This is a list of the things that are true about the 2017-2

018 Seattle Seahawks Tedric Thompson Color Rush Jersey , a team that just clinched another playoff berth:All-Pro strong safety Kam Chancellor was injured last season and has been unable to play since. The team signed him to a lucrative contract extension prior to that, which is taking up a significant amount of their cap space in 2018.The team fired offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and replaced him with Brian Schottenheimer. The first move was applauded by many, the second move was ridiculed by most.The team fired defensive coordinator Kris Richard and replaced him with Ken Norton, Jr. The first move was probably questioned by many and surprising to say the least, while the second move involved a coach who had been fired by the Oakland Raiders, of all teams.The team replaced Tom Cable with Mike Solari. Few didn’t like this.They traded Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Bennett for almost no return and no savings against the 2018 cap. They released All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman. All-Pro free safety Earl Thomas broke his leg in Week 4.Between Kam, Bennett, Sherman, and Thomas, the Seahawks are spending almost $28 million on those four players with virtually no production other than four games from Thomas.They also lost defensive end Cliff Avril in Week 4 of last season and never really found a replacement for him.They waived their first pick in 2017, Malik McDowell, and they’ve still never seen him play for them.They didn’t have a second round pick in 2018. Instead, they drafted running back Rashaad Penny, who has been helpful but contributed very little as a rookie. Third round pick Rasheem Green has done even less. En total, their contributions from the first round of the draft since 2017 is a little bit of Penny, their return on the second round is some poor play by Ethan Pocic, and the third round is a little bit of production from Green, a lot of starts (but mostly inconsistent-to-uninspiring play) by Shaquill Griffin, inconsistencies from Nazair Jones, not much from Delano Hill, and virtually nothing from Amara Darboh.Basically, if you took away the first, second, and third round by Seattle over the last two years, you wouldn’t change the team by much. In fact, fourth round tight end Will Dissly looked like a steal who could offset that issue but he tore his Achilles.The team also let Paul Richardson (second on the team in yards for 2017) and Jimmy Graham (third in yards, first in touchdowns) leave via free agency. Some fans lamented the lack of compensatory picks and their production could not or at least was not replaced.The team lost Sheldon Richardson in free agency with Richardson saying that their offer was a joke. Instead, they used some cap space to sign Tom Johnson and Shemar Stephen in his place Ethan Pocic Color Rush Jersey , then released Johnson after Week 1. Some fans ridiculed their handling of the Richardson and/or Johnson situations, and the team has been transparent in their admission of mistakes made. Less loud are the voices of praise that the front office found Jarran Reed in the second round in 2016.As the season approached, it became apparent that number one receiver Doug Baldwin was seriously hurt and that he might not be at 100-percent at any point in the year. Baldwin had one target and zero catches in Week 1, then missed Weeks 2 and 3, before returning in Week 4. In Week 5, he had one yard on one target. He also missed Week 14.K.J. Wright was seriously hurt just before the season and has missed all but four games. His cap hit this year was $8 million. The team found a gem replacement in Mychal Kendricks. After three games he was suspended for eight games. When he returned, he broke his leg.Starting running back Chris Carson missed two games with injury.Backup running back Rashaad Penny broke his finger in the preseason and has also missed the last two games.Free agent signee, planned starting tight end Ed Dickson opened the year in NFI, missing six games.Starting cornerback Tre Flowers missed Week 2, further weakening a secondary that had lost Sherman, Jeremy Lane, and offseason signees like Dontae Johnson and Byron Maxwell.Offseason signee D.J. Fluker has missed five games.Germain Ifedi missed Week 16.Dion Jordan was expected to pick up some pass rush production and has done almost nothing.J.D. McKissic opened the year on injured reserve, unexpectedly. C.J. Prosise still couldn’t stay healthy or do anything productive.Jordan Simmons steps in as a solid replacement for Fluker, then goes right onto IR after his second start.Bobby Wagner missed Week 2.The Seahawks schedule has ended up including games against the 9-6 Cowboys, 11-4 Bears, 12-3 Rams (twice), 11-4 Chargers, 11-4 Chiefs, and 8-6-1 Vikings. All playoff teams, if Minnesota wins next week or the Eagles lose. It’s a significant amount of difficult games. The team was 0-2 after two games, 2-3 after five, and 4-5 after nine.They are also ... going to the playoffs. Again. On Sunday the Los Angeles Rams defeated the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game, thanks in no small part to a non-call from officials on a late third down pass by the Saints. It’s a non-call that will live on in football debate circles for a long time, but at the end of the day it will become nothing more than a footnote because the Rams are on their way to Atlanta to play the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. However, let’s go ahead and look past the Super Bowl, because there will be enough talk about the Patriots and the Rams over the next two weeks for all of us to go around. For now let’s go ahead and jump right to 2019 and take a look at what the Rams could look like when it comes to next season. Specifically, how many starters will the team be returning on each side of the ball, and what are the chances that they will again be a formidable opponent going forward? Starting with the defense Shaquill Griffin Color Rush Jersey , which had significant issues in converting from Jeff Fisher’s 4-3 to Wade Phillips’ 3-4, let’s take a look at the eleven starters and see what their contract status is. DE Michael Brockers - under contract through 2019NT Ndamukong Suh - Unrestricted Free AgentDT Aaron Donald - under contract through 2024DE Dante Fowler - Unrestricted Free AgentLB Mark Barron - under contract through 2020LB Samson Ebukam - under contract through 2020LB Cory Littleton - Restricted Free AgentLCB Marcus Peters - under contract through 2019RCB Aqib Talib - under contract through 2019NCB Nickell Robey-Coleman - under contract through 2020SS John Johnson - under contract through 2020FS Lamarcus Joyner - Unrestricted Free AgentSo, with just Suh, Joyner and Fowler set to hit free agency in March, it seems possible that the Rams defense could improve in 2019. Obviously, I’ve listed twelve names on the list of starters, but that’s because I’ve included both a nickel corner and a fourth linebacker, as the two positions split snaps. In any case, the two big holes here are obviously at free safety, where Lamarcus Joyner is not all that good to begin with and on the defensive line, where Suh’s presence would certainly be missed. The Rams could certainly be in the market for a presence on the defensive line to replace Suh, however, the more pressing need seems to be at free safety. Joyner, despite being on the franchise tag, is simply not great, which hurts Phillips’ ability to play the type of defense he prefers. Multiple times this season Peters was beaten deep by wide receivers, and a safety who has the ability to play center field over the top could represent a massive step forward for the Rams defense. Now, I haven’t taken a long look around at all the names that might be available this offseason at free safety, but I’m sure when I get around to looking at the names that could be on the market there will be some names that would be worth the Rams investment. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsMoving to the offensive side of the ball, here’s a look at the Rams starters. I’ll list thirteen names on this side of the ball, putting two tight ends and four wide receivers. QB Jared Goff - under contract through 2019 (team option for 2020)RB Todd Gurley - under contract through 2023TE Gerald Everett - under contract through 2020TE Tyler Higbee - under contract through 2019WR Brandin Cooks - under contract through 2023WR Robert Woods - under contract through 2021WR Josh Reynolds - under contract through 2020WR Cooper Kupp (on IR) - under contract through 2020LT Andrew Whitworth - under contract through 2019LG Rodger Saffold - Unrestricted Free AgentC John Sullivan - under contract through 2019RG Austin Blythe - under contract through 2019RT Rob Havenstein - under contract through 2022So, on the offensive side of the ball the Rams have ten of eleven starters under contract with only left guard Rodger Saffold not signed for 2019. That is a scary thought for a team that finished with the second highest scoring offense in the NFL this season, and the eleventh highest scoring offense in NFL history. However, Saffold is not the only player on the offensive line the Rams could lose this offseason. Yes, he is the only one of the five starters slated to be a free agent, but at 30 years of age, he is also the youngest member of the left side of the team’s offensive line. He is will turn 31 in June, and has played well this season Delano Hill Color Rush Jersey , so it would not be a shock to see him sign an extension if the Rams lose the players that line up on either side of him. What could lead the Rams to lose both Whitworth and Sullivan is father time. Here is a list of the ten oldest starting offensive linemen in 2018 who made at least ten appearances: Andrew Whitworth (37), Los Angeles RamsJason Peters (36), Philadelphia EaglesJoe Staley (34), San Francisco 49ersMarshal Yanda (34), Baltimore RavensDuane Brown (33), Seattle SeahawksChris Clark (33), Carolina PanthersDemar Dotson (33), Tampa Bay BuccaneersRyan Kalil (33), Carolina PanthersAlex Mack (33), Atlanta FalconsJohn Sullivan (33), Los Angeles RamsSo, it is entirely possible that if the Rams win the Super Bowl that both Sullivan and Whitworth could ride off into the sunset as champions. That would greatly complicate things for the Rams, as they would then be looking for an entire left side of the offensive line, however, if Sullivan and/or Whitworth were to announce their intentions prior to free agency, L.A. could then sign Saffold to an extension and ensure some form of continuity. Specifically, if only one of Sullivan or Whitworth retire, they could extend Saffold and then only be in the market for one new starting offensive lineman. As for where the Rams would look to replenish that line is rather simple. Of the eleven draft picks L.A. had in 2018, they used three on offensive linemen, including three of their first seven picks and both of their top two picks. Whether any of those picks would be ready to start in 2019 is anyone’s guess since they played a whopping 114 offensive snaps this season combined, but they did take the steps necessary to restock the line for the future. Obviously there would likely be some growing pains, but we’ve seen how poorly Jared Goff plays when put under pressure and how young offensive linemen play. Thus, there is hope for division rivals in terms of the L.A. offense potentially taking a step back and regressing, but as it stands right now, the Rams appear to be set up to be competitors again in 2019.