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Trade Intel
Schneider Called the Giants About Kayvon Thibodeaux. That’s the Trade That Could Actually Happen.
The Myles Garrett inquiry dominated yesterday’s news cycle, and for good reason. The NFL’s sack king, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, on a team that says he isn’t available. It’s the kind of story that makes you dream. But the second phone call is the one worth paying attention to.
Per Seahawks Forever’s Dan Viens, citing a source with direct knowledge, John Schneider also contacted the New York Giants about edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. The source’s words: Thibodeaux is “a serious trade target.” And unlike Garrett, this one has a realistic price tag.
The Giants are reportedly open to moving Thibodeaux for a late Day 2 pick. Chawk Talk’s Rob Staton notes that a second- or third-round pick could get it done, and suggests a pick swap between Seattle’s second-rounder (No. 64) and New York’s fourth could satisfy both sides. Thibodeaux is on his fifth-year option at $14.75 million, cheaper than any other impact edge veteran on the market. He’s 25. He posted 11.5 sacks in 2023. The last two seasons have been rough in a dysfunctional Giants system, but Seattle has a long track record of turning former Giants into stars. Leonard Williams and Julian Love would like a word.
$14.75M
Thibodeaux’s fifth-year option salary — cheaper than Nwosu’s cap hit.
Garrett is the dream. Thibodeaux is the plan. And the plan is what wins you football games in April. Nine days to the draft.
SOURCES →
Offseason Program
Six Days Until the VMAC Doors Open. Here’s What’s Different This Time.
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Macdonald told reporters at the league meeting that the program will be tiered. Young players, injured guys, and anyone who didn’t play heavy postseason snaps report first. The starters who played through February? Remote for the first two weeks. Phase Two is when Macdonald expects the full roster back in the building.
Last year Seattle had near-perfect voluntary attendance, and Macdonald credited it as a core reason they won the Super Bowl. That standard is now the baseline. The draft starts three days after the program opens. Construction on the 80,000-square-foot VMAC expansion begins this summer. And HBO’s Hard Knocks cameras arrive in July. If the walls of the VMAC could talk, they’d ask for a bigger building. They’re getting one.
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If the walls of the VMAC could talk, they’d ask for a bigger building. They’re getting one.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Seahawks.com dropped Mock Draft Tracker 7.0 and the consensus at 32 is still a three-way argument between CB, edge, and Jadarian Price. Twelve experts, zero agreement. Democracy in action. Seahawks.com
Albert Breer noted that after the top two Notre Dame running backs, there’s a massive RB gap in this class. Price may not make it to Day 2. That changes the calculus at 32 considerably. Seattle Times (via Union-Bulletin)
Seahawks.com’s D-line draft preview confirms what we already knew: nearly everyone from the championship front is back. Rylie Mills finished his rookie year with a dominant Super Bowl sack. He’s healthy. Pencil that in. Seahawks.com
The NFL ordered all 32 teams to submit OTA and minicamp schedules by April 22 so replacement officials can be assigned starting June 1. Fourteen years after the Fail Mary, the refs and the league still can’t agree on a deal. Some things never change. Front Office Sports
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
The Rams still need a wide receiver, a backup QB, and offensive line help heading into the draft with just the 13th pick. They traded 29 for McDuffie and signed Jaylen Watson for $51 million, so the secondary is settled. The rest of the roster? Less so. Stafford turns 39 in February. Nacua’s extension is nowhere close to done. And they open their season in Melbourne, Australia, against the 49ers on September 10. Nothing says ‘Super Bowl window’ like a 23-hour flight.
NINERS
An anonymous NFL executive told The Athletic’s Mike Sando that the 49ers “sign hurt players” and predicted Mike Evans will miss 4-6 games while Dre Greenlaw misses eight. John Lynch’s defense: “We thought the juice was worth the squeeze.” San Francisco’s offseason strategy is paying $60.4 million for a 32-year-old wideout who played eight games last year, bringing back a linebacker who’s appeared in 10 games over two seasons, and hoping Trent Williams, who turns 38 in July, takes a pay cut. The 49ers have six draft picks. The Seahawks have a trophy.
CARDINALS
Todd McShay said on his podcast that trading out of No. 3 “remains one of the priorities” for Arizona. The Cowboys want David Bailey. The Cardinals might oblige. ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss reports the pick decision “will come down to owner Michael Bidwill,” because nothing screams functional organization like your owner making the draft call after a 3-14 season. Arizona hosted Jeremiyah Love, who could go top-3 as a running back. Bold for a team that just restructured James Conner.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Curt Warner was the Seahawks’ first franchise running back, rushing for 1,449 yards as a rookie in 1983 after being drafted third overall out of Penn State. He tore his ACL in the 1984 season opener against Cleveland and missed the entire year. When he came back in 1985, he rushed for over 1,000 yards and won a prestigious award. What award did Warner win for his 1985 comeback season?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Warner won Sports Illustrated’s NFL Comeback Player of the Year award after rushing for 1,094 yards in 1985. He would go on to finish his Seahawks career with 6,844 rushing yards and three Pro Bowl selections (1983, 1986, 1987) before spending his final season with the Los Angeles Rams.
THIS DAY IN SEAHAWKS HISTORY
2016
April 14, 2016
The 2016 Schedule Drop — and a Season of Firsts
On April 14, 2016, the NFL released its regular season schedule, including the Seahawks’ full slate for what would become a memorable campaign. That season saw Seattle play to its first-ever tie (a 6-6 draw with Arizona in which both kickers missed chip-shot field goals in overtime), defeat the Patriots in Foxborough for the first time under Pete Carroll, and capture a third NFC West title in four years before falling to Atlanta in the Divisional Round.
Got a question for The Rooster?
Draft predictions, roster debates, salary cap therapy sessions — send it all to the mailbag. Anonymity guaranteed. Judgment not.
Six days to the VMAC. Nine days to Pittsburgh. The calls are going out. The board is set. Go Hawks. — The Rooster