Getty Bleacher Report identified one free agent the Seattle Seahawks cannot afford to lose.
The NFL free agency frenzy is about to begin. The legal tampering period, where teams can begin negotiating contracts with players, for free agency begins at noon ET on March 14. Then the new league year officially kicks off at 4 p.m. ET on March 16.
That doesn’t leave much time for NFL teams to retain their own free agents. But NFL writer Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report identified in a March 13 article one player that each team “can’t afford to lose” in free agency.
For the Seattle Seahawks, Knox wrote that one player is cornerback DJ Reed.
“Now that [Russell] Wilson has been traded to Denver, the Seattle Seahawks are almost certainly entering a full-on rebuild, which is why re-signing cornerback D.J. Reed is a must,” Knox wrote.
“Reed won’t turn 26 until November, and he’s coming off a fantastic 2021 campaign. While he missed time with a groin injury, he started 14 contests and played 96 percent of the defensive snaps when available.”
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Seahawks Looking for Youth in Free Agency?
With no franchise quarterback without Wilson, it would be surprising to see the Seahawks compete during 2022 in the tough NFC West. Seattle has money to spend in free agency, but facing a rebuild, the Seahawks are likely going to target players in free agency that will help beyond 2022.
Knox wrote Reed’s age is what makes him the free agent to keep for the Seahawks.
“He’s also young enough to remain a key cog for the foreseeable future. Seattle is entering a new era this offseason, and Reed deserves to be a part of it.”
Although Knox admitted that Reed was “far less reliable” with the San Francisco 49ers before joining the Seahawks, he also wrote the 26-year-old cornerback is now “a dependable perimeter corner.” Reed could be a key piece of Seattle’s next playoff roster.
In 14 games last season, Reed posted 10 pass defenses, two interceptions and 78 combined tackles. Among cornerbacks with at least 500 snaps last season, Reed finished with the 10th-best coverage grade in the league from Pro Football Focus.
Seattle Seahawks 2022 Free Agents
Besides Reed, safety Quandre Diggs and offensive tackle Duane Brown are on the verge of becoming free agents. The Seahawks also released linebacker Bobby Wagner, who should be highly coveted in free agency.
If the Seahawks considered Diggs a “can’t afford to lose” free agent, they could have placed the franchise tag on him on before the March 8 deadline. The team, however, declined to do that.
Even though he turns 37 in August, Brown would have been a good choice for Knox’s list if the Seahawks still had Wilson. Brown earned the best player grade from PFF of any Seahawks offensive lineman in 2021.
But without Wilson, a 37-year-old is no longer a “can’t afford to lose” player. Wagner isn’t a good choice for the title either. Before his release, the Seahawks had him under contract one more season if they had wanted him.
So Reed is Knox’s choice for “can’t afford to lose” player from the Seahawks a little by default.
Still, if he returns to Seattle, Reed will be a very useful piece for the Seattle defense as it transitions into the post-Wagner/Wilson era.