In the span of two days, the Seahawks released Richard Sherman, Jeremy Lane, and Michael Bennett. In addition, Cliff Avril and Kam Chancellor are dealing with neck injuries that could lead to their retirement. This is the end of an era for the Legion of Boom, the core members of the Seahawks defense. The Seahawks reasoning for releasing many of their players is that the team wanted more financial flexibility, and with the members of the Legion of Boom getting older and getting paid lots of money, it was time to make some decisions. It's hard to see the end of the Legion of Boom, because for many years that was the key to our defense. Even though I will miss it, I do think it's the right decision for the Seahawks. By releasing Sherman, Lane, and Bennett, the Seahawks saved about $13 million in salary cap space, according to OverTheCap.com.

Although the fan base will miss Sherman and Bennett, their responses to being released were a little different. Michael Bennett wrote a huge paragraph on Instagram thanking the fans and the Seahawks organization for all the love and support. Richard Sherman, on the other hand, had different thoughts. He said that he loves the fanbase to death and loves playing in Seattle, but now feels like people have abandoned him. "People are out there burning my jersey. Come on. I'm not the one who let me go. They let me go. I didn't abandon anybody," he says. But when asked about signing with the Seahawks' biggest rival, Sherman said "I'm vengeful in that way."

Meanwhile, the worst team in the NLF, the Cleveland Browns, has acquired Jarvis Landry, Tyrod Taylor, and Damarious Randall. Now with more money to use, what will the Seahawks do? And will the Browns be a contender? Here's what I think:

The Browns will definitely not make it to the Super Bowl, maybe not even past the first round of the playoffs. It’s possible they won't even make it to the playoffs. Just because they have some superstars on their team now doesn't mean they are suddenly going to be amazing. It's sort of like the Cleveland Cavaliers. They had a bunch of superstars on their team, and still managed to go on a long losing streak at one point. What matters is chemistry. If you don't have chemistry, you're team won't be successful. The Browns are going to have to learn to work together and incorporate their new players in their team, which might take some time. That is why I think that at least this year, they won't suddenly be really good and make it really far in the playoffs.

As for the Seahawks, they now have more freedom to sign players and fill positions. They have lots of needs, and now seem to be looking for inexpensive, young players as well as seasoned veterans who can develop a role that fits into the Seahawks system. Their offensive line has always been a weak spot, so maybe they can use some of the money to sign some good offensive lineman and improve the line. To that end, they recently acquired D.J. Fluker. It's still questionable if Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avrill will return, so finding more safeties and defensive ends might have to be a priority too. They also are using the firing of lots of the coaching staff to their advantage, and have a fresh start.

The Seahawks still have very talented elite players, like Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin on offense and Bobby Wagner (and maybe Earl Thomas if he stays) on defense. Some have said with all these trades that the Seahawks are in a rebuilding mode and a few years away from fielding a competitive team, but I disagree. With the right combination of experience and youth, I think they can be serious contenders just like they were a few years ago. And unlike the Browns, I think the Seahawks will find the chemistry they need as the new players integrate into their system.