Seattle Seahawks: Deion Branch Trade Is Cherry on Seahawks' Roster-Switch Sundae

The Seattle Seahawks' front office has been churning all season.  For the fans, Schneider and Carroll’s relentless march toward a winning team is a blessing.  Why wait until next year?  Why settle for 8-8 (even if that still wins the division)?

Over the last two weeks, Schneider and Carroll have made some hallmark moves.

Julius Jones was cut (FINALLY!).

Brandon Stokley was added.

Marshawn Lynch was brought in to add some much-needed beastliness to the backfield.

And, to top it off, Deion Branch was traded.

Branch has been underperforming since he arrived in Seattle and his $5 million per year salary is the very definition of bloated.  Perhaps the salary is what kept Carroll loyal to him for so long.  He’s played the most snaps of any Seattle receiver this year and has only one touchdown to show for it.  Ben Obomanu has a touchdown too and only shows a third of the yardage Branch has garnered.

In his career with Seattle, his best yardage was in 2006, just after being traded from the Patriots, and has been dramatically declining ever since.

Or perhaps Carroll stayed loyal because there was simply no lucrative way to unload Branch.  Every other time this trade rumor came up, the Patriots seemed completely disinterested.  Only now, after their surprise trade of star receiver Randy Moss were the Patriots responsive to the notion of having Branch back.

And, the timing couldn’t have been better.  Had this trade happened any earlier the Seahawks would have been likely to get just a sixth- or seventh-round pick in return and probably would have had to swallow a hefty chunk of Branch’s salary.  As it stands, Seattle was able to reclaim the fourth-round pick they gave up in order to get Lynch and so far there have been no reports of Seattle absorbing any of Branch’s salary.

These four moves give the Seahawks a whole new texture. The running backs are fantastically complimentary and give Seattle a whole other layer of playmaking ability, and the young receiving corps will have a chance to prove themselves as viable targets for Hasselbeck.

Plus, once Okung is healthy and Andrews is able to move to right tackle, the offensive line will be more of a force to be reckoned with.   

Carroll’s vision for the Seahawks is finally coming to fruition.

This Sunday, expect to see a very different Seahawks team take the field in Chicago.