Seattle Seahawks

Pete Carroll explains why Seahawks won't 'spend a ton of money' on their OL

Published Jan. 17, 2017 12:34 p.m. ET

Cameron DaSilva

The Seattle Seahawks are entering this offseason with one clear-cut need: offensive linemen, and a lot of them. Their pass protection was arguably the worst in the NFL, and while coach Pete Carroll and quarterback Russell Wilson will never admit that, it’s undeniably true.

Wilson was running for his life far too often, and it’s a huge reason the Seahawks underachieved this season. Although the offensive line played better toward the end of the year, it’s still a major problem.

Just don’t expect GM John Schneider to go out and spend all his money on offensive linemen in free agency. Carroll said as much on Monday.

“I don’t think that way,” Carroll said, via the Seattle Times. “That’s now how we — ‘OK, let’s take money and put it here and all of a sudden you’re going to get better.’ You’ve got to get guys that can play worthy of it, and when they demonstrate that then they get paid. We’ve shown that we understand that and are committed to that mentality. I don’t think you can just buy your way to it. We’re not going to do that. We’re not going to go out and spend a ton of money in free agency on one guy to try to save the day. That’s now how we function at all.”

Fair enough. The Seahawks don’t need to go out and spend all their money on one offensive lineman, but they do have to address the unit. No team spent less on the offensive line than the Seahawks this season, and it’s no surprise they were one of the worst units in the league.

Carroll doesn’t believe Seattle has to completely blow up the line the way some are insinuating it should, mainly because he sees room for improvement.

"This group has a chance to be really solid as they grow," Carroll said.