THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: And then, boom, the Seahawks start the rebuild

If I were a high-priced Seahawks veteran …

Well, yeah, I’d have to spend some time at the gym to meet the physical requirements.

The club isn’t hunting for old guys with bad backs.

But even if I were the right size and had the proper NFL resume with the Hawks, I’m not sure I’d sign a long-term lease right now.

John Schneider and new coach Mike Macdonald are busy creating roster space in the roughest way possible.

They’re handing out the phone numbers of moving van companies.

Safeties Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, tight end Will Dissly and nose tackle Bryan Mone have all been released.

Boom!

Surely you didn’t doubt that Schneider and Macdonald would yank everyone out of the pool, and start building a roster all over again.

Want some proof that they intend to slash payroll, add cap space and give the Seahawks a new face?

How about the fact that now you can’t find a single tight end still on the roster: Dissly departs, while Colby Parkinson and Noah Fant are currently free agents.

You think offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is planning to install the Air Raid?

No, neither do I.

AS FOR the safeties, Diggs and Adams were both terrific in their day.

Unfortunately, Adams’ “day” probably ended in 2020, when the two-time Pro Bowler — obtained in a massive trade that cost Seattle two first-round draft picks — set an NFL record for secondary players with 9 1/2 sacks.

Adams missed four games to injury that season, starting a dismal trend that included 29 games inactive and plenty more when he played far below his best.

Diggs was a totally different story.

He played 72 games in five seasons for the Seahawks (arriving as a bargain for just a fifth-round draft pick), grabbed 18 interceptions and established himself as the unquestioned leader of the secondary.

Safeties take a beating and lose something every year, however.

Diggs wasn’t really a force last season, and Pro Football Focus ranked him at No. 77 among NFL safeties — one spot ahead of Adams.

Clearly, the position needed to be upgraded, and the Hawks will hope that starts with Julian Love, who earned a starting spot last year and wound up making the Pro Bowl.

Another bonus is that Love can play any safety spot — and that’s likely to be important since the Ravens played mostly with a three-safety look the past couple of years with Macdonald as the defensive coordinator.

The Seahawks have several young safeties under contract, but none who have any real game experience at the position.

They were high on Coby Bryant (who got injured) and Jerrick Reed II, a standout special teams player. 

But.

They aren’t likely to settle for Love and a group of youngsters.

In case you’re wondering, there are a bundle of veteran safeties on the free-agent market, and a few more who should be in that category shortly.

AMONG that group is Geno Stone, a four-year vet who actually played for Macdonald in Baltimore — and led all NFL safeties with seven picks last year.

Don’t be shocked if the Schneider is poised by the phone.

Here’s the Pro Football Focus scouting report on Stone: 

“In his first season playing in a full-time role on a defense that deploys three-safety looks as much as any team in the NFL, Stone boasted an 84.9 PFF coverage grade in the regular season that ranked seventh at the position and brought in a position leading seven interceptions.

“The knocks on Stone will be about his lack of deployment in the box or the slot and his poor run defense and tackling, missing 19 percent of tackle opportunities this season.’’

Macdonald obviously knows how to weigh the good and shaky with Stone.

It will be interesting to see if the Hawks sign him, especially with a large crop of safeties available.

However the Seahawks move from here, it’s obvious that they know the holes that have to be filled — and positions that need to be strengthened (several besides safety).

Fairly soon, they will need a quarterback, but we can put that discussion off for another day.

It is worth noting, though, that Grubb was the OC at the University of Washington last year, designed the offense for Michael Penix Jr., and would know if his former QB might be a value in, say, the second round of the draft.

They need somebody besides Geno Smith.

Let’s talk about it soon.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”