Seattle Seahawks Save $27.5 Million By Releasing Both Starting Safeties

The Seattle Seahawks will be in the market for a pair of new starting safeties for the 2024 NFL season and beyond. In a cost-cutting move on Tuesday, the team announced that they will be releasing both Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, each of whom spent the last four seasons playing and starting for Seattle.

Breaking: The Seattle Seahawks are releasing Pro Bowl safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, per @TomPelissero.

These moves save $27.5M in cash and significant cap space for Seattle. pic.twitter.com/6Hb8TuOnPi

— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) March 5, 2024

The transactions will be helpful in getting the Seahawks where they want to be as far as the salary cap is concerned. They weren’t in any kind of financial trouble, as they ranked in the middle of the pack in terms of available money to spend, but they now have well over $30 million to spend when free agency begins in a couple of weeks. And that number will likely grow with more cuts and restructures.

Adams never worked out the way that Seattle had hoped. They sent two first round picks among other assets to the New York Jets in exchange for his services back in 2020, but the player never regained his All-Pro form, and ended up playing in just 35 of a possible 67 games during his four years. The Seahawks will still be on the hook for $10.4 million in dead money, but will save well over $16 million for the 2024 season and $17.5 million for 2025.

Seattle Will Look To Get Younger At The Position

BREAKING: Seahawks have informed Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, and Will Dissly they will be released, per @Schultz_Report and @TomPelissero

Seahawks are saving $34.5M with these cuts pic.twitter.com/nC0NyXqp3A

— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) March 5, 2024

Diggs was a Pro Bowler in for three straight seasons from 2020-2022, but his production waned in 2023 despite playing in 97% of the defensive snaps for the year. His release is likely more of a move made in order to get younger, as Diggs is now 31 years old and likely on the tail end of his career. His departure will save $11 million for Seattle, but they will still have to fork out $10.2 million in dead money.

The Seahawks still have plenty of safeties under contract for 2024, but it is very likely that they will be looking to being in some new faces. Julian Love has plenty of experience after playing in 79% of snaps last year, but there isn’t much to speak for in the way of starting-level talent outside of him.

Many of the better options on the free agent market are closer to the age of Adams and Diggs than they are to the starts of their careers, so Seattle could be looking to add youth through the draft instead. They own the 16th overall pick in the upcoming draft, though this year’s class doesn’t appear to be one rich with safety talent in the earlier rounds.