John

Schneider

As Schneider pointed out, the Seahawks currently have four picks in this year’s draft, including just one on Day 3. Seattle has each of its first three-round picks, but picking out of the No. 32 slot, there could be plenty of incentive to trade back and acquire more Day 2 and Day 3 picks should a team be interested in moving up at the end of the first round to make a pick. Whether it happens before or during the draft, the Seahawks will be a team to watch as draft day draws closer and other teams begin considering who they may want to move up for.

Per Glazer, Schneider is now signed through the 2030 draft. Schneider joined Seattle in 2010 and oversaw the formation of the Legion of Boom. Combined with efficient play from draft gem Russell Wilson, Seattle went to a pair of Super Bowls and brought home the Lombardi Trophy once. Schneider later traded Wilson to Denver, closing the chapter on that era of Seattle football. The highly criticized move proved prescient as Wilson’s career has been on a downward trajectory ever since. After a few modestly successful years with Geno Smith at the helm, the Seahawks are once again looking for their future at quarterback. Schneider signed Sam Darnold off a career-year with the Vikings in free agency and spent a Day Two draft pick on Jaen Milroe. Even if these moves don’t work out, Schneider has earned a long leash as the general manager.

The comments come roughly one week after the Seahawks traded DK Metcalf to the Steelers. Garafolo explains that Metcalf is “really good at what he does, but he’s not a five-tool wide receiver.” This fact apparently weighed heavily in Seattle’s decision-making. By choosing to trade Metcalf away, instead of extending his contract, the Seahawks saved a significant amount of money. The Seahawks reportedly plan to “use that money to reallocate elsewhere, and perhaps bring in some receivers that are on the market, that do a little bit of everything.” We’d recommend some receivers who could earn targets besides Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but we’re not sure if that’s a tool or not.

The Seahawks currently have Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas at the starting tackle spots, but could look to add at guard with LG Damien Lewis leaving for the Panthers and RG Phil Haynes currently a free agent. Seattle currently holds the 16th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and could add an offensive lineman with that selection. Most of the team’s offensive skill players are returning with QB Geno Smith still expected to start. They will enter year one under head coach Mike Macdonald in 2024 and Schneider has made it clear the Smith’s protection on the offensive line is still incomplete.

Seahawks GM John Schneider will also be retained after surviving a season-ending meeting with owner Jody Allen. Seattle has no plans to rebuild despite missing the playoffs and are expected to keep Russell Wilson, who wants to explore his options this offseason. 70-year-old Carroll returning for another year was expected but not a lock. It’s safe to say both Carroll and Schneider are entering make-or-break seasons.

The extension takes Schneider through the 2027 draft. It is likely a reaction to the Lions seeking permission to interview Pete Carroll’s longtime personnel boss. It is an interesting time for a new contract, as the Seahawks’ roster isn’t exactly in great shape despite this year’s 12-4 campaign. This is the lowest they have been on defensive talent during Schneider’s tenure, while the offensive line fell apart in the Wild Card Round. Working in tandem, Schneider and Carroll have botched their first selection, whether it is Round 1 or 2, over and over again. Their extremely aggressive pursuit of Jamal Adams left them without first-round picks in 2021 and 2022. You almost never see that level of draft capital thrown at a safety. Schneider and Carroll, of course, have also come away with lots of brilliant Day 2 and 3 hits, most recently DK Metcalf. They still have to stop relying on Russell Wilson for everything and fill out a stronger overall roster.

Already a GM of a vastly more successful and talented team than Detroit, Schneider doesn’t seem to have any incentive to take the Lions gig at first. However, with the Seahawks, he doesn’t have primary authority over personnel decisions. That role still belongs to HC Pete Carroll. More power and a big paycheck could lure Schneider away from the west coast back to his Midwestern roots but this move does seem unlikely. Rapoport noted that Schneider has been in lockstep with Carroll on personnel decisions so the increased role within the organization seems like a minor benefit to take on a far worse roster than he is currently working with. Seattle has an outside chance at the No. 1 seed in the NFC and a top-five QB in Russell Wilson. Internal candidates including personnel director Lance Newmark, VP of Player Personnel Kyle O’Brien, and pro scouting director Rob Lohman, who have all been interviewed for the job by Lions management, seem far more probable to be in the GM chair for Detroit at the start of the 2021 season.

ESPN’s John Clayton reports the deal will place Schneider “among the highest-paid GMs in the NFL,” and is expected to pay him around $3.75 million per year. Ozzie Newsome is currently the league’s highest-paid GM. Schneider and Pete Carroll were both entering contract years in 2016; a Carroll extension is believed to be forthcoming. In April, Rotoworld’s Patrick Daugherty ranked Schneider No. 3 among NFL GMs, behind only Bill Belichick and John Elway. Schneider has been able to mask mistakes (Matt Flynn, Percy Harvin, Jimmy Graham) with elite college-to-pro talent evaluation, plucking Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett in the third round, Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor in the fifth, and Thomas Rawls in undrafted free agency, among many others. There isn’t an NFC team with a brighter-looking present and future than Schneider’s Seahawks.

Schneider is a Wisconsin native with many Packers connections. “No,” Schneider said of bolting Seattle for Green Bay. “There’s been lots of whispers about a lot of things, and it’s a small league, and I’m from a small hometown.” With Packers GM Ted Thompson still going strong, it’s a non-story on both ends.

Green Bay GM Ted Thompson is signed through the 2016 draft and in no danger of losing his job, but there have been whispers that he might be interested in a significantly scaled-back role down the road. Schneider, 43, has emerged as a top-five GM in Seattle, after coming up as a scout, personnel analyst, and director of football operations in Green Bay. If Thompson were ever to move on, Schneider would likely rank high among the Packers’ replacement targets. Of course, as the Journal-Sentinel notes, deep-pocketed Seahawks owner Paul Allen could offer Schneider “more money than almost any man could turn down.”