How Seahawks turned cutting Carlos Dunlap into signing him, Kerry Hyder for less combined
The Seahawks’ patience drives a lot of fans loony.
They scream in frustration through the first, richest days of free agency as other teams spend...and Seattle waits. Again.
This is how the Seahawks do business.
Three weeks ago, they released Carlos Dunlap. That was to save his scheduled $14 million charge against their salary cap for 2021, on the eve of NFL free agency beginning.
Cutting Dunlap cratered the pass rush the two-time Pro Bowl defensive end revitalized upon his arrival from Cincinnati in a trade last fall. But a league source confirmed to The News Tribune that allowing Dunlap the opportunity to shop in free agency this month was part of the agreement they made with him when they traded for him in October.
Coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider banked on Dunlap being disappointed shopping, in a year when the NFL salary cap has dropped from $198.2 million to $182.5 million per team because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Seahawks’ leaders believed the free-agent market for veteran pass rushers would come back to them, as it did last week when they re-signed lead running back Chris Carson for less than he’d hoped to get on the open market.
Jackpot!
Wednesday, they signed former 49ers 8 1/2-sack man Kerry Hyder to a two-year, $6.5 million deal.
Thursday, they brought back Dunlap—at a fraction of his original cap charge.
It’s a two-year, $16.6 million deal with $8.5 million guaranteed, per agent Drew Rosenhaus and ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
So Seattle gets Dunlap and Hyder, who had 14 1/2 sacks between them last season, for lower 2021 cap charges combined than Dunlap’s original cap hit when the Seahawks released him.
That’s (very) good business. Patience in free agency has its advantages, in Carroll’s and Schneider’s minds.
In January, Dunlap sounded as if he’d found a new home in Seattle he didn’t want to leave.
“I’d love to stay in Seattle as long as they’ll have me,” he said the Seahawks lost to the Rams in the first round of the playoffs. “It was very clear what I was coming here to do and what my time span would be. ...
“You guys already know how grateful I am to be here. They’ve taken great care. I think it’s a great organization for vets, although I feel young and fresh like a young player, as well. I feel like I’ve got a lot of ball left and I would like to finish it up with an organization like this.
“My two goals are still a Super Bowl and 100 sacks. And I have not accomplished either one of them. I haven’t won a playoff game. I think we have the pedigree here to do all of that next season. And I would love to be a part of it.”
Now, he is.
In these twin pass-rush signings, the 29-year-old Hyder figures to excel as the five-technique, strongside defensive end in a 4-3 scheme, which Carroll features in Seattle. Hyder can also play inside on passing downs in a hybrid end-tackle role the Seahawks used with Michael Bennett years ago.
Dunlap shines as a “Leo,” weakside defensive end in the 4-3.
So the Seahawks have gained proven, bookend edge rushers—for less than what it would have cost them to have only Dunlap for this year if they hadn’t released him then re-signed him.
To help pay for all this, the team has apparently parted ways with starting defensive tackle Jarran Reed. Reed posted his goodbye to Seattle online Thursday.
He is scheduled to have a salary-cap charge of $13,975,000, fourth-highest on the Seahawks for 2021. Releasing him would save $8,975,000 against the cap.
Dunlap revitalized Seattle’s inert pass rush upon debuting with the team in early November. He had five sacks in eight games, including two game-winning ones in the final seconds of victories.
“This is what I came here to do,” Dunlap said after his second game-winner, at Washington in December.
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 7:14 PM.
