The Seattle Seahawks have been eliminated from playoff contention with one game left on the schedule. Unfortunately, that means there is little to play for from a team aspect.

Players such as Geno Smith will try to earn incentives and escalators they have in their contracts, while others such as Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Leonard Williams look to surpass certain statistical landmarks, but that’s as far as the finale against the Rams goes in terms of relevance.

Frankly, all the Seahawks have to play for is either being able to say they got to 10 wins for the first time since 2020 with a winning record against NFC West foes, or concern themselves about their draft position.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald already stated that there will be no tanking in the final week and that they are playing to win.

The question is, should they lose to improve their draft slot?

If the season ended today, the Seahawks would be picking 18th in the upcoming NFL Draft. That is two slots lower than they picked last year, when Seattle selected Byron Murphy II 16th overall.

What are the possible draft positions, depending on the results of Week 18 around the league?

If the Seahawks lose to the Rams (who are resting starters), they will finish 9-8 for a third straight year. The lowest down the board they will draft is 18th, given the NFL’s draft rules. The Seahawks are currently the best team not in a playoff spot, thus they occupy the first possible draft slot among non-playoff teams. If they beat the Rams and finish 10-7, that status will be clinched.

Is there a chance the Seahawks could pick any higher with a loss Sunday?

Currently, the Bengals, Dolphins, and Falcons all have playoff chances better than zero but are currently outside the picture. The Broncos are currently in a playoff spot, but with no guarantee they are in. All of these teams have the possibility of finishing tied with Seattle at 9-8.

If all four of those teams win and Seattle loses, Denver would be the final playoff team in the AFC and Atlanta would need Tampa Bay to lose to win the NFC South. Under the best circumstance, they would draft 16th and can’t go any higher.

In a cruel twist of fate, even if the Falcons, Broncos, and Dolphins all miss the playoffs at 9-8, the Seahawks own the head-to-head tiebreaker. That would mean Seattle would be higher up in the standings, thus have a lower draft pick. So, if the and Dolphins, Falcons, or Dolphins also finish 9-8 but miss the playoffs, like the Seahawks, Seattle would own the lowest draft slot of the four.

Even if Seattle is tied with Cincinnati, whom they didn’t play this season, at this juncture, the Seahawks own the tiebreaker over the Bengals as well, via strength of victory. Hence, if the Bengals finish 9-8 but miss the playoffs, they too will have a higher draft pick than Seattle.

Essentially, there are very few scenarios where the Seahawks pick higher than 18th. And by virtue of missing the playoffs, they will not pick lower than 18th. The last time the Seahawks picked at 18 was in 1987, when they selected Tony Woods.

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The owner of a popular waffle shop in West Seattle said she had no choice but to shut down her business after the city’s new minimum wage law went into effect on New Year’s Day — hiking hourly pay to $20.76.

Bebop Waffle Shop, which was founded by a former New York City resident more than a decade ago, closed its doors for good on Monday.

“I’ve cried every day,” Corina Luckenbach, the waffle shop owner, told Fox 13 TV.

Luckenbach, who founded Bebop more than 10 years ago after relocating from New York to the Emerald City, said that her business had already been suffering from high inflation which caused the price of food to spike.

The waffle shop has also been hamstrung by lower foot traffic in the city — a result of many people working from home.

The minimum wage increase was the last straw, she said.

“This is financially just not going to make sense anymore. Because, just for me, the increase would cost me $32,000 more a year,” Luckenbach told Fox 13 TV.

Luckenbach, who named the cafe after her late dachshund, said that while in theory she supports workers earning a higher minimum wage, in practice she has been unable to keep up with the change.

Previously, large employers in Seattle whose payroll numbered more than 500 workers were required to pay a minimum wage of $18.69 per hour.

Small employers with 500 or fewer workers had to pay $18.69 per hour if the company did not contribute at least $2.19 per hour toward medical benefits or if the employee did not earn sufficient tips to meet a combined minimum compensation of $20.28.

If the minimum compensation threshold was met through tips or if the employer contributed at least $2.19 per hour toward medical benefits, the minimum wage for small businesses was $17.25 per hour.

The new $20.76 per hour law — which is $4 higher than Washington State’s minimum wage requirement — applies to large and small businesses. It also eliminates tip or benefit credits.

Luckenbach, who is gay, said “the hardest thing” about shutting down her business is that it “takes away a safe space for people.”

“The stories of like what it meant to people to come in and feel safe and to feel welcomed — I just, I didn’t know,” she said, wiping away tears.

The Post has sought comment from Luckenbach.

New minimum wage laws have either gone into effect or will go into effect in twenty-one states and 48 cities and counties sometime during the new year.

The Economic Policy Institute, a think tank that studies the effect of minimum wage, issued a report which estimated that 9.2 million workers will see their wages increase by a total of $5.7 billion.

The federal minimum wage of $7.25 has not increased in 15 years.

One injury report down, two more to go for the 2024 Seattle Seahawks.

With no playoff implications at stake, the Seahawks’ Week 18 game against the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams will be their last one of the season. Their first practice for this week saw nine players listed on the injury report, including right tackle Abe Lucas and cornerback Josh Jobe. In last week’s win over the Chicago Bears, Jobe suffered a knee injury at some point in the third quarter and did not return. Mike Macdonald indicated that it wasn’t anything major.

The likes of DK Metcalf, Zach Charbonnet, and Geno Smith were not on the injury report. Five players were DNPs, with Leonard Williams and Jarran Reed effectively getting rest days. Laken Tomlinson, Ernest Jonves IV, Byron Murphy II, and Tyler Lockett were limited participants.

Not much more to really add! Here’s virtually everything I said but in a team-provided table:

The Rams, who will be resting starters, only had right tackle Rob Havenstein and receiver Jordan Whittington on the injury report, and Havenstein has already been ruled out. In other words, the Rams are healthy at the right time.