Clayton: Where Seahawks sit after NFL’s trade deadline quietly passes by

Oct 29, 2019, 2:11 PM | Updated: 2:46 pm

The Seahawks will face one of the league's worst pass defenses Sunday. (Getty)

(Getty)

Legendary Hall of Fame Reporter

Even though this was the most active regular season trade season in NFL history, the trade deadline surprisingly passed quietly on Tuesday afternoon.

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There turned out to be only three deals. Defensive end Leonard Williams went from the New York Jets to the New York Giants for a third-round and fifth-round choices. Miami Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake went to Arizona for a No. 6 that could be a No. 5 (the remaining Josh Rosen pick) if he’s on the roster for most of the rest the season. The only trade Tuesday was Los Angeles Rams cornerback Aqib Talib going to Miami along with a future seventh-round pick in exchange for a No. 5 next year.

At the end, the prices were too high for these players: Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Williams; New York Jets halfback Le’Veon Bell, wide receiver Robby Anderson and safety Jamal Adams; Tampa Bay tight end O.J. Howard; Denver Broncos cornerback Chris Harris and defensive end Derek Wolfe; and Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay.

The Redskins were talking to the Cleveland Browns toward the end but wouldn’t take a second-rounder and a current player for Williams. New York Giants left tackle Nate Solder was the next option for the Browns but time ran out. Jamal Adams drew interest from Dallas, Baltimore and other teams, but the Jets wanted more than what the Miami Dolphins received from Pittsburgh for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Dolphins received a No. 1 and a No. 4 next year and a No. 6 in 2021, and the Dolphins had to give the Steelers a No. 4 next year and a No. 7 in 2021 in addition to Fitzpatrick.

Miami wanted something between the Fitzpatrick trade and what Jacksonville received for cornerback Jalen Ramsey. The Rams gave up two No. 1s and a No. 4. No deal from the Cowboys. No deal from the Ravens.

Once the trade deadline passed, Williams ended his holdout and reported to the Redskins.

As for the Seahawks, there was interest in running back Rashaad Penny, safety Tedric Thompson and others, but it didn’t make sense for general manager John Schneider to make a deal if he didn’t get the right value.

The Detroit Lions were interested in Penny, but if the Seahawks didn’t get a second-round choice it wouldn’t make sense to trade him. The Seahawks’ philosophy is to be a running team and they have a great 1-2 punch with Chris Carson and Penny. Sure, they have two other good backs – C.J. Prosise and Travis Homer – but Prosise missed two-thirds of his games in the first three years of his career because of injury.

If Penny was traded for lower value and Carson wore down from the 20 carries a game and hard contact he goes through as a runner, a missed game by Prosise would leave the Seahawks with just Homer and whoever they can find off the street to fill in. Not a good situation.

A similar thing was happening at the safety position. The Seahawks have numbers there, but they also have injuries. Bradley McDougald has a sore back and had a patellar tendon procedure in the offseason. Lano Hill remains out with an elbow injury. Thompson has been a starter most of the season, but last week the Seahawks traded for Quandre Diggs, who should play soon after sitting out Sunday with a lingering hamstring injury.

That left the Seahawks with Thompson, Marquise Blair and Ugo Amadi for last Sunday’s game in Atlanta. Diggs was a team captain and a Pro Bowl alternate last year with the Lions. Blair had a game-high 11 tackles in the 27-20 win and is sure to be a starter the rest of the season unless his play drops off.

It would seem only a matter of time before Diggs takes over for Thompson to work with Blair. Thompson, McDougald and eventually Hill could all still be worked into service if need.

Even though Tuesday was quiet throughout the league, there were 20 trades after the start of the regular season, an NFL record.

As usual, Schneider was in the mix. By trading Frank Clark to Kansas City just prior to the draft, he was able to increase his 2019 draft class from four to 11. He picked up Diggs, Jadeveon Clowney and tight end Jacob Hollister in trades. Clowney, despite having only two sacks, is playing at a Pro Bowl level and is one of most double-teamed edge rushers in the league.

Now, the Seahawks have to make the rush to make the playoffs in the second half of the season.

Follow 710 ESPN Seattle’s John Clayton on Twitter.