Adam Schefter’s Sunday ‘splash’ report ahead of the trade deadline didn’t have much meat on the bone. However, it was led by a story on the Seahawks “fielding calls” for Boye Mafe and Riq Woolen:

Teams have inquired to the Seattle Seahawks about the availability of standout linebacker Boye Mafe and former Pro Bowl cornerback Riq Woolen, sources told ESPN on Saturday.

Seattle hasn’t wanted to trade Mafe or Woolen, according to sources, but it will be interesting to see how aggressive another team might be ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.

Schefter goes on to explain the need to pay several other players in the off-season and how it won’t be possible to pay everyone. I think this is a little bit of a red herring. The Seahawks possibly won’t pay Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Devon Witherspoon next year if they take up their fifth-year options as expected. Over the years the team has not rushed to extend contracts with two seasons left on the existing deal.

Charles Cross might get paid — but even then, I’m not sure there’s a rush to do that either seeing as his play has hardly elevated this year and he’d be under contract for 2026 with the franchise tag an option for 2027. Coby Bryant and Ken Walker are other players who might need to be extended. Derick Hall would be approaching the final year of his contract in 2026 so he’s another potential receiver of a new deal.

I think this is more a case of the Seahawks thinking they aren’t going to pay Mafe and Woolen so let’s see if there’s an attractive trade offer before Tuesday. The chances are there won’t be, because neither player is playing well enough to warrant it. Thus they’ll finish the year in Seattle. They can’t give them away like the Patriots did with Keion White and Kyle Dugger because it would seriously impact their depth. Unless, of course, there plan is to trade for superior replacements.

Any time you see an article like this it’s basically a ham-fisted way of letting everyone know your players are available. It’s an invitation to the league to make an offer.

I’m not sure anyone’s going to bite.

A final note, Ian Rapoport is the latest reporter to suggest the Seahawks could make a trade for an offensive lineman.

***Update***

Jay Glazer is reporting the Seahawks are being “very aggressive” before the trade deadline for a number of positions:

Perhaps the Seahawks are dangling Mafe and Woolen because they intend to trade for players at those two positions to replace them?