The Seattle Seahawks are heading into free agency with a bit more salary cap space for coach Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider to work with, as the team has released wide receiver Sidney Rice and defensive lineman Red Bryant heading into the March 11 start date to sign new players.
The Seahawks were expecting to make some roster moves ahead of the March 11 deadline that locks in the salary cap and starts free agency for teams and Seattle has a number of players they need to lock up. According to ESPN.com, the Seahawks released both Rice and Bryant to free up more salary cap space, with the contracts giving the team over $10 million in more room heading into the offseason. Rice was set to get paid over $8 million next season, while Bryant was on a $4.5 million deal and now the Seahawks have some more money to play with and Schneider said to the media that he thanked the players for their time with the organization and mentioned that they were tough moves to make.
Rice will have some suitors past the top free agent wideouts on the market after making nearly 100 catches over his three seasons with the Seahawks, while Bryant had played his entire career with the team. The Seahawks now can focus on their free agents that are set to hit the market, including Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin and Michael Bennett, who has said he will not give a "hometown discount" to the team. Rice leaves the Seahawks after playing in 33 games while dealing with some injury issues and over his three seasons he had 12 touchdowns and 97 catches, with his best year coming in 2012, when he had 50 catches for 748 yards while staying healthy and playing in all 16 games.
The Super Bowl champion team always undergoes changes and after the Ravens turned over nearly their entire defense, the Seahawks will have to figure out their issues and another player apart from Baldwin and Tate on offense to watch out for is Michael Robinson. While Robinson doesn't put up great stats, he is one of the veteran leaders on the team and he could help lead Christine Michael to be a contributor with Marshawn Lynch, as Russell Wilson was the second leading rusher last season with 539 yards.
Tate and Baldwin stepped up for Wilson last season when Rice went down with an injury and they put together good enough production to also make up for the fact that Percy Harvin didn't get healthy until the playoffs. Harvin was obviously fine for the Super Bowl, but Tate did his part by leading the team with 64 receptions for 898 yards and five touchdowns, while Baldwin added 50 catches for 778 yards and five scores last season. Bennett is another player to watch for and if he asks for too much money on the market, some veterans like Justin Tuck or Jared Allen could be potential targets.
