The Seattle Seahawks have some major moves to make in the offseason, as the team wants to sign Marshawn Lynch to a new contract over making a trade, while the team also needs to lock up Russell Wilson and as free agency approaches the team could target players like Torrey Smith, Julius Thomas, Jordan Cameron, Cecil Shorts, Mark Ingram, Eddie Royal, Jeremy Maclin or Shane Vereen on the market.
Lynch is the main priority for the Seahawks and they would like to get a deal done with him before free agency begins. Lynch has been slow to get a deal done and there have been conflicting reports that he had agreed to a deal and that he was considering retirement. According to Pro Football Talk, reports of Lynch and the Seahawks having a deal in place were not accurate and that there is a chance he could still retire.
Head coach Pete Carroll said he hoped the two sides could get a deal done and said he was not buying the talk about retirement. Reports have come out that Lynch is dealing with chronic back pain and that could factor into his decision process. According to Yahoo Sports, Lynch was offered a two year deal with next year paying him over $11 million and the following season at $9 million. Lynch obviously has not accepted this offer yet and the team did not confirm it either.
Lynch has been one of the most productive backs in football and he is coming in after rushing for over 1300 yards and scoring at least 10 touchdowns, which he has done in the past four seasons. According to ESPN.com, the team is also trying to lock in Wilson and he could end up being one of the highest paid players in the league. The site reports that the team may have his contract fully guaranteed to help with the coming cap hit.
The Seahawks also may look at players like Torrey Smith, Julius Thomas or Cecil Shorts on the market, as they could use some depth at wide receiver and tight end. Thomas may cost too much for the team to sign, but Smith or Shorts could be solid WR options. Ndamukong Suh was mentioned early on as a potential option since he wanted to play in Seattle, but he will cost way too much money. The team may look at RBs like Mark Ingram or CJ Spiller if Lynch is done, while Crabtree, Julius Thomas and Jordan Cameron could be targets with Smith.
The Seahawks have prepared a bit for this, as they like Robert Turbin and Christine Michael, but they may need more if Lynch decides to stop playing. According to the Seattle Times, the Seahawks are trying to find a way to get his deal done without crippling the cap. The newspaper reports that the team could look at making his contract fully guaranteed and they also could ask him for a slight home town discount so the cap is not blown up. The team is expected to have about $25 million in space to work with and they also want to sign back free agent Byron Maxwell.
