No objective analysis would conclude that the Seattle Seahawks got better at tight end when they let Jimmy Graham leave in free agency and replaced him with Ed Dickson.

Graham caught 10 touchdowns last season to Dickson's one, after all.

But the Seahawks did get considerably cheaper at the position.

Dickson's three-year deal carries a base value of $10.7 million. That's a bargain compared to the deal that Graham got from the Green Bay Packers, worth $30 million over three years, including up to $13 million in 2018. The Seahawks paid Graham $27 million over his three seasons in Seattle (the remainder of the four-year, $40 million deal he signed in 2014 with the New Orleans Saints).

So the Seahawks are hoping that the roughly $6.5 million they're saving per year with Dickson compared to what they might have had to pay Graham outweighs the likely dropoff in production from the latter to the former. Given Graham's underwhelming production outside the red zone last season, his age (31) and past knee injury, perhaps they feel that dropoff won't be overly significant.

The same thinking surely applied to their decision to let Graham's backup, Luke Willson, leave for a one-year deal worth $2.5 million with the Detroit Lions, according to the NFL Network. That leaves 2016 third-round pick Nick Vannett and 2017 undrafted free agent Tyrone Swoopes as the second and third tight ends on Seattle's roster, for now.

This is the approach the Seahawks seem to be taking in free agency, putting less of an emphasis than in years past on retaining their own players and instead finding replacements at bargain costs. Similar to the Graham-Dickson swap, the Seahawks evidently think receiver Jaron Brown, at $5.5 million over two years, is a better value than what Paul Richardson, at $40 million over five years, got from the Washington Redskins.

Sheldon Richardson, another starter who left Seattle in free agency, got a one-year, $8 million deal from the Minnesota Vikings. Whatever defensive tackle Seattle adds in his place will be for much less than that, which means you can pretty much forget about Ndamukong Suh.

Dickson's deal with Seattle includes $3.6 million in total guarantees. That's comprised of a $2.6 million signing bonus plus a fully guaranteed 2018 base salary of $1 million. His 2019 and 2020 base salaries aren't guaranteed. That means the Seahawks, if they were so inclined, could move on from Dickson, 30, fairly painlessly after 2018 and particularly after 2019.

The year-by-year breakdown of Dickson's deal is below.

2018

• Salary-cap number: $1.87 million

• Base salary: $1 million (fully guaranteed)

• Signing-bonus proration: $867,000

• Incentives: Up to $1.1 million (tied to catches, receiving yards and the Pro Bowl)

2019

• Salary-cap number: $4.57 million

• Base salary: $3.3 million

• Signing-bonus proration: $867,000

• Roster bonus: Up to $400,000 ($25,000 for every game on the 46-man active roster)

• Incentives: Up to $1.1 million (tied to catches, receiving yards and the Pro Bowl)

• Potential dead money/cap savings: $1.73 million/$2.84 million (if released or traded before June 1)

2020

• Salary-cap number: $4.27 million

• Base salary: $3 million

• Signing-bonus proration: $867,000

• Roster bonus: Up to $400,000 ($25,000 for every game on the 46-man active roster)

• Incentives: Up to $1.1 million (tied to catches, receiving yards and the Pro Bowl)

• Potential dead money/cap savings: $867,000/$3.4 million