Field Gulls
Cross became the first player drafted by the Seahawks to have the fifth year option exercised, and left many fans wondering why the team didn’t simply extend him.
Earlier in May the Seattle Seahawks, as expected, exercised the fifth year option on left tackle Charles Cross. There were certainly fans who found the move surprising, given the estimated $17.5M price tag of the option and the historic frugality of the team when it comes to spending on the offensive line.
However, the reality is that in Cross’ case the fifth year option is a fantastic tool that provides Cross with significant fully guaranteed money, while at the same time affording the team the opportunity to reach a top of market contract extension that is more cap friendly. That last sentence may seem contradictory at first, but once explained in full, it becomes more understandable.
The Left Tackle Market
The starting point for understanding the value of the fifth year option for Cross is the simple fact that starting caliber left tackles get paid, even those who have never made a Pro Bowl.
Due to the difficulty of finding competent offensive linemen in the NFL of today, there are very few left tackles that are comparable to Cross in terms of age and on-field performance in order to understand exactly where the market for a tackle like Cross falls. The full list of starters on multi-year second contracts who will be 27 or younger during the 2025 season is as follows:
Some readers are likely immediately gravitating towards those bottom two contracts and wondering why the front office did not simply extend Cross on similar terms. The answer is simple and becomes abundantly clear upon looking at simple metrics for those players.
Taking these metrics one step further and comparing them as rates per thousand snaps played, or roughly a full season of offensive snaps, here is how Cross compares.
That’s it right there. If a team wants a young $13.5M or $15M starting left tackle on the free agent market, they’re signing an unproven veteran with a dozen or two career starts who may or may not actually be any good. In addition, Cross is the youngest of the group, as he won’t be 25 until the week of Thanksgiving.
Of the six tackles on the list who are not Cross, Darrisaw, Thomas, Jackson and Little all signed extensions with the team that drafted them. That means that the only two on the list who hit free agency are the two Moores, whose pay seems to be more than their metrics warrant because...
