The Seattle Seahawks got the ball rolling ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline, trading a 2027 third-round draft pick and a 2028 fifth-round draft pick to the Indianapolis Colts for guard Quenton Nelson.
Nelson will now beef up the Seahawks’ offensive line, which has had some question marks this season. Rather than going another week to see if Seattle’s offensive line can continue to trend upward, general manager John Schneider decided to pull the trigger on likely the best offensive lineman available at the deadline.
With Nelson now in Seattle, former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman shared his candid thoughts on the trade.
“That’s why you trade for a guy like Quenton Nelson and substantially improve this run game by adding a Pro Bowl, All-Pro-type player like him to the offensive line,” Sherman said in an Oct. 27 video from “The Richard Sherman Podcast.” “My question is, where is he going to fit? What are you going to do? This guy has played left guard his whole career. Are you going to move him over to right guard?
“Are you going to put Grey Zabel at right guard [and] are you going to leave [Anthony] Bradford at right guard and potentially try Grey Zabel at center? I don’t know if you can do that. I’m not sure if that’s an option. But it’s going to be really interesting. It’s going to be a talented offensive line for sure.”
Quenton Nelson’s Potential Impact on Seahawks O-Line
Moreover, Sherman explained what type of impact Nelson will have on a Seahawks offensive line that’s already missing a key player in Charles Cross, who suffered a high ankle sprain, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“He’s going to have a big impact, not only on making plays but culturally,” Sherman added. “I thought Grey Zabel came in and changed the culture of this offensive line, both on and off the field. I think a guy like Quenton Nelson, who is a true old-school offensive lineman, down and dirty, grimy, is going to come in and add to that culture.
“He’s going to be another guy he can lean on, that the rest of this offensive line can lean on, and this comes at a critical time when Charles Cross is going to miss time with an injury.
“Charles Cross has a high ankle sprain. So, as they get reinforcements in, they lose one of their premier offensive linemen, whom some consider their best offensive lineman. I think he’ll be back this season, obviously, but it’s almost give and take at this point.”
Could Seattle Make Another Trade Before the Deadline?
The Seahawks got the ball rolling with the Nelson trade, but the question will be whether the team decides that’s enough and rolls with what they have. Could they look at another player on an expiring contract?
Wynston Wilcox of FanSided believes that Seattle should pursue Washington Commanders‘ veteran defensive lineman Daron Payne, who is in the final year of a four-year, $90 million contract that he signed in 2023.
“Seattle doesn’t need a lot of help on either side of the ball outside of running back,” Wilcox wrote in an Oct. 21 article. “That said, the value Daron Payne could add would certainly make this defense scarier than it already is.
“The Washington Commanders are already spiraling, and seeing as they’re probably not going to re-sign Payne, they have every reason to part ways with him. Trading for Payne won’t be costly. After all, he hasn’t really backed up the $90 million extension he got in 2023. He had 11.5 sacks that season and hasn’t had a season with more than four sacks since.”
Richard Sherman Gets Candid on Seahawks’ Trade for Quenton Nelson