Seahawks GM John Schneider Not Sugarcoating Reason for Al Woods' Release

Seattle Seahawks nose tackle Al Woods was a surprise release by the franchise, with general manager John Schneider now detailing why the move was made.

The Seattle Seahawks' decision to part ways with veteran nose tackle Al Woods surprised many. After being a team captain last year, Woods was shown the door.

But why?

Seahawks general manager John Schneider spoke during his weekly spot on Seattle Sports and gave an insight into why a team's defensive leader, who had only signed a new two-year deal last season, was shipped out.

“Al’s situation was really cash and cap,” Schneider said.

“Everybody has a cash budget in the NFL that you need to work within, and every team is probably slightly different. Although it may show if you go to like websites or whatever and say, ‘Hey, where are the Seahawks with their salary cap?’ there’s a lot of budgeted items that fall into that as well when you talk about incentives, premium roster bonuses, injuries.”

So, there we have it. The veteran was a simple salary cap casualty, and where his NFL future lies now is unknown. Is there a market for a veteran defensive tackle who has registered two sacks, 39 combined tackles, five tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits?

There is a chance he could return to Seattle on a more "team-friendly" deal.

Part of a Seahawks defense that ranked 25th in the league for points against (23.6) and gave up the third-worst rushing yards per game (150.2 yards), Woods, at his age, was seen as expendable to get salary cap relief as the overhaul along the defensive line continues.

Woods has been a staple of the Seattle defense for the best part of two years and now is out of a job, but at least we now know why.

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