Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider has been a very busy bee this month. Today we got word of the third trade that the team has pulled off in just the last two weeks. This comes on the heels of yesterday's deal between the Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers, who sent over rookie linebacker Michael Barrett in exchange for cornerback Michael Jackson.
Now Seattle is sending away another fringe-starter from its defensive unit. According to a report by ESPN Bears beat writer Courtney Cronin, the Seahawks have traded fifth-year edge rusher Darrell Taylor to Chicago in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round draft pick.
The appeal for the Bears is obvious. Aside from Montez Sweat their edge rotation was lacking proven options going into the season. With Taylor they're getting a pass rusher who's proven capable of putting up at least nine sacks a year, which he did in 2022. All together Taylor has put up 21.5 sacks, 34 quarterback hits and 22 tackles for a loss in 49 games since he was drafted. (Taylor missed his rookie season due to an injury).
As for the Seahawks, dealing Taylor made sense given the relative strength of their edge rotation, especially in light of the very impressive preseason work from Derick Hall. With Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Dre'Mont Jones and now Hall ahead of him on the depth chart, Taylor was unlikely to see significant playing time in Seattle anymore, so getting a Day 3 pick for him is a pretty sweet bonus. Taylor was a liability setting the edge in any case, which put a low ceiling on his overall value.
The trade is particularly good news for undrafted rookies like Sunny Anderson and Nelson Ceasar, who now have a better shot to make the initial 53-man roster for 2024.
