Golden Nuggets: Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude. Shah · den · froy · duh. It’s a Deutsche term for the personal pleasure derived from watching others experience misfortune. Wednesday was certainly one of those days for 49ers fans, as reports emerged that the Seahawks traded away longtime defensive standout Michael Bennett, as well as cryptic messages hinting that the team would not be retaining the services of CB Richard Sherman for the upcoming season.

At this point, there’s been no confirmation on the Sherman front. Although the big name CB turns 30 this month and is recovering from an Achilles rupture (from November 2017) which caused him to miss the first games of his career, it’s still a possibility that the Seahawks are planning to earn some value in a trade. Of course, it would likely be peanuts, much like the 5th round value earned from losing Bennett. One thing is for certain, the defense which has generated such an impossibly large percentage of the team’s success is falling apart quickly up north. Of course, Earl Thomas remains the spark that will keep offenses honest.

However, should Sherman land with another team, one of the great questions of the NFL may find an answer sooner than later. Like a turbocharged case of Bill Belichick & Tom Brady, many detractors have argued that Sherman is a product of Pete Carroll’s system. There remains a possibility that he ends up with us or the Falcons (the Jaguars would be unlikely due to entrenched CBs and cap woes), which would represent a simple scheme transition that wouldn’t generate too much drop-off. Or, of course, he ends up anywhere without Earl Thomas and makes a clown out of himself, and subsequently fades away with a whimper, much to the delight of 49ers virtually all NFL fans.

Over The Cap currently has the Seahawks with roughly 13 million in cap space before the trade of Bennett, and supposed loss (release/trade?) of Sherman. Those two moves would generate 7.4 million in dead cap, but would also free up a net 13.2 million, effectively doubling what the Seahawks have to operate with. However, Seattle currently has 17 unrestricted free agents, 5 restricted free agents, and an additional 11 exclusive rights free agents. Among the bunch are names like Thomas Rawls, Blair Walsh, Paul Richardson, Deshawn Shead, Sheldon Richardson, Eddie Lacy, Luke Joeckel, Luke Willson, and Jimmy Graham. Certainly, this creates some difficulty for the Seahawks, as their top two options at both RB and TE are set to enter free agency, as well as the assumed replacements for the former defensive stalwarts (Shead at CB, Richardson at Big DE).

At any rate, between their own free agents & signing their draft picks, the Seahawks don’t seem to have the cap space to make any splash signings this year, outside of perhaps a few modest contracts for veteran role players. Either way, the stage is set for 49ers fans to watch the professional decline of the much-maligned Richard Sherman, as well as the possible end of an era for the Rainy City [site decorum] Pigeons.

·

Assessing 49ers needs this offseason | Branch, SF Gate | Maiocco, NBC Sports Bay Area

Pro Day schedule | Barrows, Sac Bee

49ers have options at RB | Wagoner, ESPN

49ers and Broncos reportedly talked Aqib Talib | Biderman, Ninerswire

Big moves happening in Seattle | Biderman, Ninerswire

Ranking the top 5 free agent WRs | Biderman, Ninerswire