a picture that will become more clear in the next 2-3 months. C.J. Prosise and Joey Hunt will also be free agents from the 2016 draft class should they be on the roster.Regardless, they are not expected to be on the books for 2020 when free agency hits next March, barring improved play and an extension obviously.As of now, the Seahawks are expected to have over $76 million in cap space for 2020, second-most in the NFL after the Houston Texans, who just fired their GM. That amount of cap space will go up or down depending on the futures of Wagner, Reed, and some of their teammates, including some potential cuts. The most obvious of which could be Justin Britt who is due over $11 million in 2020, a raise of $4 million over 2019. It’s a big price tag for a center who is not considered elite and the team has taken shots at replacements recently with Hunt, Ethan Pocic, and the recently-signed Marcus Martin.Releasing Britt would raise Seattle’s cap space to $85 million absent any other changes to the cap. Other considerations will include K.J. Wright, who recently signed a two-year deal and represents an $8.5 million cap hit in 2020 if the team keeps him. That will depend on his health and productivity next season and while $8.5 million might not sound like a lot, it’s considerable bank on a 31-year-old outside linebacker in a 4-3. Justin Houston, of similar age to Wright and recently traded from a 3-4 to a 4-3 in Indianapolis, is set to make $9 million with the Colts in 2020.The team would save $6 million if it released Wright next year. They’d save another $3.4 million if Ed Dickson was released and I’ve kept alive the conversation all year long that Dickson could be a cap casualty this fall. I’m willing to backtrack on that a little bit if only because I’m now thinking that the Seahawks could be keen to keep four tight ends again: Dickson, Vannett, Will Dissly, and Jacob Hollister. They’d also have Fant as a fifth option for three-tight end sets. Then next year they could let Vannett walk Earl Thomas Color Rush Jersey , as they did Jimmy Graham and Luke Willson, release Dickson, and move forward with Dissly, Hollister, and whoever comes in next. Finally, the team would save another $3 million if D.J. Fluker loses his job as a starting guard to Phil Haynes, Pocic, or someone else.Theoretically, you could get the 2020 Seahawks to near $100 million in cap space with little effort, but then you have to start wondering how talented a team is with Russell Wilson, Tyler Lockett, Duane Brown, Bradley McDougald, and cap space. That money will be used and it’ll start to be siphoned off quickly:Wagner is the NFL’s highest paid inside linebacker this season — yes, he’s making $1 million more than C.J. Mosley, who just shattered the APY value for inside linebackers. A new contract for Wagner could put him around $15 million for 2020 and that should leave the team with at least $60 million to spend for next season’s payroll. There’s also the chance that the team drafted Cody Barton and Ben Burr-Kirven with the hope that like Frank Clark, they can avoid major deals and will instead look to franchise Wagner. That being said, Wagner is only 29 and there’s perhaps more evidence that an inside linebacker can be highly effective until his mid-30s, at least. A third contract for Wagner makes more sense than a third contract for most players, especially given the amount of money that Seattle has to spend.Meanwhile, Reed presents a more apt comparison to the tag-and-trade of Clark. Reed is 26 now and teams would have more incentive to use a draft pick on him in trade than they would a 30-year-old Wagner in a year. Reed may also be way more expensive: Mosley will make $17 million as the NFL’s highest paid inside backer in 2020. The two highest paid 4-3 defensive tackles are set to make $22 million each in 2020 (the Marcell Dareus deal included, which is unlikely to actually be used), followed by $18 million in third place. If Reed puts together another 10-sack season, he’ll join the club. The Seahawks may not like the risk of signing a pass-rushing defensive tackle to a $90 million+ deal. Consider that Dareus signed a $95 million deal with the Buffalo Bills in 2015 and he just seems to be worse and worse with each successive season. Or the up-and-down perception of Kawann Short. Seattle may not want to extend Reed unless he bets against himself and takes a team-friendly deal, which I don’t expect. I could see the Seahawks tagging him and exploring trade options because the Clark trade worked out about as perfect as possible for the team, assuming that he doesn’t just rip up the league for the next four years and Seattle’s draft picks just fall flat. That being said, I couldn’t even write this article if they had extended Clark and tuned their future cap decisions to his deal.Most of their other free agents are veterans and not likely to be around for long after 2019, if at all. It’s wait-and-see with Ansah, Fant, Ifedi, Vannett, and King, among others. There’s no reason that the team can’t sign both Wagner and Reed, and I expect Wagner to be the higher priority not just in spite of his age and cost, but because of it. Reed might be younger but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s got more great years ahead of him than Wagner and in fact he could be a bigger risk since we’ve only seen that one elite year from Reed so far. Given that defensive tackles can also take up large chunks of cap and I wonder if the team will be entertaining trade offers even sooner than we think.If they want to extend him though, the opportunity is there. There’s a lot of opportunity, and even more change, ahead. Six teams — including all of the AFC East — are off this week. But besides the Patriots, no other team has essential fantasy starters to replace.San Francisco’s break forces you to fill in for running back Matt Breida and tight end George Kittle. Cleveland’s only regular fantasy starters are Nick Chubb and Jarvis Landry. Still J.R. Sweezy Color Rush Jersey , you must deftly navigate the waiver wire for potential playoff contributors, especially with trade deadlines about to pass in most leagues.RUNNING BACKSJAYLEN SAMUELS, Steelers (Owned in 0.2 percent of leagues): Le’Veon Bell is no longer relevant in Pittsburgh, so now is the time to grab James Conner’s handcuff. When Conner left last week’s game against the Panthers, Samuels scored his first NFL touchdown. This is the time of year to start cutting players from your bench that you will never comfortably start and roster the immediate backups of your best RBs.THEO RIDDICK, Lions (19.5): He has started to re-emerge since the Lions traded Golden Tate, working in the slot and replacing the departed WR as a key target to move the chains. Riddick is purely an add in point-per-reception leagues, but a viable one. The upside is not high, but with 13 catches for 96 yards in his last two games, there is an adequate floor for your flex spot.RASHAAD PENNY, Seahawks (13.1): The rookie delivered his best performance to date in Week 10, rushing for 108 yards on a dozen carries and registering his first NFL scoring run. Penny displayed the explosive abilities that made him a first round pick. But you have to be patient with him, as Chris Carson may return to the mix and Mike Davis is the team’s best receiver at RB. Penny may ride your bench in the near future as part of a committee, but Carson is oft-injured and Penny may eventually ascend because he is the most talented RB of the three.WIDE RECEIVERSANTHONY MILLER, Bears (13.4): Another potentially explosive rookie, Miller is healthy and starting to make his presence felt in the rapidly improving Chicago offense. He came through with his best performance so far in Week 10, catching five passes for 122 yards and a TD. Miller has scored twice in his last three games and three in his last five. He has yet to display a wider range of his big-play skills, and he may soon approach fantasy WR3 status.DONTE MONCRIEF, Jaguars (15.1); Fantasy owners seem to avoid Jacksonville WRs as a rule, but Moncrief has at least performed respectably enough to make him a quality bye week and injury fill-in. In a dire situation, if you have to start Moncrief, he will provide good enough PPR numbers. He has four double-figure PPR performances in his past six games, and two of those have been 20-point outings.JOSH REYNOLDS, Rams (1.1): Cooper Kupp is done for the year with a knee injury, so you have to take a cautious flier on Reynolds again, who was mediocre in terms of catches and yardage last time Kupp was out but did deliver a two-TD game in Week 8. Reynolds will be fourth, and maybe even fifth in targets for the Rams now, but you have to take a waiver shot on a player with more possible opportunity in a great offense.TIGHT ENDSJONNU SMITH, Titans (0.6): Marcus Mariota has started to raise his game recently, and Smith has been involved enough to make savvy fantasy owners raise an eyebrow. Smith has scored in each of his past two games and has the abilities to start contributing more often on key passing downs.GERALD EVERETT, Rams (1.4): The Los Angeles tight ends could also benefit from the absence of Kupp. Everett scored in Week 10 and along with Tyler Higbee, could start to get more offensive attention from Jared Goff in the weeks ahead.NICK VANNETT, Seahawks (9.5): He has scored in two consecutive games, as he is getting more attention from Russell Wilson in red zone situations. He’s not much more than a TE2 in fantasy but can certainly fill in on a bye week.QUARTERBACKLAMAR JACKSON, Ravens (6.7): Injury issues and mediocre play appear to be putting Joe Flacco on the hot seat. While Robert Griffin III could get a chance to move in first, Jackson should get his chance if the Ravens get booted out of the playoff race soon, and his dual threat abilities will make him an intriguing fantasy option.