It’s been a dizzying stretch for the Seattle Seahawks, to say the least.
Seahawks 2025 Offseason Tracker: Free agents, trades and more
In the span of just a few days, the Seahawks traded away their two most well-known players – veteran quarterback Geno Smith and star wide receiver DK Metcalf – for draft picks. They then signed free agent quarterback Sam Darnold, whose unusual career arc has prompted a wide range of opinions on his future potential.
As a result, there’s been a perception among some that the Seahawks are blowing things up and entering a rebuild.
But during Monday’s edition of Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy, former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus explained why that doesn’t appear to be the case.
In particular, Bumpus pointed to the Seahawks’ ascending defense. The unit allowed just 17.5 points per game over the second half of last season, which was tied for the third-fewest in the league over that span. And Seattle has already made two notable investments in that defense this offseason, reportedly re-signing linebacker Ernest Jones and veteran defense tackle Jarran Reed to three-year contracts on Sunday.
“I don’t think it’s a rebuild, just because of what’s happening over there on the defensive side of the ball,” Bumpus said. “A rebuild, to me, means that this team’s gonna win three or four games and you’re gonna struggle and it’s not gonna be fun.
“We don’t know (exactly) what it’s gonna look like. … But because you’ve signed some guys on the defensive side of the ball and I feel like the defense can lead the charge, no, it’s not a rebuild. It’s a retool.”
Co-host Stacy Rost agreed with that assessment.
Rost also pointed to a report last Friday from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, who wrote that the Seahawks initially proposed a blockbuster trade to the Las Vegas Raiders that would have dealt Smith and Metcalf in exchange for four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby. As Rost said, that’s not the type of move a rebuilding team tries to make.
“If they were still trying to very aggressively improve the defense, that’s not a rebuild,” Rost said. “This is a team that said, ‘We have problems on offense and we don’t think we can patch them. We do not have big problems on defense, so why tear it down?’
“And if they knew they would eventually have to find a younger answer at quarterback, and that there was no point in paying a receiver that much money if they were still reworking other (contracts), you might as well rip the Band-Aid off.”
Charting a new course
Instead, this appears to be a reallocation of resources.
According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Smith was eyeing a contract in the range of $40 million to $45 million per year. That’s significantly more than Darnold’s reported deal with Seattle, which sits at $33.5 million per year – which would currently rank just 18th among all NFL quarterbacks, per OverTheCap.
Metcalf, meanwhile, is now set to sign a contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers that reportedly averages $33 million per year. That would be the third-highest annual average among all NFL wideouts.
By saving money at quarterback and receiver, Seattle now has more salary-cap space and draft capital to invest in other areas – specifically in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
And ultimately, Rost speculated that perhaps Seahawks general manager John Schneider views that formula – a well-balanced roster with a decent but not elite quarterback – provides an easier path to Super Bowl contention.
“You just saw the Philadelphia Eagles win with (Jalen Hurts),” Rost said. “I don’t know that anyone has Hurts in their top five quarterbacks in the league, and yet he’s a Super Bowl-winning quarterback because that team was so stacked everywhere else.
“Maybe Schneider feels like quarterback must be the hardest problem to solve, but I think I can figure out (the other parts).”
Bumpus agreed with that sentiment.
“There’s a way to do this,” Bumpus said. “There’s a way to do this without having that superstar quarterback. We’ve seen that.”
Listen to the full conversation on Bump and Stacy at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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