Baldwin, Chancellor and the 2013 Seahawks Are Almost Gone, But Never Forgotten

With two more members of the Super Bowl XLVIII champions officially done in Seattle, a look back on what the Seahawks were.

Hyoung Chang/Getty Images

While the removal of Kam Chancellor from the Seahawks’ roster was a formality, the announcement that wide receiver Doug Baldwin would also be released—and likely sent off into retirement after a stellar career—really closed a chapter of Seahawks history.

A few "Where Are They Now?"-typepieces on the 2013 Super Bowl team popped up last summer when, at the time, there were seven Super Bowl champion Seahawks left on the roster (six starters). Today, as best as I can count, that’s down to three: Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright.

Some discussion was had Thursday about why this team never won more than a single Super Bowl. Long-time NFL reporter Jason Cole noted that it still makes Richard Sherman upset. Our own Albert Breer wondered if they would go down in history similar to the singularly-dominant 1985 Bears.

Hoisting up Baldwin in particular as an example, I don’t think they will. The 2013 Seahawks, and some of their better teams leading up to the massive roster shakedown a few years later, had a cultural significance both inside and outside of the NFL that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. For a moment, there was this perfectly harnessed, egalitarian energy. Notorious for not being afraid to cut draft picks in lieu of free agents, there was a sense that this was one of the league’s last true meritocracies. Baldwin was undrafted out of Stanford, and, like many of his teammates, was unafraid not only to topple the depth chart, but also to speak thoughtfully on whatever was on his mind.

While tensions eventually got the better of the team’s core, a natural side effect to the competition-first mantra that bred the roster in the first place, what they were at the height of their power shouldn’t be forgotten: Perpetually underrated, fun to watch and seemingly always in contention.

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PRESS COVERAGE

1.Doug Baldwin is no longer a Seahawk. Goodbye to one of the most underrated receivers of his era… and maybe of all time.

2.Telvin Smith is taking time away from football to get his world in order.

3. Could the Panthers start pounding in South Carolina?

4.Xavien Howard is now the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback.

5.Landon Collins says he was "heartbroken" over the lack of an offer from the Giants.

THE KICKER

I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.

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