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League Meetings
The NFL Owners Meetings Start Today in Phoenix. The Seahawks Have Business on Every Agenda Item.
The annual league meetings open today in Phoenix, and the Seahawks are threaded through nearly every storyline on the docket. The sale. The replacement refs. The international schedule. Even the schedule itself. Mike Macdonald speaks to reporters Monday morning, and it will be his first public comments since JSN’s extension and the departure of Kenneth Walker, Boye Mafe, Coby Bryant, and Riq Woolen.
$30M+
Seattle’s effective cap space per Over the Cap, even after JSN’s and Bobo’s new deals.
Start with the sale. Commissioner Goodell will face questions about the Seahawks going on the market, and as of Friday, no credible suitors have publicly emerged. The Spokesman-Review’s Bob Condotta noted that questions to Goodell at the meetings “might not elicit any concrete details.” The sale process is being managed by Allen & Co. and Latham & Watkins, and day-to-day football operations remain unaffected. But the meetings are where whispers become headlines, and every hallway conversation about media rights deals has implications for the sale price.
Then there are the refs. The NFLRA walked out of negotiations last week after a single morning session. The current CBA expires May 31. The competition committee has proposed a one-year rule allowing the replay center in New York to correct “clear and obvious” misses by replacement officials if there’s a work stoppage. NFL executive Jeff Miller said it plainly: the league is preparing to play football in “a different environment.” Seattle fans don’t need the history lesson. The Fail Mary still has a Wikipedia page.
The Seahawks are also in the mix for two international games: a Mexico City matchup with the 49ers and a potential London trip against Washington. Details are expected this spring. And Macdonald will have to address a roster that lost four starters in free agency but still has $30 million in cap space and the defending champions’ swagger. The meetings run through Tuesday. Goodell closes it out.
SOURCES →
Edge Watch
Seattle Was Named a Top Landing Spot for Myles Garrett. The Browns Say He’s Not Going Anywhere.
Keep Reading ↓
Here’s the cold water. The Browns restructured Garrett’s contract this week, pushing back option bonus dates, which looks a lot like making a trade easier. But NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Friday that Cleveland is “adamant” they aren’t trading Garrett, and the restructure had “nothing to do” with trade scenarios. Adam Schefter backed that up. The door isn’t open. It’s not even unlocked.
The realistic edge picture in Seattle hasn’t changed. Uchenna Nwosu and Derick Hall are the primary pieces. DeMarcus Lawrence still hasn’t announced whether he’s coming back. And the Seahawks just scheduled a top-30 visit with Missouri’s Zion Young, a 6-foot-6 edge rusher who profiles as a late first-round option. The draft remains the most likely path to replacing Boye Mafe. Garrett is a beautiful dream. Young is the alarm clock.
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Garrett is a beautiful dream. Young is the alarm clock.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
JSN told a UFC broadcast he’d “happily get in the ring” with anyone from the Rams or 49ers. Devon Witherspoon? Exempt. “He’s a wild guy.” Man knows his weight class. Pro Football Network
Cleveland proposed a rule allowing teams to trade draft picks five years into the future instead of three. The Browns insist this has nothing to do with Myles Garrett. Sure it doesn’t. FOX Sports
The Greenard trade trail has gone from “imminent” to “extension incoming.” Vikings Territory reports Greenard was spotted at the facility in Eagan, and the current trail suggests Minnesota keeps him. Philly and Indy remain interested. Seattle’s edge plan is the draft. Vikings Territory
The Seahawks’ Mock Draft Tracker 5.0 now features edge rushers T.J. Parker and Keldric Faulk alongside the usual parade of cornerbacks at 32. The board is diversifying. Four weeks to go. Seahawks.com
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
The Nacua saga has entered the “lawyers yelling at each other on TMZ” phase. The accuser withdrew her restraining order petition on Thursday, but the civil lawsuit proceeds. Nacua’s attorney called it a “shakedown” and cited JSN’s record deal as proof the timing is suspicious. Meanwhile, the accuser’s attorney says police are investigating threats against his client. A hearing is still set for April 14. The extension that was already going to “take until summer”? It now has to wait for a legal system that moves slower than the Rams’ secondary.
NINERS
The Trent Williams contract standoff has now passed through denial, anger, and bargaining, and is firmly lodged in the depression stage. The 49ers declined his $10 million option bonus, ballooning his cap hit to $47 million. Kyle Shanahan’s public comment? “I actually stay pretty much out of that.” Jason La Canfora reports a “huge divide” remains between the two sides, and one source said it would be “misleading” to assume Williams finishes his career in San Francisco. The man sat out an entire season in Washington. The 49ers might want to check that playbook.
CARDINALS
Arizona’s mock draft tracker now has more scenarios than a choose-your-own-adventure book. At No. 3: Mauigoa? Bailey? Reese? Styles? Simpson? Love? Trade down to 7? Trade down to 12 and 20? PFF argues they should just draft a right tackle and start losing toward Arch Manning in 2027. When your best-case offseason strategy is “lose on purpose for two years,” you’ve got a franchise that needs a hug more than a draft pick.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
The Seahawks traded up in the 1997 NFL Draft to select Walter Jones sixth overall out of Florida State. To make the trade, they sent picks to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that were used to select two future Pro Bowlers. One of them was running back Warrick Dunn, taken 12th overall. Who was the other — a cornerback selected with the 66th pick who would go on to make five Pro Bowls and play 16 seasons in the NFL?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Ronde Barber. The Seahawks sent their first-round pick (No. 12, used on Warrick Dunn) and third-round pick (No. 66, used on Ronde Barber) to Tampa Bay in exchange for the sixth overall pick, which became Walter Jones.
THIS DAY IN SEAHAWKS HISTORY
1919
March 29, 1919
The Stanley Cup That Was Never Awarded
On March 29, 1919, the final game of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Seattle Metropolitans and the Montreal Canadiens was cancelled due to the Spanish flu pandemic. The series stood at two wins apiece with one tie. It remains the only time in Stanley Cup history that no champion was crowned. Five Montreal players were hospitalized, and defenseman Joe Hall died of influenza days later. The Metropolitans, who had won the Cup in 1917, were denied their chance at a second title by the deadliest pandemic of the 20th century.
Got a Question for The Rooster?
Draft strategy debates? Cap math complaints? Existential dread about the edge rusher room? Send your questions and The Rooster will answer the best ones in a future issue.
The meetings start today. Macdonald talks tomorrow. The desert is full of deals waiting to happen. Enjoy the Sunday calm while it lasts. — The Rooster