Sherman: Seahawks 'lost their way'

It was not long ago the Seattle Seahawks were widely considered the NFL's next great dynasty after consecutive trips to Super Bowl XLVIII and XLIX, stifling the opposition with their vaunted "Legion of Boom" defense.

As the NFL nears the end of an offseason in which Richard Sherman and Cliff Avril were released, Michael Bennett was traded, and Kam Chancellor all but officially called an end to his career due to injury, Sherman is speaking out about the current state of the team.

"They've lost their way. It's as simple as that," Sherman told MMQB's Robert Klemko. "They've just lost their way. When you make too many mistakes over a long period of time, you kind of dig yourself a hole. And then when you backtrack, you gotta make a bunch of rash decisions to try and fill the hole and hope that it holds up."

Through the losses, the Seahawks have managed to retain All-Pros Bobby Wagner and Earl Thomas, who garner the team's second- and fourth-highest cap hits for 2018, respectively.

As Thomas heads into the final year of his contract, however, he has been the subject of rampant trade rumors amid the threat of a holdout.

Sherman says there's no reason for the Seahawks to risk losing the six-time Pro Bowler, who'll enter the 2018 season at 29 years old.

"It's just unfortunate. It's really unfortunate," Sherman said. "I think it'll all come out when they do the '30 for 30.' Mistakes and poor judgment on things ruined what could have been a really special deal. You don't have much left right now. And to say you're not going to pay Earl Thomas is just ...

"There's no decline in play there. He's played the game the right way. Who do you have to pay? You have the two best linebackers in the game. You have the quarterback. You have a great wide receiver in Doug (Baldwin). And you're paying Duane Brown."