Field Gulls
On Wednesday, the Seattle Seahawks designated Jalen Sundell and Eric Saubert to return to practice after a stint on injured reserve.
Neither of those two is an All Pro, or even Pro Bowl, caliber player, but both have specific skills that have been missed during their absence.
In particular, at center, Olu Oluwatimi has helped Sam Darnold and the offense remain near the top of the league in scoring, even as the tape shows a lack of athleticism and explosiveness relative to Sundell.
Both provide competent offensive line play, even if for different reasons. Olutwatimi brings a stoutness and push that Sundell lacks at times, while Sundell’s burst and ability to move into the second and third levels has certainly been missed. In addition, it’s likely not a coincidence that the only unsuccessful attempt for the Seahawks to execute The Barnyard came during Sundell’s absence, as the burst and explosiveness of the center are a big piece of what allows the play to succeed.
The debate surrounding Oluwatimi and Sundell raged all through the offseason and into training camp, so rather than rehashing it for the seventeen millionth time, this post will focus on another aspect of the debate between the two and let fans relitigate the debate in the comments.
In any case, coming back to the fact that Sundell has been designated for return to practice brings up a potential cap impact of the decision between the two. Specifically, while both players are on their rookie contracts, Oluwatimi finds himself on the cusp of a very important threshold with relation to the Proven Performance Escalator (PPE) of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
For those normal fans who are not salary cap junkies and unfamiliar with the inner working of the CBA and PPE, as a Day 3 selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, Oluwatimi has the ability to earn an automatic raise in the fourth year of his contract by reaching certain metrics during the first three seasons of his rookie deal. More to the point, if Oluwatimi plays 35% or more of the snaps in two of the first three seasons of his rookie contract, his base salary in the final year of his contract automatically increases to $3.453M from the current $1.145M.
In the first two years of his career, Oluwatimi clocked in at 13% and 59%, respectively. That makes 2025 a make or break season when it comes to triggering the 2026 pay increase. To that end, so far this season he has been on the field for 312 of the Seahawks 801 offensive snaps, or just over 38%.
Of course, with four games left in the season, he’ll need a few more snaps to reach that threshold and earn the raise.
Thus, turning to the math, through the first thirteen weeks, the Seahawks have played 801 offensive snaps, or 61.6 snaps per game. That average puts a full season projection at a hair under 1,050 snaps, a number that would require Oluwatimi to play...
