Free Agent Gaffes Put Seahawks GM John Schneider Under Microscope

Long viewed as one of the NFL's best executives, John Schneider's first run without Pete Carroll hasn't gone smoothly so far. What does that mean for his future?

Oct 6, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider signs autographs during pregame warmups against the New York Giants at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

RENTON, Wash. - Hours after the Seattle Seahawks made the surprising announcement of waiving starting linebacker Tyrel Dodson on Monday, coach Mike Macdonald didn't mince words when asked about why the personnel decision was made during the bye week.

Despite Dodson's quality stat line, including a team-high 72 combined tackles, after combing through film and partaking in difficult conversations last week, Macdonald and Seattle's coaching staff reached the conclusion that the player wasn't meshing with the scheme. Clearly displeased with his overall performance, he felt other linebackers on the roster such as rookie Tyrice Knight deserved a shot to prove themselves in the second half.

"I think was an opportunity for us when we kind of sat and took a step back and realized where we were at, it was really the best thing for us to move forward that way," Macdonald said. "Give the other guys in the room an opportunity to step up. I hope those guys grab that opportunity by the horns and take it and run with it."

Just like that, only three weeks after shipping Jerome Baker to Tennessee as part of the deal for Ernest Jones, both veteran linebackers signed by Seahawks general manager John Schneider during free agency were gone in a flash. With neither player managing to stick for the entire season and center Connor Williams abruptly retiring this week, the front office as a whole has come under fire from a fan base growing more and more frustrated with subpar results from offseason signings.

Typically, free agent moves can't be properly assessed until after the conclusion of the season. But in the case of Seattle, with Dodson, Baker, and Williams all no longer on the roster, it's fair game for the vultures circling the VMAC and ready to pounce when it comes to scrutinizing how poorly this year's free agent class has panned out for Schneider and company.

Looking at the Seahawks latest free agent class, good luck finding a player who has emerged as a game-changing difference maker in year one of the Macdonald era.

On offense, tackle George Fant - who Seattle tabbed as Abraham Lucas' injury replacement - has played 30 offensive snaps in two games after signing a two-year deal in March and landed on injured reserve for the second time this week. Laken Tomlinson has started every game, but been mediocre at best, grading out 25th out of 57 qualified guards. At the center position, Nick Harris didn't even make it through training camp before being traded back to Cleveland, while the late move to sign Williams turned into a disaster with him walking away out of nowhere after starting nine games.

Even at tight end, where the Seahawks tried to replace departed contributors Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson, Pharaoh Brown has caught three passes for 19 yards and failed to make the impact expected as a blocker.

As for the defense, replacing Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks with the duo of Dodson and Baker obviously blew up in Seattle's face. While Wagner and Brooks have played well for their new teams, things went south so quickly in the Pacific Northwest that Schneider had to fork over a fourth-round pick to land Jones from Tennessee before the trade deadline and rather than hold onto Dodson after being benched, the two sides reached a mutual split.

Arguably the Seahawks best free agent addition, safety Rayshawn Jenkins has been out since Week 6 due to a broken hand and it remains to be seen when he will return to action. Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins has filled an important role as a rotational nose tackle on a one-year deal, but he certainly hasn't been a major difference maker for a run defense that still ranks 20th in the NFL.

From a holistic view, Schneider spent more than $16 million on the offensive line and $11 million on Dodson and Baker, failing to address either position group effectively with patchwork one and two-year contracts that equated to lighting a stack of money on fire in a fashion that even would leave the Joker speechless. On those facts alone, even if Williams' retirement looks to be bad luck, his first free agent haul without Pete Carroll as his brain trust sidekick has been a categorical failure.

If there's a positive to be gleaned from this experience, Macdonald and Schneider seem to be working harmoniously through these issues together, and the organization deserves credit for cutting bait on moves that clearly didn't work out as hoped rather than continuing to double down on them at the expense of snaps for younger players who actually may be part of Seattle's long-term plans beyond 2024.

"John and I, we're in lockstep," Macdonald said on Monday. "He's an elite communicator, probably better than I am. I'm learning a lot from him, but we work through things together. Naturally, any given decision is going to be brought up by someone because that's just how it has to work. But, we're in constant communication about all these things, so we're partners in that way I would say."

But if the biggest positive from free agency moves revolves around the willingness to jettison several players who didn't pan out, that's not the type of success that looks good on a resume or helps with job security. That's especially the case for Schneider, who has outlasted Carroll and quarterback Russell Wilson as the last man standing from the original "Big 3" pinnacles of the franchise and now should be feeling the pressure after a dreadful offseason from a roster construction standpoint.

Since Macdonald came on late in the process and Schneider had to scramble behind the scenes to help build a coaching staff before the start of free agency, maybe he deserves to be cut a bit of slack. With a more normal offseason next spring, he and Macdonald may be better equipped to address roster deficiencies by acquiring players who better fit the scheme and adapt to the mistakes made in their first go around together.

Additionally, if Seattle extends Jones and Knight emerges as a quality starter, the failed signings of Baker and Dodson will just be a bump in the road in the long run. If Olu Oluwatimi shines in a second half audition in the wake of Williams' retirement, that move won't look near as bad either.

At the same time, however, Schneider is now in his 15th season with the Seahawks and his latest misses failing to put together an offensive line like a warped jigsaw puzzle have continued an ugly trend spanning the better part of a decade, so the clock is ticking and patience is wearing thin.

While Schneider isn't on the hot seat right now, if Seattle can't turn things around in the final eight games after losing five of its past six and the season spirals out of control, that could easily change. Without Carroll on board to take some of the blame, the buck stops with him in regard to personnel decisions, and so far, the results haven't been anywhere close to good enough.

More Seahawks News

DK Metcalf, Abraham Lucas Good to Go For Seahawks at 49ers

Seahawks Counting on Abraham Lucas to Fortify 'Best Version' of Offensive Line

Seahawks Coach Mike Macdonald Talks Bye Week Benefits

Should Seahawks Take Flier on Veteran G Nate Davis?

Seahawks WR DK Metcalf Practices, Status For Week 10 Uncertain