Seahawks release Al Woods

[massari]

I'm not buying the part about "barely stay on the field". Two months ago, he was projected to go first over all in many mocks. "Barely stay on the field" guys don't rise to that level of desirability. He must have done something right to get to that level. I never once heard that comment when he played at Georgia and if I did, he wouldn't have been projected so high.
I think a lot of the bad press is pre-draft smoke screen and "click on my link" speculation.

Carter's head coach has been vocal about Carter's conditioning for at least a couple of seasons, and wanting him to step up as a leader.

If his final College game a couple months ago (championship game against Ohio State), ESPN had a sideline report that said Carter was ’embarrassed’ by how gassed he was. He then follows that "embarrassing" performance by having an awful Pro day, where he gassed hard.

Like Malik McDowell, nobody has ever questioned his talent.

 

[TraderGary]

Carter's head coach has been vocal about Carter's conditioning for at least a couple of seasons, and wanting him to step up as a leader.

If his final College game a couple months ago (championship game against Ohio State), ESPN had a sideline report that said Carter was ’embarrassed’ by how gassed he was. He then follows that "embarrassing" performance by having an awful Pro day, where he gassed hard.

Like Malik McDowell, nobody has ever questioned his talent.

You simply cannot risk a pick as high as #5 on a player with so many question marks. If they take Carter at #5, I think it has disaster written all over it. Please don't screw this up Hawks.

 

[EverydayImRusselin]

I'm not buying the part about "barely stay on the field". Two months ago, he was projected to go first over all in many mocks. "Barely stay on the field" guys don't rise to that level of desirability. He must have done something right to get to that level. I never once heard that comment when he played at Georgia and if I did, he wouldn't have been projected so high.
I think a lot of the bad press is pre-draft smoke screen and "click on my link" speculation.

Google his snap counts. He was on the field less than 50% of the defensive snaps.

 

[nwHawk]

Could be a wise tactic before the draft. Make QB needy teams behind you think you are targeting Carter so they don’t trade ahead of you. when you’re on then the clock someone will overpay to get their QB.

 

[Fade]

Yup... Officially confused.

I understand that he was old. But we have no starting nose tackle. Would've assumed they'd at least hold onto him until after the draft?

Seems like tearing a gaping hole in the roster for less than $4M of cap savings? Why not just restructure Diggs or Lockett to create cap space?

My initial reaction:

I can't believe Seattle is breaking up their "young" defense. LOL.

At post above:

NTs are cheap. I wouldn't pay over $3M for one unless they are one of the best in the league like Mebane back in the day.

Shelby Harris, Quinton Jefferson, and Al Woods were all old and overpaid.

The defense can now actually start to get young, and lower cost at non premium positions. Safety next off-season will be next.

 

[olyfan63]

My initial reaction:

I can't believe Seattle is breaking up their "young" defense. LOL.

At post above:

NTs are cheap. I wouldn't pay over $3M for one unless they are one of the best in the league like Mebane back in the day.

Shelby Harris, Quinton Jefferson, and Al Woods were all old and overpaid.

The defense can now actually start to get young, and lower cost at non premium positions. Safety next off-season will be next.

Yes to the prime Brandon Mebane fanboy club, another member here. He was such a key part of the LOB D and somewhat underappreciated. I re-watched some 2013 games and Mebane really stood out for his contributions. Mebane was a 3rd round pick.

 

[Yxes1122]

My initial reaction:

I can't believe Seattle is breaking up their "young" defense. LOL.

At post above:

NTs are cheap. I wouldn't pay over $3M for one unless they are one of the best in the league like Mebane back in the day.

Shelby Harris, Quinton Jefferson, and Al Woods were all old and overpaid.

The defense can now actually start to get young, and lower cost at non premium positions. Safety next off-season will be next.

$3.5M was the cap hit for Devin Bush. So I’m not sure what kind of player we’re going to get for the savings.

That aside, I’m just struggling to understand the vision.

I completely understand getting younger. But I would have assumed this move would come after the draft or after a corresponding move so you don’t telegraph a need to the rest of the league or give agents more leverage in a negotiation.

It also feels like pushing more and more of your draft eggs into the DL basket. Which is exactly how Seattle has flubbed drafts in the past when need outweighed talent. And even when need aligned with talent, it didn’t guarantee success. Let’s not forget that in a draft that produced: Nick Bosa, Ed Oliver, Josh Allen, Rashan Gary, Brian Burns, Montez Sweat, Dexter Lawrence, Zach Allen, Dre’Mont Jones, and Maxx Crosby—we ended up with LJ Collier. In a draft where pass rusher was our single biggest need and we had 2 1st round picks. (Remembering the 2019 draft is pure pain.)

They have a lot of contributing DL that need to be replaced. And when healthy, Woods was an very good player the past two seasons. Age and health were a concern going into the season, but not play IMO.

The full picture is still in work, but the DL feels more barren than corner did last season. That worked out ultimately, but it was Tariq far out performing anyone’s expectations and Mike Jackson rising to the occasion while Coby managed a decent position switch. The original plan was Sidney Jones and Artie Burns and Justin Coleman… none of which worked out.

So either they are going to look like geniuses again… or they won’t be rescued by a good, over performing draft. And Pete doesn’t have a history of coaching up DL the way he does DBs.

It’s a move that doesn’t make sense to me yet. But there’s still plenty of off-season to go.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

That aside, I’m just struggling to understand the vision.

The vision is to get much younger at the D-line position.

3.5M savings doesn't seem like a lot, but it can be used toward a younger and more dependable D-lineman free agent. Look at all the D-lineman free agents still out there.

2024 NFL Free Agents Tracker

Tracking the status and signings of all 2024 NFL free agents.

www.spotrac.com

Woods was a beast, but he's 35, and missed what 3 games last year? 4? Dinged up a lot for sure. Maybe after the draft bring him back at a much cheaper vet minimum deal......AND grab one of these younger and more durable free agents still out there.

 

[Yxes1122]

The vision is to get much younger at the D-line position.

3.5M savings doesn't seem like a lot, but it can be used toward a younger and more dependable D-lineman free agent. Look at all the D-lineman free agents still out there.

2024 NFL Free Agents Tracker

Tracking the status and signings of all 2024 NFL free agents.

www.spotrac.com

Woods was a beast, but he's 35, and missed what 3 games last year? 4? Dinged up a lot for sure. Maybe after the draft bring him back at a much cheaper vet minimum deal......AND grab one of these younger and more durable free agents still out there.

No. You’re right.

Timing and vision are more what confuses me than the decision in a vacuum.

Give it some time, and things will likely make more sense.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

No. You’re right.

Timing and vision are more what confuses me than the decision in a vacuum.

Give it some time, and things will likely make more sense.

Also as far as vision and all our D-lineman getting cut? I think it's pretty telling that they're all still out there on the FA market.

Weeks now for most of them, and no one's picked them up. Tells us Hawk fans think more of most of these guys than the rest of the league does.

 

[Donn2390]

You simply cannot risk a pick as high as #5 on a player with so many question marks. If they take Carter at #5, I think it has disaster written all over it. Please don't screw this up Hawks.

I have definitely jumped off of the Carter bandwagon myself, but you can bet if we do draft him at #5, it's because P&J have interviewed him extensively, and talked to everyone who has ever known him since he was first dropped into the cradle.
They do their homework and don't just go by the opinions expressed on this site. I have every confidence that when they select a few guys that no one here ever saw coming, it will shock and amaze us all, some unknown and never before discussed future stars.
I love reading all of the speculation in here, but I don't get involved with guessing because the final picks will be a huge surprise to us all, have they every failed on that to this point?

 

[hoxrox]

They have no choice but to do their due diligence. They are snakebit from picks like McDowell and Collier.

I hope they learned their lesson from this and don't get cute with their "surprise" picks.

Just go with the consensus best players available. That's how they nailed their last draft. Not by getting cute with surprises.

 

[Yxes1122]

Also as far as vision and all our D-lineman getting cut? I think it's pretty telling that they're all still out there on the FA market.

Weeks now for most of them, and no one's picked them up. Tells us Hawk fans think more of most of these guys than the rest of the league does.

Yep. Totally fair point. But glass half empty view would be to say that any DL we sign has been unsigned for just as long.

But it’s clear that the front office assessment is very much in agreement with what you’re saying.

 

[Appyhawk]

Pretty sure I remember hearing Woods comment after his injury last year mentioning retirement. I at least read mention of it. So this was not a huge surprise for me. I've always liked Woods in the middle but everyone has a time to give it up. I'll be very interested to see if he agrees to play elsewhere this year.

 

[Scout]

Poona Ford, Shelby Harris, Quinton Jefferson, and now Al Woods. Seahawks just purged the DL….from last season.

They are not bad players but they are more supporting players. Woods is the closest to starting caliber along with Harris. Harris and Ford I am sure could start with a different defensive scheme but even then I wouldn't guarantee it.

 

[Mick063]

Google his snap counts. He was on the field less than 50% of the defensive snaps.

2022 draft:

DT Jordan Davis-Round 1 pick 13
DT Devonte Wyatt-Round 1 pick 28

Yea....I can see why they rotate defensive tackles. Are you suggesting that the national champs have so many scrubs along their front, that they couldn't possibly afford to rotate Carter to keep him fresh? Three-hundred-pound defensive lineman get gassed when they chase modern day mobile quarterbacks. But really, it has always been this way. It is why EVERY NFL team rotates their 300 pounders.

 

[Bear-Hawk]

I'm kind of surprised by this. He was such a key piece.

Clearing space for Jalen Carter.

 

[CactusJack]

Clearing space for Jalen Carter.

Carter needs to keep eating to replace Big AL.

Which I guess is realistic considering what he weighed at his pro day.

 

[renofox]

What about Mone? Any timeline on his return after surgery?

 

[Frozenropers]

What about Mone? Any timeline on his return after surgery?

No updates on Mone that I know of.