Fresh off a Super Bowl victory, Seahawks fans are eager to see what moves are going to be made to enable the team to contend again in 2026.
It might be time for us all, collectively, to accept the reality of the situation.
The Seahawks pulled off their great success by having the most complete roster in the NFL. Undoubtedly, they are about to lose some of that depth in free agency because it is not physically possible to pay everyone.
On top of that, they’ve lost their offensive coordinator and will have a first-time play-caller next year.
They only have four draft picks in what is a mediocre class anyway. This isn’t a great free agent pool. The opportunity to replenish and improve could be challenging.
The Seahawks jumped from a 10-7 team missing out on the playoffs to become Champions. It’s entirely possible they experience a slight regression in 2026.
And that’s OK.
Let’s just embrace the situation. Fans got to see this team win another title. This isn’t a franchise desperately trying to capitalise on a closing window. They’ve already jumped through it.
If they can’t make the moves to come roaring back again next year, it should be addressed with a shrug of the shoulders. It is what it is. This is the NFL.
Teams like the Chiefs were able to win multiple Super Bowls because they had a phenomenal, generational quarterback playing his best football, surrounded by other elite players at key positions like defensive tackle (Chris Jones) and #1 target (Travis Kelce).
The Seahawks are built differently. They might be a little bit more like the Eagles.
Philadelphia lost a Super Bowl to the Chiefs after finishing 14-3. They then regressed to 11-6 and lost in the Wild Card playoffs. A year later, they finished 14-3 and this time won the Super Bowl. Last season they finished 11-6 and were beaten in the Wild Card again.
They’ve not stopped being competitive. They’re just not quite capable of endlessly winning to a dynasty level the Chiefs achieved.
If the Seahawks lose multiple free agents and cannot pull off a trade for someone like Maxx Crosby, they might take a slight step back in 2026. Let’s accept that as a possibility now because it’ll make the off-season easier to stomach.
You can’t just pay Ken Walker $15m a year because others are prepared to. You can’t just run out and spend whatever it takes to keep Coby Bryant or Rashid Shaheed. You have to set your valuation — and you know these players better than anyone else — and stick to it.
Discipline will pay off down the line. Reckless decisions today, for the sake of feeling warm and fuzzy this summer, will come back to bite you.
Equally with Crosby — you can’t just ‘do whatever it takes’. It has to be the right deal. I’m sure the Seahawks will be ‘in it until the end’ but if it doesn’t end in a positive conclusion, it won’t be because they sat on their hands.
Now, it’s also possible they pull off a few magic tricks in the next 7-10 days and all of this is moot. But there is a chance the Seahawks will lose players, not make the big splash some are hoping for, and on paper it’ll look like the roster has regressed.
From there, they’ll just have to manage accordingly. It might mean platooning your pass-rush a little bit more with multiple bodies from the second and third tier of free agency and the draft. That didn’t work in the past with Benson Mayowa, Bruce Irvin and Darrell Taylor but in fairness, they didn’t get to play next to Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy.
This isn’t really that different to last year. The interior O-line options did not come to Seattle in free agency. Fans and some media had a meltdown because they didn’t sign a veteran guard. Will Fries got offered a contract by the Vikings the Seahawks rightly scoffed at, so they kept their discipline and moved on.
I don’t doubt the Seahawks rated Grey Zabel highly but it’s also possible that was a situation with the 18th pick a year ago where he wasn’t necessarily top of their draft board, but he was when they accounted for the bigger picture (need, what was likely to be left at guard in round two etc).
They ended up managing that situation very well, despite all of the criticism they faced from some overly reactive types online.
We might see a repeat this year. It might feel like they’re inactive or asleep at the wheel. Discipline will be mistaken for inaction. As with Fries a year ago, sometimes the best decision is to walk away.
You’ve got to play the hand you’re dealt. Let’s be honest, the Seahawks aren’t going to win the Super Bowl every year. I think, after the success of the last 12 months, they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt to handle this how they see fit.
A year ago they didn’t panic. They made sensible choices. The GM won Executive of the Year.
Remember that if/when free agents start signing elsewhere and trades are made that don’t include the Seahawks.
Is Jonathan Greenard a viable alternative to Maxx Crosby?
Kudos to the Minnesota Vikings, they’ve sensed an opportunity here.
Only one team can trade for Crosby. Thus, others are going to be left looking for alternatives. With slim pickings in free agency, the Vikings have dangled Greenard to see if anyone will take the bait.
They are currently $51m in the red for effective cap space. They’ll move money around to get into the black but parting with Greenard is a financial decision, however much they’re trying to paint this as simply ‘being open-minded about everything’.
They’ll save $12.25m by cutting him or trading him. They can also save $18.9m by designating him as a post-June 1st cut.
Either way I don’t think he’ll be a Viking next season. The idea that someone would give up a big package to help out Minnesota is surely for the birds. Especially if, as reported by multiple outlets, Greenard is also looking for an improved contract.
He seems to have had an up-and-down season in 2025. Some big games, including a two-sack performance against Dallas, but also some very quiet games. He finished the season with 3.5 sacks. His 47 pressures ranked 37th in the NFL, one ahead of Bryce Huff of the 49ers and one fewer than Bradley Chubb, who is also available.
Greenard does carry a very professional presence and would be a personality fit in Seattle. I’m just not sure he has enough juice left in the tank to warrant trading for him and paying him at a higher rate than his current deal.
Who could they look at in free agency?
These are the challenges the Seahawks face. The obvious moves aren’t always there. When they are, there’s typically heated competition with other teams.
Trading for Maxx Crosby would put you in a great position for the rest of the off-season. If you can’t do it, you have to look for value on the market.
Al-Quadin Muhammad had 11.5 sacks for the Lions last season. I don’t know if he’s a personality fit but is he someone who could come in and play a rotational role for you at a reasonable price? Aidan Hutchinson is campaigning for him to return to Detroit. He’s 31 in May so he’s not a long-term fix. He might be better value than some of the other options.
It’ll be interesting to see what Arnold Ebiketie’s market is like. He’s a possible cheaper alternative to Boye Mafe, with a very similar skill level. If his market is not red hot, he could be another option to add to the mix.
Joseph Ossai had one fewer pressure than Mafe for the Bengals in 2025. Is he an emerging player you could further develop? He’s only 25-years-old. Could a short-term deal, allowing him to revisit free agency in a year or two, be of benefit to him? Would he like a chance to boost his stock playing for Mike Macdonald?
None of these options are going to get the fans salivating. Yet they might be better value investments than trading and paying for Greenard, or spending an absolute fortune on Trey Hendrickson or Jaelan Phillips.
The draft would have to supplement this plan
I’m not a huge fan of the EDGE class but if you’re left short it’s at least something they’ll need to be conscious of.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Cashius Howell since the combine. Firstly, his interviews stand out as ‘this player is 100% unequivocally a Seahawks personality fit’.
Secondly, he ran a 1.58 10-yard split at 253lbs. Anything in the 1.5’s is very good.
His motor is flat out, he plays with the kind of relentlessness this team seeks. There’s just the arm length issue. He has 30 1/4 inch arms which is virtually unheard of for a NFL pass rusher. Even Nik Bonitto, the poster-child for smaller rushers, has 32 1/2 inch arms.
When you watch Howell rush, he often doesn’t try to use his hands/arms to beat a block. He tries to dip under the tackle with his arms pinned back. It works for him because he’s quick enough. I don’t know whether it’ll work in the NFL.
Here’s the thing though — Mike Macdonald did have success with a shorter-armed rusher in Kyle Van Noy. And while Bonitto has slightly longer arms, he didn’t test as well as Howell. He ran a 1.61 10-yard split at 248lbs. So if there’s a difference in arm length, there’s also another difference in that Howell is a little bit quicker.
If the Seahawks are forced to platoon their rushers, having a specialist like Howell might not be such a bad thing. He’s unlikely to be a factor on early downs but if your strength is the interior and stopping the run, he will have opportunities on second and third down.
His shockingly short arms and the fact he didn’t run a blazing 4.4 forty could keep him into range for Seattle. It might not be an ideal pick at #32 and you might be leaning a little bit more on need as you did a year ago. It’s something to consider though.
