The parade has come and gone, the confetti has been swept away and now the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl celebration has turned into a march toward a repeat bid next season. That's how fast life moves in the NFL, where free agency is only weeks away and the draft process has already begun.
The good news for Seattle is that this team doesn't figure to be going anywhere any time soon. GM John Schneider has done a great job in recent drafts, and head coach Mike Macdonald has proven to be one of the shrewdest defensive minds and developers of talent in the sport. They also have some $62 million in effective cap space entering the spring, per Over the Cap, the sixth-highest total in the league. The tools are here for a big offseason.
Of course, the margin for error is also slim, especially considering who the Seahawks share a division with. Here's how Seattle can crush free agency and the draft and put themselves in position for another run at a title in 2026.
Seahawks free agency: Who should Seattle bring back?
The good news is that Seattle is hardly facing an exodus this offseason. Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Zach Charbonnet and basically the entire offensive line are still under contract, as are defensive stars like Leonard Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence, Byron Murphy II, Derick Hall, Uchenna Nwosu, Ernest Jones IV, Devon Witherspoon, Julian Love and Nick Emmanwori. That's a whole lot of talent.
But there are still some significant names set to hit free agency in March, and the Seahawks will have difficult decisions to make deciding who to try and retain and who to let walk.
Seahawks key unrestricted free agents
Player | Contract projection |
|---|---|
RB Kenneth Walker III | 4 years, $36 million |
WR Rashid Shaheed | 3 years, $42 million |
EDGE Boye Mafe | 3 years, $49 million |
S Coby Bryant | 2 years, $28 million |
CB Riq Woolen | 3 years, $45 million |
CB Josh Jobe | 3 years, $29 million |
The secondary is the biggest area of attrition here, and it seems virtually certain that Seattle is going to lose at least one high-profile player from the group. Bryant plays a deep safety position that Mike Macdonald has proven he knows how to replace, and Ty Okada's strong play across 11 starts suggests the Seahawks might opt to keep him as an exclusive-rights free agent and install him as the full-time guy next to Love. I'd also prioritize Jobe over Woolen: The latter's ceiling is sky-high, but there's a reason he fell into a time share and was the subject of trade rumors ahead of the deadline. Jobe figures to be the cheaper of the two, and he proved down the stretch of this season that he can do the job as a CB2.
From there, the biggest priority becomes bringing back Shaheed. Seattle needs more production opposite JSN, who was ask to carry far too large a load this season. Cooper Kupp can't be that guy anymore, and Shaheed's speed and utility as a returner are game-changers for this team. A limited free agent market means the Seahawks don't have readily available means of replacing his skill set.
The Seahawks also need to do what they can to keep Walker around; he's a uniquely gifted player, and this team ran the ball a ton under Klint Kubiak this season. Sinking three or four years into a running back's second contract doesn't tend to age very well, but he's simply too important to let walk and Seattle's limited draft capital means they'll be hard-pressed to replace him next to Zach Charbonnet. Maybe the franchise tag could come in handy here?
Seahawks free agency: External players to target
G David Edwards
Edwards isn't a superstar, but he's a solidly above-average starter at guard, which just so happens to be the biggest position of weakness on this offense given Anthony Bradford's struggles in 2025. With Buffalo also facing Connor McGovern's free agency and holes to fill elsewhere, might Seattle be able to use some of its cap space to swoop in?
G Isaac Seumalo
If the bidding for Edwards proves too expensive, what about Seumalo? His price figures to remain reasonable as he nears his mid-30s, and while he's not the most powerful run-blocker around, he proved in Pittsburgh last season that he can still protect the quarterback.
C Cade Mays
The Seahawks could also use an upgrade elsewhere along the interior of their offensive line, as anyone who watched Darnold get harassed at times during the Super Bowl can attest. A former sixth-round pick, Mays got thrust into a starting role due to injury in Carolina but did so well at center that he forced Austin Corbett to guard when the latter finally returned to the lineup. He's an ascending player.
DE Dre'Mont Jones
If Seattle is going to let Mafe walk, Jones makes a lot of sense as a replacement, a rotational player who won't put up double-digit sack totals but will provide consistent disruption on passing downs without breaking the bank.
Seahawks trade targets
CB Marlon Humphrey, Ravens
Macdonald is all too familiar with Humphrey from their time together in Baltimore, coaching the latter to a Pro Bowl appearance in 2022. He's since fallen out of favor with the Ravens, and he's certainly not the star-caliber player he used to be. But with Seattle saying goodbye to Woolen and Bryant and maybe even potentially Jobe, depth is needed, and Humphrey could provide it.
CB Kristian Fulton, Chiefs
You could say the same thing about Fulton, who remains a good cover man on the outside when he's healthy. But the Chiefs are facing a cap crunch this offseason and need to shed salary somehow, meaning he could be had for cheaper than you'd expect.
OL Elgton Jenkins, Packers
Jenkins seems to be the odd man out amid Green Bay's crowded offensive line picture, especially as he enters the final season of a bloated contract. He's struggled to recapture the Pro Bowl form he showed a few years ago, but he can play just about anywhere on the offensive line and could be a buy-low candidate as he enters a contract year.
Seahawks draft picks: Positions of need, areas to target
The Seahawks have among the least draft capital in the league this spring, although they're certainly not bemoaning the picks they gave up to pry Shaheed from New Orleans at the trade deadline. Seattle has four picks in all, including one in each of the first three rounds, and they have needs along the interior of the offensive line as well as wide receiver, cornerback and defensive end to address.
- 1st round, pick No. 32
- 2nd round, pick No. 64
- 3rd round, pick No. 96
- 6th round, pick No. 212
Depending on how free agency plays out, someone like Texas A&M guard Chase Bisontis could make a lot of sense for the Seahawks to help shore up the right guard spot. There are also plenty of receivers available toward the back half of the first round, from Washington's Denzel Boston to Texas A&M's KC Concepcion to Louisville's Chris Bell. Devoting one early pick to a lineman, one to a receiver and one to a corner or safety would make a lot of sense.
Seahawks extension candidates: Will Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Devon Witherspoon go first?
Of course, adding talent is fun and all, but making sure your star players remain in the building is just as if not more important. And it just so happens that Seattle has a couple of homegrown guys who need to get paid: Both JSN and Witherspoon are due for extensions as they enter the final years of their rookie contracts in 2026.
It goes without saying that both deserve to get paid at or near the top of their respective positions, both because they're star players in their primes and also because extending them will allow Seattle to reduce their short-term cap hits. Smith-Njigba might not match Ja'Marr Chase's record $40 million AAV, but he could come close and will likely exceed Justin Jefferson's $35 million mark. He was that good this past season, and the Seahawks can't afford to lose him. Something like six years (including his final guaranteed season and his fifth-year option) and $150 million in new money would make sense.
Witherspoon, meanwhile, three years and $90 million would put him just behind Sauce Gardner and even with Derek Stingley in terms of cornerback AAV while allowing him to hit the market again while still in his 20s. It's entirely possible that he demands to become the new highest-paid at his position in the league, but eventually the two sides should find common ground.