Getty The Seahawks could consider moving on from safety Quandre Diggs.
The Seattle Seahawks could make a surprising decision this offseason, according to one analyst.
As FanSided’s Nick Villano suggests, Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs should be considered the team’s “most surprising” cut candidate. Villano argues that Diggs’ underwhelming play combined with his recent injuries could lead to the veteran being cut by Seattle.
“Diggs has been dealing with injuries for the past few offseasons, with a major ankle injury impacting his offseason program in 2022,” writes Villano. “It’s not all Diggs’ fault that his play dropped like it did. We mentioned the injuries, but he’s tried to do a major lift for the secondary since Jamal Adams has missed basically a season and a half. Adams signed this big contract to be the man for Seattle, and he has not lived up to it at all. He’s going down as one of the worst trades in recent memory.”
Quandre Diggs Could Be Impacted by Julian Love Signing
Diggs is currently in the midst of a three-year, $39 million contract he signed prior to the 2022 season. He has two years left on his deal and is due to earn $13.5 million in base salary this season and $10.5 million in base salary for the 2024 season. Diggs is actually the second-highest paid player on the Seahawks’ roster.
The 30-year-old Diggs actually played a full healthy season in 2022, starting all 17 games while posting four interceptions. Although he did suffer a serious dislocated ankle and broken fibula injury at the conclusion of the 2021 season, he hasn’t missed a single game over the past three years.
Despite Diggs’ healthy 2022 season, Villano argues that the signing of former New York Giants safety Julian Love combined with Seattle’s difficulty in moving on from safety Jamal Adams as reasons for why Diggs is expendable.
“Diggs might have been saved by Ryan Neal signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but this is a ‘surprise’ cut list,” writes Villano. “This is a player that needs a strong training camp to keep his role secured. The Seahawks signed former Giants safety Julian Love this offseason, and he could very much steal the starting role from Diggs from Adams.”
Why the Seahawks Releasing Quandre Diggs Makes Little Sense
The problem with this prediction is that moving on from Diggs makes about as little sense as it does when it comes to moving on from Adams from a dead cap standpoint. In fact, if the Seahawks release Diggs this offseason, it’ll cost them $21.7 million in dead cap money. If they decide to release Adams this offseason, it’ll result in a dead cap hit of just $14.2 million.
Furthermore, Diggs actually played well last season following his return from a serious injury, posting a 73.4 defensive grade, according to Pro Football Focus. It is the second-highest grade of his eight-year career.
Considering it is Adams — not Diggs — who is coming off of a serious torn quad tendon that ended his season after just one game played last year, it would make more sense for the Seahawks to move on from the former rather than the latter.
