After a second straight season missing the postseason, the Seattle Seahawks must make some roster moves. While 2024 was mostly a re-tooling year with a brand new coaching staff and many new faces on the field that led Seattle to a winning record, Seattle still left a lot to be desired and did not reach their full potential. General manager John Schneider must get it right this offseason to get his team back in the playoffs.
Schneider appears to have hit a home run with the hire of head coach Mike Macdonald, along with his defensive hires. Macdonald has brought an element of crafty defense and intricate schemes that Pete Carroll never did.
And Macdonald has guts, too. It was a stressful, yet refreshing sensation whenever Macdonald kept the offense on the field in key fourth down moments. However, Macdonald is limited to the players on the roster and can't make a contender out of a bunch of pretenders.
Seattle Seahawks must make these roster moves in the 2025 offseason
Schneider did bring in several key role players, such as midseason acquisition linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who almost single-handedly fixed all issues in the middle of the defense. Draft picks Byron Murphy II, Tyrice Knight, and AJ Barner all look like hits.
Yet, many of Schneider's free agent signings from last offseason were complete non-factors for Seattle in 2024, including Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson, the two starting linebackers in week one, who were shipped off by midseason. Since the Super Bowls in the mid-2010s, John Schneider has been pretty hit or miss in Seattle. He needs some hits this offseason to keep his job.
Here are five roster moves the Seahawks must make immediately after Sunday's game in Los Angeles.
Extend LB Ernest Jones IV
Seattle traded a measly fourth-round draft pick and an underperforming linebacker in Jerome Baker to the Tennessee Titans back in October for Ernest Jones, who became the centerpiece and defensive leader for the Seahawks. Part of why he was so cheap, however, was the fact his 4-year deal expired after the 2024 season. Seattle would be irresponsible not to pay him now.
Since trading for Jones, the middle of the Seattle defense has been incredibly improved. Jones is a wizard when it comes to defending the run and is more than capable of dropping back in coverage. Seattle's biggest weakness over the past few seasons was stopping the run and after Bobby Wagner regressed athletically, Jordyn Brooks signed a big deal in Miami, and two free agent signings in Baker and Dodson proved ineffective, Ernest Jones was finally the solution.
Jones has also been a monumental help for rookie Tyrice Knight, whose inevitable rookie mistakes could go almost unnoticed with Jones there to clean it up. Seattle is building a really nice young defense, and Jones and Knight should be the two interior backers for years to come.
The bottom line is Ernest Jones wants to stay in Seattle. And Seattle should share a mutual interest. In nine games with Seattle this season, Jones has racked up 85 tackles. But what is most impressive about Jones is how he makes his tackles.
Defending the run, Jones can essentially mimic a running back by remaining patient until he sees a hole open up and then suddenly hit that hole and make a sure tackle at the line of scrimmage. We haven't seen this level of linebacker play since Bobby Wagner in his prime, and Ernest Jones has undoubtedly earned his contract in Seattle.
Restructure Tyler Lockett's contract
I understand the crowd calling for Tyler Lockett to be cut ahead of 2025 when the 32-year-old is slated to make over $30 million, but respectfully, I disagree. Tyler Lockett is the perfect third option for an offense. Lockett is a reliable pass-catcher, a player who's hardly ever injured, and, most importantly, a locker-room leader.
Also, Lockett isn't delusional. He very likely understands he is not the receiver or athlete he used to be. He probably understands he isn't worth a $30 million cap hit next season. However, he likely knows his worth to the team as a veteran leader for the younger wide receiver corps and as a reliable and clutch receiver. I think he'd be willing to restructure his contract and take a pay cut for the good of the team.
I don't think DK Metcalf or Jaxon Smith-Njigba necessarily need Tyler Lockett on the field with them, but I'm certain he helps free up space for the two younger stars. Lockett has spent the last decade in Seattle and has helped build a culture of wide receivers who don't always necessarily get the targets they want, but help the team in other ways, such as being decoys, rubbing defensive backs to open up teammates, and blocking on run plays and screens.
Lockett is invaluable as both a player and a person, so Seattle should not cut ties with him without at least attempting to restructure his deal first.
Release Dre'mont Jones and Uchenna Nwosu
Defensive linemen Dre'mont Jones and Uchenna Nwosu are expected to make a combined $47 million in 2025. Jones, who has only shown the occasional flash of greatness, has not been worth the lucrative deal he signed back in 2023. Nwosu, on the other hand, would be much more of a difficult decision to make.
Nwosu has been one of the most consistently great players on the Seahawks' defense since he was signed in the 2022 offseason. Unfortunately, he has missed a lot of time with injury, including a preseason cheap shot that took away most of his 2024 season. That cheap shot may have taken away his future as a Seahawk as well, as the Seattle defensive line, behind the likes of Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, rookie Byron Murphy, and Boye Mafe, looked just fine without him.
The hardest part about running an NFL team is deciding how to allocate the cap space. However, I think it is more than obvious that John Schneider must allocate more cap space to the offensive line, which arguably was the main reason Seattle missed the playoffs in 2024.
Paying over $47 million to two defensive linemen who weren't even the best two defensive linemen on the team seems irresponsible, and that money would be much better suited elsewhere on the team, particularly the offensive line.
Sign center Ryan Kelly
Long-time Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly's contract expires after Week 18. Kelly, an alternate Pro Bowl selection in 2024, has been an anchor for Indianapolis's offensive line that has constantly opened up massive running lanes for its running backs over the past several seasons. Kelly, at 31 years old, could be within Seattle's budget in the offseason.
The Seahawks started the season with Connor Williams at center. After a disastrous first half of his season, featuring hijinks like ridiculously high snaps and not blocking a soul on an alarming amount of plays, Williams mercifully retired from the NFL midseason. That left Seattle with Olu Oluwatimi and Jalen Sundell at center, two guys who ranged from mediocre to horrific, depending on the play. In fact, the entire offensive line ranged from average to awful all season long.
Adding a four-time Pro Bowl selection, and one-time All-Pro selection in Ryan Kelly at a position that has been in flux since Max Unger was traded in 2015 would be a massive step in the right direction. The offensive line starts in the interior and the center usually sets the tone for a line. Having a bona fide stud and veteran leader in the middle of the offensive line can only lead to good things for an offensive line that has been amongst the worst in the league for a decade now.
Trade their first-round pick
This one is my hot take. Although, it feels only lukewarm after seeing the prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft. This is one of the weaker classes in recent memory, with only a handful of players that I personally believe should have a first-round grade. With Seattle likely holding a pick in either the very high teens or early twenties, I cannot possibly justify using that pick.
Instead, Seattle should use that pick in a trade. The first option would be to flip their 2025 first-rounder for a pick in a later draft, which would be the safest move to make. Perhaps a team like Tampa Bay or Pittsburgh, who has a good team now but may not in 2025 would be willing to swap picks with Seattle. In that case, Seattle would come away with an extra pick in the 2026 draft, which looks a lot better on paper than this one.
However, the second option would be to trade their first-round pick for a quality, proven player. Someone like offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, who only has two more years left on his contract after 2024 could possibly be acquired with a first-round pick and some change.
Or perhaps a safety like Minkah Fitzpatrick, who is apparently not happy in Pittsburgh, would be better than sticking and drafting someone in the first round who only has a second-round grade. Fitzpatrick, in my opinion, is a perfect fit in a defense with two elite cornerbacks.
Maybe for the Geno haters out there (I am not one), you can flip the first-rounder for someone like Trevor Lawrence or Sam Darnold, although I heavily advise trading for a quarterback who isn't named Mahomes, Allen, or Herbert.
The point is Seattle has no business sticking and picking at that point in the draft. Unless someone inexplicably slips out of the top 10, there will be nobody left with a first-round grade. Seattle could add an impact player now or stash an extra pick for the future instead of reaching for a player in a high-risk, low-reward draft class.