Doug Baldwin has spent his entire career with the Seattle Seahawks, but the wide receiver has potentially played his last game in the NFL. The 30-year-old has undergone three different surgeries this off-season which has now sparked the speculation of his potential retirement.
The Seahawks have reportedly been aware of this possibility with Baldwin throughout the off-season. But any official announcement from Baldwin or the Seahawks will likely come within the next few weeks or so.
A Doug Baldwin resolution may be “weeks” away, Seattle GM John Schneider said. Baldwin is considering retirement following multiple surgeries this offseason.
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) April 27, 2019
Doug Baldwin’s Playing Days May Be Officially Over
Interview with John Schneider
Seahawks general manager John Schneider spoke in an interview this past weekend at the NFL Draft about a potential timeline for when a decision will be made about Baldwin’s future. Schneider also spoke about how his receiver is currently recovering from a sports hernia surgery that he underwent earlier this month.
Preparing for Baldwin’s potential retirement, Schneider made sure his team wouldn’t be thin at the wide receiver position for next season. The Seahawks selected three wide receivers in this year’s draft, which included top-prospect D.K. Metcalf.
Options Without Baldwin
The Seahawks currently have just Tyler Lockett as their only proven receiver behind Baldwin. Jaron Brown, David Moore, Amara Darboh, Malik Turner and Keenan Reynolds are currently the only other somewhat-viable options behind Lockett.
While Metcalf, Gary Jennings and potentially John Ursua can be added to that list, none of them are expected to be pushed right into a full-time role to start the season. This means the Seahawks will also have to explore the free agent market if Baldwin does retire.
Jordy Nelson was a target for the Seahawks until he announced his retirement last month. This team has just over $18 million in cap space. So they could afford to spend on a low-risk, high-reward receiver. Former Seahawk Jermaine Kearse has stated his interest in returning to Seattle.
The 29-year-old played in 14 games with the Jets last season and recorded 37 receptions, 371 yards along with a touchdown. Kearse came with a cap hit of $5.5 million last season. So the Seahawks would likely be able to afford him on a short-term deal, around an AAV similar to what he made last season.
What happens to Baldwin’s Contract?
Unfortunately for the Seahawks, they will still have to pay Doug Baldwin if he indeed retires. He currently has two years and just over $26.5 million left on his contract. However, that number decreases significantly depending on when Baldwin makes his retirement official.
If Baldwin announces his retirement before June 1, then the Seahawks will have just under $6.3 million of his contract count towards their cap for this season. But, if he retires after June 1, then just over $3.1 million will count towards their cap this year, and the same amount will count towards their cap in the following season as well.
Which means the Seahawks would likely prefer the second option, so that they would have more financial flexibility to attempt to replace Baldwin.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
