The Seahawks are waiving safety Tedric Thompson and tight end Ed Dickson in moves that will create an extra $5.1 million in salary cap space as Seattle navigates the home stretch of the NFL free agency period.
Both moves, which had each been long anticipated, were confirmed to the Seattle Times with Thompson's waiving first reported by Josina Anderson of ESPN) while Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network first reported the imminent release of Dickson.
Dickson's release will save $3 million against the cap and Thompson $2.13 million.
The Seahawks were listed as down to $11.3 million in available cap space entering the day by OvertheCap.com. That number, though, does not include the contracts of Bruce Irvin or receiver Phillip Dorsett, who each have agreed to terms or signed in recent day.
Dorsett's one-year contract will not significantly affect the cap as it was reported Tuesday his deal will count just $877,500 against the cap (he made $2.6 million in 2019 with the Patriots).
Irvin is thought to have signed a one-year deal for somewhere in the $3 million range but details have not yet been revealed as his signing has not yet been made official.
So, the upshot of the two releases and what Irvin is thought to be due that Seattle has roughly $13 million in cap space.
Still, even though each move had long been speculated as ways Seattle could create cap space, that they each happened Tuesday raised the obvious question whether another move is now imminent or whether the team was simply finally getting around to taking care of a little unfinished business (while also letting each player potentially find a new home before the NFL draft).
Specifically, could Seattle be making progress on a deal with defensive end Jadeveon Clowney?
There was no immediate report of anything imminent with Clowney, who has now gone 15 days since the beginning of the free agent negotiating period without having signed or reached an agreement with anyone, with some thought that he might wait until he can travel to take physicals for other teams, something currently prohibited by the NFL due to the novel coronavirus crisis.
The Seahawks also remain connected in the rumor mill with Jacksonville defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who recently received a franchise tag by the team but has let it be known he would like to be traded since he the team won't give him the long-term contract he desires.
A report from Mike Garafolo of The NFL Network early Tuesday that the Jaguars have received interest from "multiple teams" about Ngakoue. Ngakoue later quote tweeted that report responding: "Let's agree to disagree. Why hold a man from taking care of his family. It's obvious my time is up in my current situation. Let's both move on."
But The NFL Network report also did not indicate anything was imminent with Ngakoue, who turned 25 on Tuesday, reporting: "The Jags value him and won't give him away for little return but it'll be interesting to see how this plays out as we draw closer to the draft." And Seattle will have lots of competition for Ngakoue (the Eagles have been mentioned often as another team showing a lot of interest). Ngakoue is due a salary of $17.78 million this year under terms of the franchise tag but has been reported hoping to get as much as $22 million a year.
Seattle has not been rumored close to any other significant signings, but the Seahawks are known to also be interested in free agent defensive end Everson Griffen, who has been thought as a possible fallback plan if things did not work out with Clowney. Griffen, who was recently told by the Vikings that the team would not re-sign him, is thought to want somewhere in the $8-10 million range.
A report later Tuesday from Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press stated that a "source close to Griffen says he definitely has interest in signing with Seattle Seahawks and they could be interested in him if they don't re-sign DE Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney remains domino that likely needs to fall before Griffen signs with any team."
That seemed to further indicate nothing significant was necessarily imminent.
If needed, the Seahawks could also still make some other moves to clear out some additional cap space _ other players who could be cut include center Justin Britt ($8.5 million) while the team could also restructure some deals to create space as well (such as turning some of Russell Wilson's $18 million salary into bonus which would spread out the cap hit some over future years).
Thompson, maybe somewhat oddly, became more vulnerable for being waived when he qualified in January for one of the league's proven performance escalators which increased his base salary for 2020 from $735,000 to $2.13 million with a cap hit of $2.3 million for this year. But only $168,003 is in dead money, so the waiving of Thompson will save Seattle $2.13 million against the salary cap.
Dickson, meanwhile, was entering the final season of a three-year contract worth up to $10.7 million he signed with the Seahawks in 2018.
It had been reported two weeks ago the team had allowed Thompson to seek a trade. But that didn't happen and waiving him now allows Thompson to begin finding a new team.
Thompson was a fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft out of Colorado, taken 111th overall with a pick the Seahawks got when they made a trade move out of the first round (the year they ended up taking Malik McDowell at number 35 overall with their first selection).
In the wake of the departure of Earl Thomas via free agency last March, Thompson entered the 2019 season as the starter at free safety alongside Bradley McDougald.
But Thompson struggled in some early games and was placed on injured reserve in late October with a torn labrum for which he underwent season-ending surgery (he is now said to be fully recovered).
That happened right as the Seahawks traded with Detroit to acquire Quandre Diggs, who moved into the starting lineup at free safety.
Diggs and McDougald are under contract for 2020 and the Seahawks also have 2019 second-round pick Marquise Blair waiting in the wings while Lano Hill _ taken just before Thompson in the 2017 draft at number 95 overall _ also remains on the roster as depth at both safety spots.
The Seahawks also last week traded for cornerback Quinton Dunbar, who is now expected to compete with Tre Flowers for the starting right cornerback spot. Flowers played safety at Oklahoma State and the team could also now consider him as depth at safety if he were to lose out on the cornerback spot.
Ugo Amadi, a fifth-round pick a year ago, can also play both safety and cornerback.
As for Dickson, he played just 10 games over the last two seasons with Seattle while battling injuries, missing all of last year due to a knee injury that required surgery during training camp.
Seattle bolstered its tight end crew when it signed veteran Greg Olsen in February, which seemed to make it clear the cutting of Dickson was coming soon, while also tendering restricted free agent Jacob Hollister. Will Dissly is also expected back after suffering an Achilles tendon injury last October.
Both Thompson and Dickson are now subject to waivers and if they clear, then can sign with any team as a free agent.
