The Seattle Seahawks are no strangers to shelling out big bucks for a safety. Due to the excessive cost of their contracts, Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs were released by Seattle during the offseason. Despite being unrestricted free agents, Seattle will continue to pay both of them $31 million in total through 2024.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave one of their own safeties an absurd sum of money on Monday in exchange for his joining the organization for a further four years after 2024. Eight4.1 million will be paid to Antoine Winfield, Jr. over a four-year period, with $45 million guaranteed. With the agreement, Winfield becomes the highest-paid defensive back in league history.
Winfield is undoubtedly a very talented player. He has made two Pro Bowls in four years and was chosen to the First Team All-Pro in 2023. He finished with 122 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 6 sacks. Put differently, he is a versatile safety who can support his team in a number of ways. And he’s only twenty-five.
After learning of Antoine Winfield, Jr.’s new contract, the Seahawks may find it difficult to hold onto Julian Love. This gets us to the difficulty general manager John Schneider may face in 2025. Julian Love will then be free to sign with any agency. Love may be even more effective in terms of media than Winfield, despite his lack of accomplishments. The Seahawks safety had 123 tackles, 4 interceptions, and an 82.2 quarterback rating when targeted in the previous campaign. Comparatively, Winfield’s passer rating allowed was 102.0, and in three of his four career seasons, it has been at least that high.
Love, who recently turned 26, earned the Pro Bowl in 2023. It appears that he and Winfield share many traits. Love should undoubtedly receive a significant wage increase in the upcoming offseason. Winfield will be paid more than Love because he is more adept at applying pressure to quarterbacks. He can play both strong and free safety, giving him excellent positional flexibility. He should fit right in with new head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense.
Seattle’s largest issue is that they won’t have any cap room in 2025. The team’s cap room for the upcoming offseason is actually reported by Over the Cap at a minus $17 million, though that will undoubtedly alter. But will it alter enough to retain Love for a few more seasons following the 2024 season, when he becomes a free agent? Schneider may have believed that Seattle could continue to finance Love, but in light of Winfield’s contract, that may no longer be the case.
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