Much of the offseason in Seattle will be dominated by what the team decides to do with quarterback Russell Wilson. On the defensive side of the ball, though, another key decision will need to be made regarding free safety Quandre Diggs. According to John Boyle of Seahawks.com, a reunion is the goal for both sides.
Diggs has been a standout on an otherwise underwhelming Seattle defense since his midseason arrival in 2019. There have been offseason issues as recent as this past September regarding his contract status – namely, the lack of a long-term extension to the three-year, $18.6M deal he was on when he was traded from Detroit. He did play the full season in each of 2020 and 2021, however, partly due to a compromise reached in the lead-in to this campaign.
In his two full seasons in Seattle, Diggs has established himself as one of the best playmaking safeties in the league. The former sixth-round pick recorded five interceptions in both years, as well as a combined 158 tackles and 17 pass breakups. The 10 interceptions are tied for the NFL lead during that span, and earned him his first two Pro Bowl selections. That production will garner plenty of suitors on the open market, if he reaches it for the first time in March.
The 29-year-old said there’s “no question” he wants to remain a Seahawk. “If we can make it work and it works out for both sides, and I feel fairly compensated knowing that I’m a two-time Pro-Bowler, [who received] All-Pro votes, and one of the best, if not the best free safety in the NFL – I have to be compensated as well, and I feel like I did everything the right way to be compensated as well. If it works out and they say they want to do it, let’s get it done“.
Head coach Pete Carrol has publicly expressed an interest in keeping Diggs, who suffered a broken leg in the team’s season finale. However, Seattle already signed Jamal Adams to a four-year, $70M deal in August. Deciding to keep Diggs, then, would very likely give the Seahawks the league’s most expensive safety tandem. As The Seattle Times’ Adam Jude notes, their only other safeties under contract for next year are Ugo Amadi and Marquise Blair, both of whom are headed into the final year of the rookie deals.
If Diggs does hit the open market, he would join a free agent class that is also scheduled to include the likes of Tyrann Mathieu, Jessie Bates and Marcus Maye.
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