This news shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. A few weeks ago Brady Henderson, the primary source of Seahawks intel, suggested Cross — along with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon — would likely get new deals in 2026.

The big question for me, and the discussion I’ve tried to generate over the last few weeks, is how much a new deal should be worth.

I am surprised at how Cross has been viewed both locally and nationally. There’s been almost no conversation about his play, with many assuming he’s one of the NFL’s top left tackles. My argument has been that there’s little evidence of that.

Without going over old ground too much, he wasn’t even an honourable mention on Jeremy Fowler’s executive, scouts and coaches poll for the top players at his position (16 others were listed). He’s 14th on ESPN’s pass-block win-rate rankings. He is PFF’s 30th ranked offensive tackle at the end of the season.

Josh Jones, who played in relief for Cross over the last three games, averaged a PFF grade of 71.5. Cross’ average for the season is 66.7. In the most recent outing against San Francisco — Jones’ grade was a 75.4. The only time Charles earned a grade that high was in week one.

Making these points has often been confused with people thinking I want Cross out of Seattle. I don’t. I just want to avoid overpaying for a level of performance that isn’t quite what many people would have you believe.

I even went on the Seahawks Collective and admitted I wanted to see what life was like without Cross to help determine his true value. In fairness, it may well be that missing the last three weeks has helped get a deal done. The Seahawks have hardly faced a crisis at left tackle in Cross’ absence. This possibly cultivated a negotiating environment that was reasonable for all parties.

As I discussed on today’s stream with Jeff Simmons earlier, I don’t think his performance level warranted a re-setting of the market. He didn’t warrant a $30m a year contract. It’s possible the reported $26.1m average per year is lower than Ian Rapoport is suggesting, with his information almost certainly coming from Cross’ agency.

Curtis Allen has already provided some clarity. The fifth-year option for 2026 is not being replaced by the new deal. Per Curtis, that technically means the contract from next season onwards is $24.4m per year over five seasons.

Today I pitched the idea of $24m a year. That felt fair to avoid losing a 25-year-old left tackle who, while not exactly being Tristan Wirfs, also isn’t a liability. There is value in that, along with consistency on the offensive line.

If it’s between $24-26m, I say fair enough. It puts him in the Christian Darrisaw range which feels reasonable. He’s still young enough to take the step I think we’ve all been hoping to see in his performance. Cross is clearly well respected and a big character fit for the identity of the team. This isn’t an overpay, although I think a bit more realism and a little less hype about Cross would be welcome when analysing him in future.

JSN and Witherspoon will inevitably follow, probably over the summer. One thing to consider will be the outlay the franchise will now have to start spending on extensions. It will limit how much ‘cash’ they have to spend.

Cap space isn’t the only thing to consider with teams. There isn’t a bottomless pit of cash to guarantee multiple players who sign large new contracts. If Cross, Smith-Njigba and Witherspoon all agree deals, it’ll mean there’s less of a chance they’ll make splashy moves in free agency. The Seahawks were never likely to dive head first into free agency anyway — but I think it’s important to set realistic expectations (especially with Tyler Linderbaum remaining without a new deal in Baltimore).

It shouldn’t preclude them entering the trade market in March, especially if the players they are acquiring don’t require an immediate new contract (something the Seahawks don’t like to do anyway). As we’ve discussed, there will be options there.