This is a guest article by Curtis Allen, replacing his typical ‘watch-notes’ today with nothing on the line against the Rams
The offseason officially starts Monday for the Seahawks. And as usual, it promises to bring a number of changes to the franchise.
A hot and cold offense hampered by severe Offensive Line issues and disjointed play calling, a defense that appears to need one more key component and the viability of the players with the biggest salary cap hits next year mean it will not be boring in the least.
Last year we outlined key dates and discussed their potential impact. Let’s look at the significant dates for this offseason and talk our way through the timeline of decisions the Seahawks will need to make.
The first – and potentially most impactful – decision the team needs to make has no timetable. But it definitely has a deadline.
January – Determining How Much of the Offensive Staff to Change
Much has been written about Ryan Grubb’s performance as Offensive Coordinator this season. So, we do not need to belabor the point.
Except to say this: it feels strongly that the game plans and play calling this year evinced a real apathy about how poor this Offensive Line was playing. It does feel like a more aware Coordinator could have given his offense more chances to be successful. The Week 14 win against Arizona demonstrated what was possible: 409 yards of offense split between 233 yards passing and 176 running, zero turnovers, zero sacks and only four pressures allowed. Yet the Seahawks left that model in the dust just as quickly as they adopted it.
The Seahawks will need to make decisions quickly on Grubb and the rest of the staff and have a group in place sooner rather than later. Why? January is a month spent behind closed doors. Watching tape. Setting up your attack plan for the offseason. Having discussions about traits the coordinators desire for their players.
Last season, Ryan Grubb was hired on February 13. The whole offseason felt rushed and uncoordinated and the results on the field reflected that. Grubb missed prep time with the staff, the Senior Bowl week of activity and three days after he was hired the team had decisions to make on Geno Smith and D.K. Metcalf.
More time to get on the same page is needed. The Seahawks need to act in a determined, focused manner here.
The last week of the month includes the Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl practices – a key time for evaluating talent that will be entering the draft as well as rubbing elbows with fellow General Managers, scouts and agents for some unsanctioned exchanges of information.
There is also a window here to discuss and agree to trades. Granted, it is rare. But do not forget – the Lions and Rams traded Quarterbacks in January even though it could not be made official until March. The Super Bowl had not even been played yet and a trade that would define a good chunk of the NFC picture for the next few seasons was made.
February – Contract Guarantee Triggers, Franchise Tag Window, Scouting Combine
The Seahawks like to structure their contracts for their bigger name players to have guaranteed money that kicks in five days after the Super Bowl and that is no exception for 2025. They have three such contract triggers to consider. Two of them are fairly easy but the third one is tough.
Julian Love has an option bonus of $4.8 million that kicks in and is prorated over the next three seasons. His $1.2 million salary also becomes guaranteed. It certainly feels like the team highly values Love and his contributions, and these numbers are not punitive to their cap much at all.
Leonard Williams has the biggest plum with $17.7 million of his $20 million salary that will guarantee on February 14th. This one feels even more obvious, as Williams has had a tremendous season for the Seahawks. Side note: we talked this fall about restructuring Williams’ contract to pick up some cap room and Williams is a great candidate for that.
Then we come to the tough one: Uchenna Nwosu’s contract calls for $6 million of his 2025 salary to be guaranteed on February 14th. If the Seahawks let that date lapse without cutting him or renegotiating his contract, they will be boxed in to a $21 million cap hit for 2025. Cutting him would only net $2.4 million in space. Trading him would net $8.4 million but a guaranteed $6 million salary after two injury-shortened seasons might not bring a whole lot in trade compensation.
One thing to know: The Seahawks have typically let these guarantee triggers happen, even when it seems against their interests.
This year, Dre’Mont Jones’ $7 million guarantee and Geno Smith’s $12.7 million guarantee happened. Last year Quandre Diggs’ salary guarantee hit, coming off an injury-recovery 2022 and looking at an $18 million cap hit.
The Seahawks have not typically been ruthless in this area but Nwosu has missed large portions of two seasons. As good as he has been, questions of the potential diminishing skill set and a $21 million cap hit against a tight cap may force a bolder move here.
On February 18th, teams can place the Franchise Tag on upcoming Free Agents (the window closes March 4th). This is mostly moot for the Seahawks for two reasons:
1 — They do not have the cap room to tag anyone without creating (and then immediately spending) room.
2 — The only Unrestricted Free Agent they would likely tag is Ernest Jones and the linebacker franchise tag is projected to be about $27 million, which is a non-starter.
The Seahawks are free to talk to Jones about an extension. Nobody else can officially talk to him about a contract until the Legal Tampering Window (sorry, ‘Negotiation Period’ as the NFL calls it) opens in March. Given both sides have expressed a desire to continue working together, this bodes well for a contract announcement not unlike the team did with Leonard Williams.
What about the Scouting Combine? It is Feb 24th to March 3rd in Indianapolis and Rob will cover it extensively as he always has.
Player testing, medical checks and interviews are a key part of the team building process for all teams.
However, the worst-kept secret in the NFL is this gathering affords General Managers, coaches and agents of current players an open excuse to be in proximity to one another. Savvy professionals on all sides use this opportunity to gauge the salary and trade markets for their players under contract as well as potential free agents. It is not a coincidence that after 2023’s combine finished on March 6th, Geno Smith had his new Seahawks contract agreed to the next day.
The Seahawks have a lot of ground to cover in this area, with a lot of moving parts on their roster. Information gathering at this event is crucial to inform decisions they will make this offseason.
March – Free Agency, New League Year & Cap Compliance Deadline, Restricted & Exclusive Rights FA Tenders Due, Roster Bonuses Due
Now we are cooking. This is when the offseason work behind closed doors really starts to pay off and the team reveals a good chunk of their plans for the roster and cap.
March 9th is a key date. This is the last day they can exclusively talk to Ernest Jones about an extension. They also need to make (or have made) some moves to get under the salary cap when the league year begins March 12th.
The Legal Tampering Period opens March 10th. Unrestricted Free Agents can negotiate with teams. As we have discussed, the Seahawks do not have much cap room in order to go shopping. A big investment on the interior of the offensive line might be the biggest step the team could take to improve its play in 2025 though.
March 12th is also the annual deadline to tender Restricted and Exclusive Rights Free Agents. Here is the list of Seahawks candidates:
Among the ERFA’s, Brady Russell seems an easy choice to tender. It will not require much beyond a minimum-salary commitment to pick him up.
As for Restricted Free Agents, Jobe is an interesting name. The Right of First Refusal Tender is projected to be about $3.185 million. Do the Seahawks rate Jobe that highly?
Keep in mind, the tenders do not lock in the salary as guaranteed. A tender can be used as a placeholder to keep a player on the roster while the team assesses their options and perhaps negotiates a contract.
Then we come to two of the most important dates of the offseason.
On March 18th, Tyler Lockett is due a roster bonus of $5.3 million. With a nearly $31 million cap number and the potential to gain $17 million if cut, it seems obvious that Lockett will not receive this bonus. He has expressed a desire to play in 2025, so we will have to see how Lockett and the Seahawks handle this. They may cut him early in the offseason as a goodwill gesture to let him explore the market as a street free agent and sign wherever he desires.
Two days later (March 20th) the Seahawks have another deadline that will force action. Geno Smith is owed a $10 million roster bonus and can increase that up to $16 million with three $2 million escalators up for grabs (passing yards, completion %, 10 wins).
Chances are, like Lockett, this decision will be made long before the date. Likely the Seahawks and Smith will be in touch on a contract extension and work something out that is mutually beneficial. The biggest challenge may be agreeing on the parameters of an extension.
By the end of March, we should have a very solid idea of how the Seahawks feel about many of their offseason priorities such as the Offensive Line and the Quarterback position.
April – the Draft and Charles Cross’ Fifth-Year Tender
The draft is in Green Bay this year on April 24th to 26th. The culmination of a ton of offseason work presents an opportunity to dramatically change your team’s structure.
Keep in mind, rookie salaries do not hit the cap until their contracts are signed.
On May 1st, the Seahawks face another decision deadline: Whether or not to place the Fifth-year tender on Left Tackle Charles Cross. It is projected to be an $18.4 million cap hit for 2026.
Some reminders on this: If the Seahawks decide to tender Cross, it guarantees his 2025 salary and the $18 million for 2026 is fully guaranteed. They can negotiate an extension any time after tendering him and lower the 2026 cap hit and lock down Cross’ prime seasons.
Also keep in mind they can start negotiating with Cross right now if they choose and avoid the tender decision altogether.
And of course they can choose not to tag Cross but still negotiate an extension. The deadline just becomes March 2026 instead of March 2027 if they do tender him.
May-September – Filling out the Roster & Considering Extending Key Players
Teams like Seattle that have little cap room in February and March look forward to June 1st. They gain cap room and can make official moves that push the roster forward, like signing their draft picks to contracts and making those late-summer moves that receive little fanfare but can make a real difference in their season.
Their draft class is normally under contract by June or so.
They also have several key 2026 free agents they need to consider extending:
D.K. Metcalf
Boye Mafe
Kenneth Walker
Riq Woolen
Abe Lucas
Metcalf might be the priority, as they can open up a bunch of cap space while locking down a talented difference-maker.
They will also need about $8-10 million of cap room saved to secure their Practice Squad before Week One. They also will have vested veterans with non-guaranteed salaries (like Noah Fant) have their salaries guarantee if they are on the roster in Week One.
