The Seattle Seahawks are making attempts to re-sign both defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and defensive tackle Jarran Reed, according to a tweet from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
With the new salary cap officially announced at $198.2 million per team, a roughly $10 million raise from last year, the Seahawks some flexibility to work with. However – the anticipated salary cap increase was a tad over $200 million, and this smaller increase could actually work against the Seahawks.
The team currently has roughly $44 million in cap space, according to Spotrac, a solid number that will likely go up if the team releases veteran Ed Dickson, a move they are expected to make to save $3.8 million.
Center Justin Britt is a potential cap casualty as well, and releasing the pair would give Seattle nearly $60 million to work with.
Clowney is almost certainly going to command $18-20 million annually, and Reed made it clear he is looking for more than the $8-10 million many are projecting for him.
Committing half their available cap space to two defensive linemen is a difficult task for any general manager, especially for a team that finished near the bottom in pass rushing last year even with those two in the fold.
Free agency is expected to begin on time, despite rampant concerns surrounding COVID-19, which means the Seahawks can begin negotiating with their own free agents on Monday, March 16.
