Seahawks Excited About 'Bright Future' Despite Wild Card Loss to 49ers

Even with uncertainty at quarterback and several notable players heading towards free agency, coming off a difficult wild card round loss in Santa Clara, there's no shortage of optimism about the Seattle Seahawks prospects heading towards 2023 and beyond.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - In the aftermath of a disappointing 41-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild card round, many Seattle Seahawks players understandably were emotional and struggling to hold back tears in the locker room facing the reality of their season reaching an abrupt conclusion.

There's no such thing as moral victories in the NFL and after leading by a point at halftime, Seattle imploded in the second half, allowing San Francisco to rip off 25 unanswered points to build an insurmountable fourth quarter advantage. As coach Pete Carroll lamented afterward, the team had a legitimate chance to advance to the next round and pull off a stunning upset, only for that opportunity to slip away in the blink of an eye against a superior opponent.

But while the sting of Saturday's defeat at Levis Stadium will linger for some time knowing this current roster will not play another game together, players such as safety Ryan Neal didn't want to dwell on the defeat. Instead, sharing the optimism of many of his teammates, he's already looking towards next season with great anticipation after the Seahawks blew all expectations out of the water this year to make the playoffs when few outside of the organization believed they could.

"Super bright and if you can't see it, then you must not have your eyes open," Neal told reporters following the game. "But this team is going to be a really great team and I think the city of Seattle knows it. To be honest with you, they should be just freaking excited. If we had a couple more pieces, get back together and get healthy, this team is something to be scared of. There's a very bright future for this organization for sure."

Managing to win nine games when most experts wrote them off long before the season started, the Seahawks were carried in large part by a young team featuring multiple rookie starters. There's no question a fantastic 2022 draft class lies at the top of the list in regard to reasons for optimism about the franchise's future.

On offense, tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas started all but one regular season game at the bookend spots protecting Geno Smith, while running back Ken Walker III took over for Rashaad Penny and rushed for over 1,000 yards. Even seventh round pick Dareke Young joined the fun late in the season at receiver and fullback. In total, per NFL Next Gen Stats, the team led the NFL with rookies playing 22.9 percent of offensive snaps in 2022.

While the percentage of snaps wasn't quite as high on defense, Seattle also counted on key contributions from numerous rookies on that side of the ball. Headlining the group, Tariq Woolen led all cornerbacks with six interceptions while starting all 17 games and slot cornerback Coby Bryant created four forced fumbles. Up front, linebacker Boye Mafe took on a greater role as the season progressed and looks like a capable starter down the road.

A core of talented players including Walker, Woolen, Cross, and others should serve as the foundation for the Seahawks next Super Bowl contender. But as receiver DK Metcalf and safety Quandre Diggs pointed out on Saturday, that young group could be even better with the team holding a top-five selection and four total selections in the first two rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft, providing a great opportunity to add more blue chip talent to the mix.

On top of their draft capital, per OverTheCap.com, Seattle is projected to have close to $50 million in available cap space. While much of that room will likely be used to re-sign Pro Bowl quarterback Geno Smith, who will be an unrestricted free agent after a career year, there's wiggle room to add a veteran piece or two to help put the young team over the hump after getting a taste of playoff football this year.

Along with being excited to see what general manager John Schneider and Carroll do with the abundance of resources at their disposal to improve the roster, Metcalf expects to see the Seahawks take another step forward from a chemistry standpoint with Smith rolling into his second year as a starter, the cast of rookies one year older and wiser, and players such as himself not sitting out for contract-related reasons. In turn, he thinks they should be much better equipped to win in the postseason.

"Draft picks, free agent picks and just building on this year," Metcalf said. "I think we missed out during training camp on a lot of team bonding and bonding as a whole, whether that's a position, groups, or just a team in general. I think next offseason and next season going into it, just being ready to bond with the team and know who we are at the core and not just jersey numbers or teammates. It has to be a real brotherhood when you go out there for games like this."

Heading into an offseason full of intrigue and possibilities, players such as Neal have already started to reflect on the successes of a campaign that went far better than anyone could have realistically hoped for, saying he's proud of "what we put together this year." For others such as Metcalf, they are already thinking about making a run at a Super Bowl next fall.

Of course, as evidenced in the second half on Saturday, the Seahawks have a long ways to go closing the gap with the 49ers and the rest of the NFL's elite. Smith's status beyond this season, even if he's made it clear he wants to finish his career with the franchise, as well as other free agency-related decisions and what should be a very busy draft weekend, await. The choices made in coming months will be critical towards the trajectory of the franchise beyond this point and missteps could stunt or even derail progress.

But after going toe to toe with one of the NFL's premier teams for three quarters on the road with an inexperienced squad lacking playoff experience, there's no shortage of reasons to believe this latest wild card defeat can be a springboard similar to Seattle's playoff exit in 2012. With the right tweaks to the roster through free agency and the draft, the sky looks to be the limit in the Pacific Northwest.

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