Written by Chris Sullivan | 29 March 2008

It is funny how this offseason has gone. At one point the Hawks seemed to be passing on more than reasonable deals all because of salary cap constraints. Well....now, after locking up two of their best young defensive players, the Hawks have money to spare. This is what the professor John Clayton has to say on his ESPN Blog.

Salary cap room to breathe: The Seahawks were concerned about being tight against the cap. They had more than $9 million of their cap eaten up by the Marcus Trufant franchise tag. Now that Trufant signed a six-year, $50.2 million deal, the Seahawks have plenty of room. His contract saved the team $6.7 million of cap room. After his deal, the Seahawks had $13.9 million of room, which is why they had no problem giving kicker Olindo Mare a two-year, $3.5 million deal. They would like to get an extension with linebacker LeRoy Hill, too.

I think the next move seems clear. It is releasing Shaun and taking the whole hit this year. By restructuring Kerney and Grant, it is possible they have created cap hurdles that will have to be maneuvered in the future. But by avoiding any dead money, this team will have flexibility to keep the defense together. Especially when you consider that the team will be loading up on young offensive players in the upcoming drafts. END

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