Getty An ESPN staff writer ranked that the Seattle Seahawks have the most "offseason capital" in the NFC West.
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he Seattle Seahawks were the only NFC West team to miss the playoffs in 2021. But the gap between the four teams in the division has been small in recent years, and that doesn’t appear to be changing this offseason.
If anything, the difference between the best and worst team in the NFC West might shrink. At least that’s what ESPN staff writer Kevin Seifert inferred in his article Ranking NFL Offseason Capital.
While Seifert ranked the Seahawks in the bottom half of the list at No. 20, that was still best in the NFC West. The other teams in the division occupied three of the bottom seven spots on the list out of the 32 NFL organizations.
The San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams were ranked second-to-last and last in offseason capital.
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Seahawks Entering Offseason With Cash to Spend
Although the Seahawks don’t have a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Seattle front office could still make improvements to the roster through free agency. Based on the projection that the NFL salary cap will rise to $208.2 million for the 2022 season, the Seahawks have $45.3 million in cap space.
That could increase and the Seahawks could also land a first-round pick if the team trades quarterback Russell Wilson.
“The Seahawks are flush with cap space, even with quarterback Russell Wilson set to account for $37 million, and could begin addressing an extension for receiver DK Metcalf, among others,” Seifert wrote. “Their first-round pick goes to the Jets as part of the Jamal Adams trade, but they could replenish their draft capital by trading Wilson.”
The salary cap projections at Spotrac ranks the Seahawks with the eighth-most salary cap space in the league as of Feb. 3. The next closest team in the NFC West is the Arizona Cardinals at 21st.
Offseason of Question Marks for NFC West
While the Rams and 49ers enjoyed deep postseason runs to begin 2022, the offseason likely won’t be as kind to them. Seifert projects both teams to be at least slightly over the projected 2022 salary cap.
Furthermore, like Seattle, neither team has a first-round pick. The 49ers traded their 2022 first-round selection to move up and take quarterback Trey Lance. The Rams sent their first pick to Detroit in a package for signal caller Matthew Stafford.
The Rams also traded their third-round pick in the Stafford deal and gave away their second-round choice for linebacker Von Miller. With a Super Bowl berth, it’s hard to second-guess those moves, but they will still place the organization in a difficult situation heading into the offseason.
San Francisco could gain cap space and draft picks by trading away quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but based on Seifert’s rankings, the 49ers would have to get back a terrific package to move ahead of the Seahawks in “offseason capital.”
With the No. 23 selection, the Cardinals are the only NFC West team with a first-round pick. Seifert’s big question surrounding Arizona this offseason is whether or not the organization signs Kyler Murray to a contract extension.