Early Free-Agent Contracts the Seahawks Must Consider

If the Seattle Seahawks want to have a more balanced offense for the 2021 NFL season, they need to make a few moves in the offseason.

Chris Carson is scheduled to hit the free-agent market, and the Seahawks do not have to bring him back with a handful of other options set to become available. 

Pete Carroll and his staff could also make improvements at other offensive positions where they need more production to be an effective dual-threat offense. 

A handful of reliable tight ends will be on the free-agent market, and some of them could be viewed as upgrades from the current unit that is led by Will Dissly. 

Defensively, the Seahawks should try to retain the services of Shaquill Griffin and K.J. Wright, who could be coveted pieces for other units across the league. 

The Seahawks can follow one of two paths when it comes to their running back situation in free agency.

They can try to bring back Chris Carson, or they can take a home run swing at Aaron Jones or another big-name free agent. 

As enticing as signing Jones would be, the Seahawks may not have the salary cap room to compete with a handful of struggling sides that are willing to pay more to get better at the position.

Carson ran for 681 yards and produced 287 receiving yards in 12 games last season, and he should still have a few years left in his legs at 26. 

Bringing back Carson could be a solid move for the Seahawks, who have four running backs under contract for the 2021 season. Only one of them is slated to make more than $1 million, per Spotrac.

If Seattle wanted to use its money to help other parts of the roster in free agency, it could plan to select a running back with a draft pick, but that could be a risky proposition without a first-round choice.

The safest option would be to bring back Carson and then work on developing younger backs beneath him to provide Russell Wilson with the best support possible under a new offensive coordinator.

If Carson stays healthy and raises his totals next season, the Seahawks could have a more threatening offense late in the season. 

The Seahawks should look to a divisional foe for an upgrade at tight end. 

Gerald Everett may be the perfect cost-effective signing at the position to help Wilson improve in the passing game and not constrain Seattle's finances too much. 

Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith should fetch long-term, high-money deals in free agency because of their high touchdown totals in previous years. 

Everett may fly under the radar of some teams because he only found the end zone once in the Los Angeles Rams offense this season. However, Everett set career highs in targets, receptions and receiving yards.

The 417 receiving yards Everett recorded were far more than any Seattle tight end had during the 2020 campaign. Dissly led players at the position with 251 receiving yards. 

If Wilson gains a more athletic presence at tight end to combine with D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett in the passing attack, the Seahawks could have the potential to produce more points and be even more competitive inside arguably the toughest division in football.

Additionally, a potential signing of Everett would take away a key piece from one of Seattle's rivals in a division that came down to Week 16 in 2020.

Griffin, Wright and Quinton Dunbar are all scheduled to become free agents. 

The Seahawks should make a run at re-signing all three of them, but Griffin should be their top priority of the trio.

Griffin is three years younger than his secondary mate Dunbar and only had six fewer tackles than Jamal Adams in the same amount of games played in 2020. Griffin was second on the Seattle defense in interceptions with three and made 53 tackles. 

If the Seahawks bring back Griffin, they will have three good secondary pieces in place with him, Adams and Quandre Diggs. 

From there, the Seahawks can attempt to lock up Dunbar to occupy the other side of the field at cornerback, or approach a different player through free agency or the draft. 

Dunbar could be signed at a relatively cheap cost because he missed more than half of the season with an injury, and Wright's age may go against him in any long-term negotiations. 

The ideal situation is for the Seahawks to bring back each of the three free agents, but the next best strategy involves bringing back Griffin first with either Dunbar, Wright or a few new faces.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference

Contract information obtained from Spotrac