REACTION: Riq Leaves Seattle

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Hello, everybody.

Welcome to another episode of Hot Blogger Morning, Zion Brandem has where you can find me,

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I wanted to jump back on here.

I didn't do a marathon show today.

I really wanted to, but then it got sunny outside and I got to admit I had to go out there

and play some awful, awful golf just I had to do it, very cold, I got to say, but happy

to get outside.

There's been some things that have happened, no surprise on day two of free agency.

I'm not going to have time to probably get into each and every thing, but let's start

with the headline that is, which is that Tariq Wolland or Req Wolland, if you will, has

signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, a one year deal for $15 million and this happens

on day two of the legal tampering period.

I think we should just call it free agency and it is a lower number than I think most

expected, almost certainly lower than what Tariq Wolland expected.

It is also a shorter deal, it is a one year deal.

That is kind of a prove it deal.

What this does is a couple of things, one, it gives Req Wolland the opportunity to demonstrate

while he is still young that he deserves a large contract and that teams can trust investing

that kind of money in him.

It also gives the Philadelphia Eagles a chance to potentially have an elite corner.

I know there are some reactions to that.

We'll talk about it, but an elite corner at a lower price because Req Wolland's market

was not in the 20 million plus range.

I think there's a lot of implications of this to Seattle.

I want to talk about some of them, but part of this, I think a lot of people, before

I get into the Seahawks part of it, I think you got to reflect on Req Wolland's career.

In a lot of ways, it's fitting that this news happened within a few hours of the other

really fascinating news, which is Geno Smith getting traded back to the New York Jets,

which comes full circle, obviously has been a fascinating journey for Geno Smith, but

both of those players are linked in my mind for this reason.

Both Geno Smith and Req Wolland are polarizing within the Seahawks fan base.

There are people that loved those players and defended those players and there are people

that absolutely detested those players.

I happen to be in the former camp for both of them.

I liked those players.

I believed in both of those players.

A lot of you did not.

And I think the Seahawks ultimately did not, at least in the case of Req Wolland.

And part of what went into that as well is I have a general rule and it seems obvious

when I say it, but it is something to keep in mind, which is if you're a really good player,

if you're a great player, no one needs to explain why you're great.

It's pretty obvious why you're great.

And so both Geno Smith and Req Wolland fell into the category of needing some people to

make the case for them because they did enough stuff on the field that frustrated people

and looked terrible at times that it took some, well, look at these metrics, look at these

compared to this and the other and the truth of the matter, even as somebody who has defended

both of those players pretty aggressively.

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The truth of the matter is, if you are great, you don't need someone making that case

for you.

I think if he really reflects on his time in Seattle, I think Rick Willen will probably

understand that he made some choices and made some mistakes that have overshadowed a

lot of the good things that he did.

I think it's also hard when you're a cornerback that it's a little bit like offensive line,

not quite, but in the sense that the only time you get noticed is when things are going

wrong for the most part.

The difference between cornerback and offensive line is cornerbacks can also make positive

plays that are splash plays, interceptions, pass breakups, tackles, things like that.

But a lot of the times when you're getting noticed as a cornerback, it's because people

are throwing at you.

Even when you make one of those plays, it's because generally people are throwing in

your direction.

Some of the best cornerback plays come when nobody notices you, when you have completely

wiped a player from the field for that play.

There was a lot of times that Rick Willen did exactly that.

Unfortunately, for reasons I cannot explain, he became a player that struggled to make the

play at the moment of truth when he was getting challenged.

He would give up, even in the Super Bowl, unfortunately, at the very end.

There was a contested play with Mac Hollens for a touchdown.

Rick was there, did not make the play.

This is a 6'4 corner with elite athleticism, like alien, like athleticism, that should

be able to always win one-on-one contested plays, and too often he didn't.

I think that's what's going to stick in a lot of people's minds.

I've already seen it in chat, a little bit, good riddance to him, and I don't feel that

way, but I understand why people do.

I think the low point, at least for me, with Terrick Willen, came in the NFC Championship

game.

I have sunk to my knees, I think only twice, while watching a Seahawks game, and there's

a few things that have to happen for me to sink to my knees.

It has to be a game that matters enough that I am emotionally all-in, and it has to

be something incredibly emotional, like overwhelmingly emotional.

The first time it happened was the 2013 NFC Championship, when Richard Sherman tipped

the pass to Malcolm Smith for the interception to win the NFC Championship and go to the

Super Bowl.

I sank to my knees, I was just completely overwhelmed.

I had not an ounce of energy, or I could not process what had happened.

It was just overwhelming.

The second time was also in the NFC Championship in 2025.

It was a very different emotional experience.

It was all in against the Rams.

The Seahawks had just gotten off the field by Rick Willen making a terrific play to break

up a pass, and I watched him taunt, and I watched him taunt, and keep taunting, and keep

taunting.

I was sitting there saying, turn around, turn around, go back to your side, turn around.

Everyone's celebrating, and I'm just totally focused on Rick Willen.

I'm like, turn around, and then I see the flag go in the air.

Most of the people in the stadium had no idea what happened.

I sank to my knees, put my hands on my head, and I was just like, oh no, oh no, and then

literally the next play he gives up a touchdown.

I thought that might have been the end.

I thought that might have been the moment where the Seahawks lost this amazing group of

individuals that came together to be the best team in football to potentially lose because

of that would have been just devastating on all sorts of levels.

And I think that is a perfect microcosm of who Tarek Willen was for too many times over

the last few years.

Makes a great play, erases it with a mistake, gives up a key touchdown like too often.

It happened too often, even as someone who's defended him and even as someone who believes

this is still one of the best corners in the NFL.

So I do understand it.

It is going to be interesting.

If you haven't already figured it out, the Seahawks play the Eagles this year on the road.

So the Seahawks will assuming everyone's healthy will face Tarek Willen in Philadelphia as

part of that Vic Fangio defense.

He's going to be playing with Kenyon Mitchell, Cooper D'Agin, to Hello the Secondary.

And by the way, this is the first, unless I've missed something else.

This is the first external free agent that the Eagles have signed at all to this point

in the free agent period.

That is correct.

And that means that only three teams, well, let me double check this.

I'm going to go, I'll share this with you, look at my little league scorecard here.

This looks at who has, who has added players and who is not external players, not resigned

players external, the only three teams that have not added players from outside the roster

so far are the Seattle Seahawks, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Denver Broncos.

Two of those three teams played in their conference championship games.

One of those teams won the Super Bowl.

So, yeah, that's kind of where things stand.

And if you look now at the Seahawks looking at where they stand now,

these are the players that they have kept.

They have kept Rashid Shaheed, Josh Job, Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Drake Thomas,

Tio Cotta, George Hullani.

They have now lost Ken Walker, Boi Mafe, Kobe Bryant, and Tareek Wolland.

Really what's left to monitor is Josh Jones, who's the backup swing tackle.

I currently do not believe they're going to sign him back.

I think it'd be great if they did, but I think they're going to roll with Marri Kite,

maybe Logan Brown and see if those guys can step up into that role.

We will see what happens with Cody White and Brandon Peely and Brady Russell and Drake Young and Jake Bobo.

I mean, I expect Crystal to be back.

I expect Brady Russell and Brandon Peely to be back.

I think Cody White will be back, but maybe he will get a better opportunity elsewhere.

We will find out.

I think Jake Bobo is going to leave, but I'd be thrilled if he came back,

but that's just my guess about what he's going to look to do.

And so as we look at where we are in the cornerback market,

despite the fact that Tareek Wolland did not get the deal that probably he would have liked to get,

or maybe some people predicted that he would,

he is third on the list in terms of average per year for the cornerbacks.

And this is up to 15 million, but these are all generally up to numbers.

These are the kind of the max deal numbers for a lot of these players.

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Either way, it is a pretty decent number for Terequilin.

And you have to think if he cannot,

I mean, he might be the exact perfect player to have on a one-year deal

who knows that he has got to be on the straight and narrow.

And I think he's going to hopefully have learned a lesson

or two from his experience in Seattle.

And unfortunately, I hope the Eagles don't do well,

but I hope for Terequilin that things do go well for him

to be very honest.

So that is pretty interesting.

At least from my perspective,

there was one other thing I wanted to share with you guys.

There might be a couple others,

but I will look at questions as well,

see if anything comes up.

But two things.

So before I share this other data point,

there's this thing where I'm seeing people be like,

man, this clearly means that cornerback is

the number one priority for the COX in the draft.

I don't think this changes anything.

Like I don't think this changes anything

in that regard.

And why do I not think that?

Because the reality is,

Terequilin was splitting time with Josh Job

as it stood.

Sorry, guys, I'm going to make sure I lost you for a second.

I want to make sure I hadn't closed the wrong window.

Anyway,

Josh Job took over the starting spot

from Terequilin last year.

And if you look at snap counts,

which I'm about to do and you do it by week,

I will tell you where things stood

until Requilin essentially won back

a chance to split reps with Josh Job.

But here's how it went.

Requilin started,

first week played a hundred percent of the snaps.

Then 95.

Well, that's, so it's a little misleading

because Devon Witherspoon and Nicki Minaj

already got hurt in that first game.

But

Josh Job went from 80 percent of the snaps

in the first week to 97, 92, 100,

199, 100.

He became the de facto starter,

even when Devon Witherspoon came back.

And then if you look at the snaps

over the course of the last part of the year,

they're pretty equal.

Like in the Super Bowl, for example,

Josh Job played 86 percent of the snaps,

Requilin played 69 percent of the snaps.

I will note that in the NFC championship game,

Requilin played 85 percent of the snaps,

and Josh Job played 39.

So I thought Requilin had overtaken Josh Job

in terms of overall quality of play

toward the end of the season.

But it wasn't like the Seahawks

had a clear starter in Requilin,

and now they've lost him.

I think of anything they kind of had a starter in Josh Job,

they had a player in Requilin who had forced their hand

to split reps.

And now they don't have a split rep situation.

Almost nobody has four starting cornerbacks.

Like that's not how it works.

So now it'll be normal.

Josh Job, Nicki Minwari,

Devon Weatherspooner, you're starting cornerbacks.

Those are three, that's like three of the,

that's like one of the best starting cornerback trios

in the NFL as it stands.

And yes, of course,

if you find a great corner in a good cornerback draft,

you add one.

But it's not like this is a number one priority.

I don't see it that way.

I see it as yes, look to add in the draft.

But it's not,

it's not some huge urgent need.

So I see that a little differently than some other folks.

And so just wanted to share that.

One of the other things I wanted to share

was that now that he's,

he's exited,

I'm sure we will see more,

whether it's from Seahawks fans or from analysts,

analysts,

that they will say,

man, the Seahawks have lost too much talent to,

like they've lost all this talent.

The Rams have added all this talent.

The Seahawks are going to be in so much trouble.

Let's look at this together.

I put this together just before I came on the show.

I tweeted this out so you can find it there.

This is looking at the 2013 and the 2025 Seahawks,

the two Super Bowl winning teams.

And while everybody is ringing their hands,

not everybody,

but a lot of people are ringing their hands about,

oh my gosh,

look at all the,

the, the guys that we've lost on the 2025 roster.

I'm like, really?

I don't know if you remember how many people,

the Seahawks lost on the 2013 roster.

That 2013 roster lost Golden Tate,

Brandon Brown or Walter Thurman,

Chris Clemens,

Red Bryant, Paul McQuiston,

Brenno Jacomini, Michael Robinson,

Marigost, Clinton McDonald,

Sydney Rice,

and more.

They lost almost a third of the snaps

that were played by that Super Bowl team.

28.6% of the snaps played that year were lost

in that, in that off season.

14% of the snaps so far,

like half,

half the snaps percentage wise

of that 2013 squad have been lost

with the recoil in number included.

And this is by snap count.

Now, the majority of that loss

is on the defensive side for the 2025 Seahawks.

25% of the snaps on defense were lost.

That's a meaningful number.

The 2013 team lost 27% on defense.

They lost 30.5% on offense.

And they went back to the Super Bowl

and were within one yard of beating Tom Brady

or back-to-back Super Bowls.

I'm not saying that there's a guarantee

that the Seahawks are going to be back in the Super Bowl.

But I do not believe

that the four players that they have lost so far

as much as I like each one of them.

I don't believe that those players going elsewhere

means that the Seahawks are suddenly castrated

that they can no longer strike fear

in the heart of their opponents.

This is still the number one defense in the NFL

who's returning essentially every starter

but Kobe Bryant and Tio Cotta,

the guy who's stepping in for Kobe Bryant,

started 11 games last year.

And then you've got the offense

that's returning every starter

but they're running back position.

And I still think they're going to add

to that running back position.

So I just want to continue to try to add

a little perspective from all the hysteria

that kind of I see setting in.

I think this is the best team in football.

And they've managed to keep most of it together,

which is a credit to the front office,

not a criticism.

It is not a panic situation.

It is, oh man,

they're bringing back most of the ammunition

that they just want to Super Bowl with.

Other teams need to react to that,

not vice versa.

And by the way, let's take a look one more time

at that league scorecard

because there's another aspect of this

that I showed this morning,

but I think it's interesting to see now.

If we look at the amount of money lost,

or the amount of money spent on players signed elsewhere,

the Seahawks are fifth in the NFL,

with $160 million.

And their per player number is pretty darn large,

larger than the Ravens.

But I think this is just evidence

that this is a very talented roster.

And the fact that they have not added

any other players externally,

which I think they will,

is also a sign that for the Seahawks,

I think they feel they can get a lot better

just by keeping this team together

as opposed to needing to add that secret missing piece.

I don't think they feel like they've got a missing piece.

But we will find out.

We will find out soon enough.

This just curious here.

This looks at the difference between outgoing cost of players

and how much you spent on adding external players.

And the Seahawks are fourth in that surplus, essentially,

which will also come into the comp pick formula.

I'm not sure to assume the Seahawks.

I'm not sure because it's a one-year deal

if they'll even get two comp pick level,

but I'm guessing if anything they'll get a fifth

or maybe a six-round pick at this point.

So they'll get a fourth.

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Two fifths and a six or something like that,

depending on who they sign externally

and whether those guys are part of the comp pick formula.

All right.

I think there's one super chat.

Let's get this out there.

Brady Krimman says,

How do you think Rick may have projected on this team

as a deep safety with all that range speed?

Length, cheap, Kobe replacement, center field cleanup guy.

He wouldn't have been cheap.

15 million is like more than Kobe guy.

It's not totally more than Kobe got in a total contract value,

but the per year value is more than Kobe Bryant got.

And I don't think Rick will and needs to be converted to a safety.

He's one of the most athletic corners in the NFL.

And most of the numbers demonstrate that he is one of the best corners in the NFL.

I know what I said and I'm going to stick with that,

but I'm not going to sit here and say,

Rick will and is a disaster at corner.

He's just not.

I understand why not everybody likes him or wants him around.

But I'm telling you there's going to be some moments next year

where people are going to be like, man, I miss Rick will probably.

Maybe not.

Maybe he'll go the path of Geno Smith and turn into just a really bad player

or have a really bad year and everyone will just get to feel fat and happy

that they don't have to deal with that anymore.

But it wouldn't surprise me at all if Rick will and becomes, you know,

a pro bowl corner with the Eagles and is making a ton of great plays.

And I think putting him in that Vick Fangio defense.

I think I'll do some damage, but we'll find out.

All right.

I think those were the main things.

There were a couple other comings and goings while I was gone.

Romeo dobs, signs with the Patriots.

So it'll be interesting to see if the Patriots still go after AJ Brown,

who had been rumored to go there.

Elgin Jenkins, who had been released by the Packers yesterday,

was already signed by the Brown.

So Jeff and I talked about him maybe joining the offensive line

to get for the sea ox.

He wouldn't have counted against compix.

But he got a two year 24 million dollar deal.

So that's pretty big.

Kate Nellis, linebacker signed a three year 33 million dollar deal with the Saints.

Skymore moves from the 49ers to the Green Bay Packers.

Let's see.

Oh.

Well, no, I guess commanders.

I did not sign somebody.

I thought maybe they did.

Oh, the commanders just added Leo Chanel for a three year deal.

Linebacker Leo Chanel is now part of the commanders.

I wonder what's going to happen with Mr. Bobby Wagner.

Leo Chanel goes to the Washington commanders three years.

I'll find out how much another time.

Yeah.

So lots of little things outside of that.

A lot of punters and kickers signing places,

which we won't spend a much time on.

P.J. Lock, decent safety goes to the Cowboys.

Yeah.

I think those are the, those are the big ones.

Interesting story there about Geno Smith.

Just really briefly.

I'll just say, I'm still rooting for Geno Smith.

I don't harbor how hard feelings for Geno Smith.

I did not celebrate his demise last year.

I know most people did.

That's fine.

I think it'd be really cool for him to go to New York and have another.

Phoenix rising from the ashes kind of moment.

It's not an easy place to do it.

Not an easy team to do it for.

Not an easy, you know, organization or city.

But I think that would be a fun story.

That would be a fun story if he could turn things around.

And the Seahawks.

Sorry.

I'm looking at something here.

Is he going to pull it up?

Yeah.

The sex do not face the jets next year.

So I was just double checking.

But no, they do not.

All right.

So.

That'll probably do it.

Like I'm going to leave it there.

I'm going to be back with you in a half an hour for the Seahawks collective at five p.m.

Pacific time and about house back.

I saw a frog state and will all be with you.

So we'll see you there over on that channel.

Until that time.

Have a great rest of your Tuesday.

Take care.

Bye.

Bye.