3 bargain basement free agents for Seahawks with ties to Klint Kubiak

Seattle can afford them.

Green Bay Packers v Minnesota Vikings
Green Bay Packers v Minnesota Vikings | Stephen Maturen/GettyImages

We were already speculating about which pending free agents might draw general manager John Schneider’s interest this offseason before Klint Kubiak was named as the new Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator. Now that the 37-year-old is in place, that speculation is getting cranked up even further.

Kubiak has held coordinator-level positions with four teams over the past four seasons. That has exposed him to a great many offensive players. Through his father, Gary, he has a vast network of connections to coaches, scouts, and other front office personnel throughout the league.

To be clear, Kubiak is not in charge of signing new talent. However, we can assume that when it comes to offensive players, he will have some say in the matter. We have already floated several players from his last team – the New Orleans Saints – who would be logical fits in Seattle. Two are offensive linemen, the Hawks’ most glaring off-season need.

Inexpensive free agents with tie to Klint Kubiak the Seattle Seahawks should think of signing

Before Kubiak was on board, we had mentioned how either of two pending free agent guards from San Francisco – Aaron Banks or Ben Bartch – would be on Schneider’s radar. Kubiak spent 2023 as the pass game coordinator for the 49ers and is well-acquainted with both. He is also very familiar with tight ends Foster Moreau and Greg Dulcich from his time in New Orleans and Denver, respectively.

Neither is a pending free agent this year, but both could be released by their current teams. Moreau is the more likely of the two to become available and if he does, the Hawks might be interested.

Today, we’ll take a look at three other intriguing options with ties to the Seahawks’ OC. Each has seemed to fall entirely off the league’s radar but could resurrect careers in Seattle. You can probably tell from that qualified endorsement that none of these players are obvious, can’t-miss options.

But they are all young, they have all performed in the NFL, and they will all come cheaply. Kubiak should have solid insight into what they can and can’t do. If he believes in any of them, look for a reunion in the great northwest.

Dalton Risner, Guard, Minnesota Vikings

You know that old expression, “One man’s trash…?” Risner has been a solid guard for the past six seasons in the NFL. Is he a Pro Bowler? No. Is he better than anything else the Seahawks have at guard right now? Quite possibly.

Risner was not with Minnesota when Kubiak was coaching there, but he did play for the Hawks' new OC in Denver in 2022. During that season, Risner started 15 games. He graded out as he always has – an above-average pass blocker and a below-average run blocker. He turns 30 this summer and would not be a long-term fix for the leaky interior of the Hawks' O line. But he could improve pass protection quite a bit.

Risner stepped in for an ineffective Ed Ingram this past season and gave the Vikings eight starts at right guard, Seattle’s single biggest need right now. The Vikings have a major decision to make about Ingram but don’t seem particularly interested in retaining Risner. That’s largely due to his age and limited potential for playing at a higher ceiling. That ceiling wouldn’t look too bad in Seattle in 2025. One man’s trash…

K.J. Osborn, Wide Receiver, Washington Commanders

What in the world happened to K.J. Osborn? Coming off a three-year stretch for Minnesota in which he caught more than 150 passes and found the end zone 15 times, the rising wide receiver signed a one-year, four-million dollar deal with New England last off-season. And then he did absolutely nothing.

He barely even saw the field, appearing in just seven games and about 250 offensive snaps. He caught seven balls and was released in early December. The 27-year-old latched on with the Commanders for the final few weeks but made no impact.

Klint Kubiak’s first season as an offensive coordinator was in 2021 with Minnesota. That was K.J. Osborn’s coming-out party. After playing a limited role in his rookie season, Osborn caught fifty balls and scored seven touchdowns in his second year. He competed for targets with Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen but still managed to be productive. Osborn essentially maintained that level for his remaining two years in Minnesota. Then he went to New England and vanished.

If anyone has insight into what went wrong with Osborn in 2024, and whether the receiver still offers value, it should be Klint Kubiak. He has never been the deep threat that Tyler Lockett is, nor has he ever been as good an all-around player as Lockett, but if the Seahawks are indeed saying goodbye to one of their greatest all-time receivers in 2025, they need to add new weapons. Osborn could be a low-risk option that could pay nice dividends.

Mason Cole, Center, Free Agent

If K.J. Osborn took a big step backward in 2024, Mason Cole would disappear into a black hole. Much like Dalton Risner, Cole had been a dependable interior lineman throughout his six-year career. Though primarily a center, he played guard on occasion for Arizona, the team that drafted him back in 2018. After starting 32 games over three seasons in the desert, Cole was traded to the Vikings after the 2020 season. Minnesota’s OC at the time was Klint Kubiak.

Cole started games at both center and guard for the Vikings in ’21 and then signed a three-year deal with the Steelers. Few teams value offensive line play as much as Pittsburgh. Cole started 34 consecutive games at center for the Steelers in 2022 and '23. He had always graded out as a better run blocker than a pass blocker, and after surrendering 31 total QB pressures in 2023, the Steelers decided to save some cap space by cutting him.

A 28-year-old center with 73 starts on his resume should have been snatched up by a team looking for offensive line depth but Cole never got a call. He sat out last year, and TBH, I have no idea what he wants to do or whether he can still play. But Kubiak, who coached him in Minnesota in 2021, should have some idea. If Cole is healthy and ready to play, he could come in on a no-risk deal to see if he can provide much-needed depth for the interior line.  

None of these players figure to make a huge impact wherever they end up. But you never can tell. Every year, the NFL witnesses reclamation projects that give their teams a real shot in the arm. At the very least, Klint Kubiak should have a pretty good idea of what these players can do.

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