Moore: Seahawks’ 7 most underpaid players this season

On Tuesday as part of the weekly column listing 10 takeaways with the Seahawks, I mentioned a couple of overpaid Seahawks.

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Offensive lineman B.J. Finney tops everyone’s list, making $4 million without having played an offensive snap this year. But mentioning Bobby Wagner as an overpaid Seahawk did not go over well with some Seahawks fans who apparently feel like his $18 million annual salary is justified.

Let’s move on to the flip side and look at underpaid Seahawks today. Again, you might or might not agree with some of these players and the order they’re in. Plus I didn’t include players on their rookie contracts. If I did, Chris Carson would certainly be listed here. With that, here’s my list of the most underpaid Seahawks.

• 7) Jason Myers: What, a kicker on the list? Isn’t he making $3.8 million? Isn’t that enough? Yes, yes and no. Nine kickers make more than Myers, topped by Justin Tucker of Baltimore at $5 million a year. But I still think $3.8 million is chump change for such an important part of the team. It’s a nightmare when you have a bad kicker. Does anyone need to be reminded of Blair Walsh? Generally speaking, I feel like kickers are underpaid. Myers hasn’t missed a kick this year, 21 of 21 on extra points and 2 of 2 on field goals, including a 55-yarder. Don’t pooh-pooh the extra points – kickers can miss from 32 yards, and Myers hasn’t.

• 6) Russell Wilson: He’s making $35 million a year, how in the world can you consider him underpaid? Because he’s playing at an MVP level and there are two QBs making more than him, Patrick Mahomes averaging $45 million and DeShaun Watson at $39 million. I understand that Wilson’s contract was worked out before Mahomes’ and Watson’s, but still. The way Wilson’s playing, you could justify a $50 million a year for him now.

• 5) Duane Brown: Another seemingly curious selection since he’s making $11.5 million this year. Brown was rated as the 20th best tackle out of 82 qualifying tackles by Pro Football Focus last year and entered the season as the 14th-rated tackle by PFF. The offensive line has been surprisingly acceptable this year, and Brown is a big part of that. Trent Brown of the Raiders is the highest paid tackle at $16.5 million, and Brown’s salary doesn’t even put him in the top 10.

• 4) Mike Iupati: I know he’s banged up from time to time, but he’s still a starting guard on a 5-0 team with an improved offensive line. And he’s giving you good bang for your buck, earning $2.5 million this year.

• 3) K.J. Wright: If I’d compiled lists at the beginning of the year, I would have put Wright on the overpaid list, not this one. I thought he might be a cap casualty since he was getting $7 million this year, a high price to pay for a 31-year-old linebacker who had seemingly lost a step. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Wright’s been one of the bright spots on a bad defense, producing five passes defensed, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception.

• 2) David Moore: He was asked to take a pay cut just before the season started, going from $2.1 million a year to $825,000. Looking at what he’s done through the first five games, GM John Schneider should have given him a raise instead. Moore has 10 receptions for 173 yards, right at his career average of 17.3 yards per catch. He’s on a pace for 32 catches, 554 yards and 6.4 touchdowns, which would all be career highs.

• 1) Tyler Lockett: Whether he’s still Seattle’s No. 1 receiver or a 1B to D.K. Metcalf’s 1A, it doesn’t matter – at $10.25 million a year, Lockett’s a bargain. Funny how I thought Schneider was crazy to give him that much back in 2018. Lockett has fallen off a bit in the last two games but is still on pace to have another 1,000 yard season. He’s making less than half of what some of the premier receivers in the league are making and that ain’t right.

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