Projecting Seattle's 2009 Salary Cap (Hell)

by John Morgan on Mar 3, 2008 10:25 AM PST in Seahawks Commentary

Most Americans don't like saving. They don't like to do it themselves and they don't value it in others. How often do you hear some called "cheap" opposed to how often you hear someone called "improvident"? Still, the hand wringing about the number of Seahawks leaving is, well, especially frustrating. Because we know a player's name doesn't mean that player provides significant production over a cheaper, younger replacement. Despite a big legged kicker, Seattle was below average on kick returns. Why then should Seattle preserve a perennially underachieving unit? Players of or above Niko Koutouvides's and Kevin Bentley's special teams ability are readily available. But we should retain them because they occupied some symbolic role on the team and in our hearts? No.

The already cash strapped Hawks are barreling towards a severe cap crunch in 2009. Of Seattle's starting 22 (listed with 08 to 09 salary change after the jump), only Beck will take a pay cut in 2009, and their cumulative raise equals 10.495 million. Julian Peterson accounts for 3 of that. Compounding this, Rocky Bernard, Marcus Tubbs, Leroy Hill and Marcus Trufant are all scheduled to become free agents.

So, sure, Seattle didn't sign the broken down, post-prime Alge Crumpler. They shed depth at linebacker and thinned their special teams. Seattle lost one of its most popular players, Josh Brown, a quality contributor and worthy fan favorite. But they didn't lose a single irreplaceable talent. They did not, even, become worse for the losses. Good business is ruthless. Kickers, special teams players and broken down tight ends are not fundaments of success. In their place, a league-minimum kicker, undrafted free agents on special teams, a young, cheap and improving tight end plus about 5 million in additional cap space in 2009. If that's the difference between re-signing Hill or not, retaining Peterson or cutting him, locking up Marcus Trufant or preempting Lofa Tatupu's free agency, well, that's why you save for those things worth buying.

Contract details courtesy Rotoworld.com.

Walter Jones: +1.2m
Wahle: +1.2m
Spencer: +150k
Sims: +85k
Lock: ?
Branch: +780k
Burleson: 0
Beck: -500k
Alexander: +1.09m
Tapp: +85k
Mebane: +90k
Bernard: FA
Tubbs: FA
Terrill: +215k
Kerney: +1.25m
Hill: FA
Tatupu: +30k
Peterson: +3m
Jennings: +250k
Russell: +800k
Trufant: FA
Grant: +270k

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Comments

Russell +800k!!!

Cut!

Go Rabbits!

by brayden04 on Mar 3, 2008 11:03 AM PST reply actions

Maybe that's why

Ruskell's talking up keeping Shaun; won't waiting until next offseason to cut him be better for the '09 cap?

by The Ancient Mariner on Mar 3, 2008 11:30 AM PST reply actions

That's exactly why

If Alexander is cut, Clayton said that the team would only save 250K of cap room. That's why Ruskell hasn't even asked him to restructure. He has no leverage. Next season is a different story I believe.

by joeshow30 on Mar 3, 2008 12:13 PM PST up reply actions

For this year, yes

but I was talking about '09.

by The Ancient Mariner on Mar 3, 2008 12:53 PM PST up reply actions

They're probably waiting for June 1

If I recall correctly, cutting Shaun before June 1 has something like a $8 million penalty on 2008's cap. If we cut him after June 1, it's a $4.3 million cap hit for 2008 and a $3.7 million hit on 2009's cap. That's why I put no stock into what Ruskell's saying--he's seeing if he can move Shaun before June 1 before badmouthing him. When is the last time you've heard a coach or GM bad mouth a player that struggled before? Never. I'm still optimistic that we'll cut Shaun before September.

by BrettJMiller on Mar 3, 2008 2:38 PM PST up reply actions

You can designate a cut now as a June 1 cut

so if they would have cut him, they would have done it by now.

by joeshow30 on Mar 3, 2008 2:41 PM PST up reply actions

Not if they think they can trade him.

by John Morgan on Mar 3, 2008 2:58 PM PST up reply actions

Exactly

And even if it's unlikely, why not spend the whole time exploring your options? Worth a try til you know the answer is no.

by BrettJMiller on Mar 3, 2008 3:10 PM PST up reply actions

or they're waiting until

after the draft/FA signings to make sure they grab replacements first?

by Matthew @ Field Gulls on Mar 3, 2008 2:59 PM PST up reply actions

Right, but

'09's cap is a bigger problem than '08's; better to carry Shaun's contract this season and not take the $3.7 million hit next year.

by The Ancient Mariner on Mar 3, 2008 3:31 PM PST up reply actions

Hindsight is 20/20

but where did these cap issues come from? What was Ruskell expecting that would have made it add up differently, or was he just not looking that far ahead?

by Nate Dogg on Mar 3, 2008 5:08 PM PST reply actions

Where have you been?

We have been trying to win the super bowl in our Hass/Shaun/Walt Jones window so we were going for broke from '05-now.

by ASUBoyd on Mar 3, 2008 5:52 PM PST up reply actions

Where have you been

I didn't know that we had to sacrifice our future to win a super bowl. I know we have a window but I'm gonna be pretty pissed if we're gonna go through cap hell the next couple years for the 06 and 07 seasons.

by Nate Dogg on Mar 3, 2008 6:15 PM PST up reply actions

ive been here?

no one said we HAD to sacrifice our future to win a superbowl, but if you consider signing huge free agent deals( which we have-peterson, grant, kerney, shaun, branch etc) which will eventually result in cap issues, then clearly that is just what we have done.

name one other team that has signed as many big free agents as us, and im sure they will be in a similar situation soon. 49ers for example.

by ASUBoyd on Mar 4, 2008 9:45 AM PST up reply actions

Huge Free Agents

All of those signing have come post Super Bowl, and have gotten us squat. If this team isn't in the worst division and conference in football then it doesn't finish with a winning season the past 2 years.

I think the Seahawks are a great example of what John is talking about. The Hawks had their success in 05 with home grown talent, while the last 2 years they go for broke in free agency and don't have much to show for it, other than impending cap doom.

by Nate Dogg on Mar 4, 2008 4:19 PM PST up reply actions

almost impossible to just win forever . . .

I believe in the 04(ish??)-now eara the Hawks have the third best regular season record in the entier NFL. They have been amazingly consistent with real shots at the Superbowl (and should have won it). You'd be pissed if after all that there is a cap crunch? that's just the way the NFL tends to work. Personally, I'm shocked that we're in as good of shape as we're in and that if we can draft a good o-lineman we might be able to get through this crunch without too much of a hiccup.

by Snuffleupagus on Mar 4, 2008 10:21 AM PST up reply actions

How have we sacrificed our future?

Coach Owens = Scruffy's spell check

by Scruffy Lefty on Mar 4, 2008 4:36 PM PST up reply actions

Depends on

how bad the crunch is next year. If we're looking at potentially losing Hill and/or Bernard then I'd say we definitely hurt our future.

Also depends on drafting. A couple good drafts could make all of this moot. A couple good drafts solves any teams problems though. It always comes back to the draft.

by Nate Dogg on Mar 4, 2008 7:54 PM PST up reply actions

thanks for taking down the s-jack diary john

'72 Dolphins: Still the only undefeated champion in NFL History.

by stlcardinalsfang on Mar 3, 2008 7:17 PM PST reply actions

I took it down

I was in a rush and wanted to beat Mookie to a diary for a change. Sorry once again.

by Robert on Mar 3, 2008 8:51 PM PST up reply actions

No big deal.

I wasn't going to kill it. It didn't violate any previously stated rule or anything.

Now that it's been covered, I'm going to require a link for all 'news' diaries. I figure eventually this site will be pretty large and I'll need to control for rampant rumor spreading, so it's just a preemptive step. The diary didn't really bother me at all.

by John Morgan on Mar 4, 2008 9:51 AM PST up reply actions

grant wistrom

i read that Grant Wistrom took up about 4 million this year.

Let's go.

by J Hens on Mar 3, 2008 9:14 PM PST reply actions

Crumpler

I've heard Kris Wilsons name bounced around, and Frank Hughs has a post about the Seahawks possibley being interested in him. I know that I really like the idea of Kris Wilson + Rookie TE platoon on the cheap, far more than overspending for a broken down Crumpler.

by Nate Dogg on Mar 4, 2008 4:13 PM PST reply actions