Speculated by some as a potential cap casualty candidate this offseason, Tyler Lockett has secured his future with the Seattle Seahawks by agreeing to terms on a restructured contract.
According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Lockett signed off on a two-year, $30 million contract to stay with the Seahawks. With incentives, the new deal could be worth up to $34 million with $13 million guaranteed in 2024.
While full details of the contract have yet to be revealed, Lockett's new contract should drop his cap hit for next season from nearly $27 million to the $15-17 million range, opening up as much as $10 million for Seattle in additional financial flexibility before free agency opens on Wednesday. By those metrics, the team should have $50 to $52 million in cap room to work with.
Selected in the third-round out of Kansas State in 2015, Lockett has spent his entire nine-year career with the Seahawks, evolving from a special teams star into one of the franchise's most prolific receivers. Last season, he surpassed former teammate Doug Baldwin for the second-most receptions in team history and he already ranked second in receiving yards and touchdowns, with only legendary Hall of Famer Steve Largent in front of him in all three categories.
While Lockett likely won't catch Largent in receiving yards or touchdowns, he's just 207 career receptions behind the iconic wideout and could come close to that mark playing out the remainder of his reworked contract.
Last season, Lockett saw a slight dip in his production in part due to the arrival of first-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who cut into his targets a bit as a new featured weapon in Seattle's passing game. Still, even with a down year by his standards coming off four straight 1,000-yard seasons and five straight seasons with at least eight touchdown catches, he still reeled in 79 passes for 894 yards and five touchdowns, showing he has plenty of juice left in the tank.
The 31-year old Lockett also has developed into more of a vocal leader in the locker room in recent years, which will be important for new coach Mike Macdonald as he tries to maintain the positive culture that has defined the organization for more than a decade with several other veterans such as Quandre Diggs on the way out.
While the Seahawks have several position groups littered with questions rolling into free agency and the upcoming draft, with Lockett remaining in the fold on a restructured contract, they should once again have on of the NFL's best receiving corps. DK Metcalf made his second Pro Bowl last season with 1,114 yards and eight touchdowns, while Smith-Njigba had a fine rookie campaign with 63 catches for 628 yards and four touchdowns, including two game-winning scoring receptions.
Away from the big three of Lockett, Metcalf, and Smith-Njigba, Seattle will also have Jake Bobo, Dareke Young, and Dee Eskridge back for 2024. Bobo impressed as an undrafted rookie, catching 19 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns while adding punch to the run game as a blocking stalwart on the outside. Young and Eskridge each battled injuries, but both offer plus-athletic traits and special teams ability to round out a deep, talented depth chart.
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