While the Seahawks have risen in recent seasons to become of the league's powerhouses, cracks are beginning to form in the foundation of the team's success. New contracts handed to Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner have already started to take their toll on the organization's cap space, and starting defensive tackle Tony McDaniel was released Sunday as the 'Hawks could no longer afford him. Was he an integral part of their defense? Not really. McDaniel managed just 83 tackles and two sacks in two seasons since coming to the northwest from Miami and will be replaced in the front seven by smaller but more disruptive DT Jordan Hill, a third round pick in 2013.

The 2011 and 2012 draft classes for the Seahawks brought in a wealth of cost-controlled talent that took them to back-to-back Super Bowls, and had them one over-thought play call away from back-to-back Super Bowl wins. But as the rookie contracts for those key performers expire, requiring the club to pony up big bucks or say goodbye to valuable players, it's going to become harder for Seattle to maintain quality and depth across their roster and harder to keep their spot among the NFC's elite. That's simply the circle of life in the NFL during the salary cap era, and it's also something that might give you pause before you pull the trigger on the Seahawks' D/ST unit in your draft. They'll still be good in 2015, but attrition may leave them not be quite as dominant as you need them to be given their ADP.

Notes from around the league on the first Sunday in August:

• speaking of teams with an eroding talent base, not only did The Genius Chip Kelly just trade his starting slot cornerback, Brandon Boykin, to the Steelers because of reasons, but DeMarco Murray was essentially a spectator on the first day of training camp for the Eagles. There's been no indication that Murray's hurt, but consider his absence from drills a reminder that before last year's huge breakout, he missed 11 games over the first three seasons of his tenure in Dallas due to various bumps and bruises
• on the bright side for Philadelphia, Sam Bradford is out of his knee brace and on track to suit up for the Eagles' first exhibition game. The team's frenetic offense is capable of making just about any QB a fantasy darling but given his spotty track record in St. Louis, Bradford has a lot to prove this season, both for his own sake and for Kelly's. If Bradford struggles or gets hurt again, and Eagles fans are treated to the full Mark Sanchez experience... well, this is a crowd that once booed Santa Claus because he wasn't O.J. Simpson, after all. Oregon might not be far enough away for Kelly to hide from their wrath
• after having to sit out the first couple of days of camp, LeGarrette Blount finally passed his conditioning test and was on the field Sunday for the Patriots, so maybe he didn't spend the entire offseason eating junk food and playing Madden. He's locked in (as much as anyone coached by Bill Belichick can be) as the early-down back for the Pats this season once he serves his one-game suspension to begin the regular season. The big competition in camp will be to determine who replaces Shane Vereen as the main pass-catching complement in the backfield. James White, a fourth-round pick in 2014, is the early favorite, but former Saint Travaris Cadet saw 51 targets from Drew Brees last season and should also stake a strong claim to a role
• the first official quarterback controversy of training camp comes to us out of Houston, where Brian Hoyer took first-team reps ahead of Ryan Mallett. Mallett should still be considered the favorite to win the job simply based on his theoretical upside, but if coach Bill O'Brien is simply looking for a game-manager to hand the ball off to Arian Foster, Hoyer could emerge at the top of the depth chart when it's all said and done. DeAndre Hopkins' ability to build on last season's breakout, or even just maintain that level of production, could hang in the balance
• while most of the world thinks Martavis Bryant is going to have a big season as the Steelers' No. 2 wideout, Ben Roethlisberger is backing Markus Wheaton as the team's next breakout star instead. Wheaton will get early starting reps in camp opposite Antonio Brown while Bryant recovers from minor elbow surgery, and Bryant could even miss the team's first preseason game, so there's an opportunity here for Wheaton to make a good impression on the coaching staff. Given their respective ADPs (Bryant's going in the fourth or fifth round right now in 12-team leagues, while Wheaton is maybe a late-round dart at best), if Big Ben is right at least one of them is wildly mis-valued right now. That said, Bryant's the more physically talented player and Wheaton figures to work the slot in three-WR sets rather than on the outside when everyone is healthy, so don't make any radical changes to your cheat sheets just yet
• if you're looking for an IDP sleeper, keep an eye on DeMarcus Lawrence. The second-year Cowboy missed most of his rookie campaign with a foot injury but came through with two sacks in two playoff games and has kept that momentum going through the offseason into the early part of training camp. The Dallas pass rush should be greatly improved this season anyway thanks to Randy Gregory falling into their laps in the second round and Greg Hardy's suspension getting reduced to four games (and potentially even less if his camp decides to take it to court), but with Hardy now around for an extra six games to take more pressure off Lawrence's shoulders, the young defensive end could really blossom