Potential 2013 Seattle Seahawks roster changes

The 2012 season is over for the Seattle Seahawks, and now we look onto the potential 2013 Seattle Seahawks roster changes. The Seahawks will potentially let 12 players fly away this offseason. We start unfortunately will the defensive line. Alan Branch and Jason Jones are unrestricted free agents in 2013. Jones is a player the Seahawks can live with departing, but Branch is another story. A major part of the Seahawks run defense in 2012, was having two big bodies in the middle of the field in Branch and Brandon Mebane. If that presence is going to continue, then Branch needs to be the number one priority to re-sign in the offseason.

Marcus Trufant becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2013, but he probably will go through the same scenario he did last season. The Seahawks will either sign him to a one-year contract or a veteran’s minimum three-year deal. The Seahawks already have their cornerback situation pretty much figured out with Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner. That leaves Trufant on the outside looking in, as far as his value to the team overall. Leroy Hill becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2013 and as much as the Seahawks might want to look to the draft for his replacement.

I wouldn’t take a chance on allowing Hill to leave without a proven replacement in the building. Some sort of contract extension for Hill should be on the horizon. Deon Butler becomes an unrestricted free agent, and it’s been sad to see him fall off the map lately. Butler was hyped to be a significant part of the offense since his decent numbers back in 2010, but has since fallen. The Seahawks will definitely need to find a stud wide receiver in the draft to pair with Sidney Rice, because Rice doesn’t have stud wide receiver written all over him.

Ryan Longwell and Steven Hauschka hit free agency in 2013. Longwell has the experience, but Hauschka had a pretty decent year with completing almost 89% of his kicks in 2012. Those are above average numbers for a kicker in the NFL and he should be rewarded as the Seahawks next kicker for a couple more seasons. Bottom-line, the Seahawks have the most control on who leaves and who goes this offseason. There shouldn’t be that much panic or anxiety with the exception of Alan Branch hitting free agency, but the Seahawks seem to be the place to be for many players this offseason. The organization can finally say it has a foundation for success, and that’s something you rarely hear about coming out of Seattle.

James Cobern is a Featured Journalist for TPF and can be contacted at JCobern@ThePenaltyFlagBlog.com.