Although they have yet to admit it, the Seattle Seahawks are on the verge of a full-fledged rebuild. They made that clear after parting ways with a number of their key players this NFL offseason.

However, head coach Pete Carroll has found a silver lining amidst all the changes. According to Albert Breer of the MMQB, Carroll feels there are much more opportunities for players to step up than there were before.

“It’s pretty plain to see, that when guys have established themselves for four or five or six years at a spot, and they’ve been really effective at what they do, it’s hard to convince the next guy that he’s going to take their spot,” Carroll said. “That’s for sure. So when opportunities are more open, it does create, in the truest sense, the best connection to what the philosophy and the approach is all about.

“And it feels like four or five years ago. It feels fresh and wide open, it’s more of an open competition for some of the spots. And that’s a really good thing for us, because it does feed into the whole approach.”

It is encouraging to see that Carroll is keeping an optimistic outlook on the team's current personnel. However, it is no secret that the Seahawks have a number of vacancies to fill this offseason, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Seattle parted ways with cornerback Richard Sherman and defensive end Michael Bennett this offseason and are still waiting on the pending status of linebacker Cliff Avril and safety Kam Chancellor. Meanwhile, looming contract discussions have kept safety Earl Thomas away from the team at this time.

However, all this does is give the younger players on this roster an opportunity to make an impression on their coaches. The Seahawks have their work cut for them in the suddenly-competitive NFC West. That said, the potential they display now could have a major impact on the team's decisions moving forward.