The Seahawks have lost their way

It may take some big changes to the defensive roster to get the team back on track next season.

The Seahawks are one of those teams everyone just assumes will be in the mix when the postseason rolls around. But they didn’t really look like the Seahawks in Sunday’s lopsided 42-7 loss to the Rams. Age and injuries may force the team to make some big roster changes this offseason to get back on track.

This year’s Seahawks squad is a shadow of the team that went to back-to-back Super Bowls after the 2013 and 2014 seasons and has made the postseason every year since 2012. Those teams revolved around an opportunistic, hard-hitting defense. This year’s defense has been torn apart by injuries, and now it’s impossible to pinpoint who this team is supposed to be.

Pete Carroll said as much on his weekly radio show on ESPN 710 in Seattle on Monday.

The Seahawks have relied on Russell Wilson to do pretty much everything this season. It’s worked for much of the year. It didn’t on Sunday or in last week’s 30-24 loss to the Jaguars.

Russell Wilson can’t be the whole offense

The Rams held Wilson to 142 passing yards, his lowest total of the season. They didn’t let him make it up on the ground, either. He finished with just 39 rushing yards. The Rams sacked Wilson seven times and forced two fumbles, recovering one.

It was Wilson’s worst game of the year:

The run game has suffered with Chris Carson and C.J. Prosise both currently on injured reserve and Thomas Rawls and Eddie Lacy not living up to expectations. The Seahawks are only averaging 103.7 yards on the ground. Wilson is responsible for over a third of those yards in addition to being the center of the passing game.

But depending on one player to be your entire offense isn’t exactly a practical strategy. Especially when the Seahawks defense isn’t in a position to carry the team right now.

The defense is decimated by injury (and some in-fighting)

The veteran core of Seattle’s defense, the heart of this team for the past several seasons, is mostly sidelined or ailing right now.

• Cornerback Richard Sherman is out for the season with a torn Achilles.
• Safety Kam Chancellor is out indefinitely with a stinger in his neck that may not just end his season, but also his career.
• Defensive end Cliff Avril has been on injured reserve with a neck and spine injury since early October.
• Linebacker Bobby Wagner played through a hamstring injury on Sunday.
• Safety Earl Thomas and defensive ends Michael Bennett and Dion Jordan were all on last week’s injury report with various ailments.

The defense had such a rough day against the Rams that Thomas even called out Wagner for playing with an injured hamstring.

The next day, Carroll brushed it off.

But the frustration both players felt after an embarrassing loss was evident. This exchange, plus last week’s dust up with the Jaguars, are an interesting snapshot of the emotional state of the locker room in Seattle.

This roster may be in for some huge changes this offseason

The injuries on defense highlight one thing in particular: The Seahawks are getting older on that side of the ball. It’s not a surprise that big changes are probably coming this offseason.

The Seahawks actively tried to trade Richard Sherman last year. The star cornerback is nearly 30 and coming off a torn Achilles. He’ll count for more than $13 million against the cap next season, but it would only cost the team $2.2 million in dead money to cut him loose.

Chancellor and Avril are both dealing with career-threatening neck and spine injuries. NFL Network’s Mike Silver believes that the Seahawks could move on from both Bennett and Thomas. Thomas considered retirement last offseason, and he’ll take up $10.4 million in cap space next year. Bennett just signed a three-year extension, and his salary will eat up $8.4 million of the Seahawks’ cap next season.

Right now, the Seahawks are still in the playoff hunt. But if the Falcons beat the 4-9 Buccaneers on Monday night, Seattle will be a full game behind in the wild card race. Next up, the Seahawks will face the Cowboys in Week 16. Dallas has won three in a row, and Ezekiel Elliott will be back from suspension and on the field for the Cowboys.

If the Seahawks lose even one of their last two games, they’re almost certainly out of the playoff race. The battle for those NFC wild card spots is heated, and even if the Seahawks manage to win out, a postseason bid isn’t guaranteed. They’re looking at the very real possibility of missing the playoffs for the first time in Wilson’s career.

There’s no question that the Seahawks want to get back in the position of being a perpetual contender. That may mean moving on from some of the seasoned veterans, like Sherman and Chancellor, who gave this team its identity in the first place.