Four Seahawks who should be cut to make cap room for the 2025 offseason

The Seattle Seahawks started off like a team bound for the playoffs, but they do not look like that currently. After leading the NFC West by two games after the first three games, should Seattle lose to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9, Seattle might be in last place in the division. The team still has a ways to go to be good, but the Seahawks are also hamstrung by their lack of cap space next offseason.

Seattle currently has negative-$1,080,774 in cap room for 2025, according to Spotrac. The number is 30th in the league. That will obviously have to change through releasing players or restructuring contracts.

General manager John Schneider has options with players who could be released. Should the team move on from the players below, that would open up slightly more than $42 million. An extension for DK Metcalf and/or Geno Smith would open up a bit more as well. 12s won't want to see all these players go, of course, but the NFL is a business and a tough one.

Four Seattle Seahawks who might need to be released to make cap room in the 2025 offseason

Edge rusher Dre'Mont Jones

Cap hit: $25,645,518
Cap savings: $11,572,500

Jones has been inconsistent during his two seasons with the Seahawks. Last year, he was basically a dud under Pete Carroll, though he was general manager John Schneider's highest-paid free agent signing up to that point. This season, he is only on the same track. For instance, he had 11 combined pressures in Weeks 6 and 7 but completely disappeared in Week 8 against the Buffalo Bills and did not record a statistic in 30 snaps.

Jones simply has not proven to be a high-quality player in his career. He isn't awful, but he certainly is not worth his $25 million cap hit. That number would imply he is one of the better defensive linemen or edge rushers in the league. The hope was that a move to edge rusher would improve his game, but he has remained inconsistent. If he was going to get paid $7 million next season, fine. But a cap hit of $25 million? No way.

Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu

Cap hit: $21,498,333
Cap savings: $8,481,666

Nwosu is certainly not a bad player, but by the end of the 2024 season, he will missed most of two straight seasons. There is no timetable for his return currently, though the hope is that he will return soon after the bye week. When he returns he will have only played part of one game since Week 7 of 2023. Availability is a talent too, and Nwosu simply has not been available.

In fact, the Seahawks have gotten used to playing with Nwosu at this point. Sure, their depth has been tested because Boye Mafe and Derick Hall have both struggled a bit with injuries, but Mafe and Hall have both mostly been good and are the future at the position for Seattle. The team might need to take an edge rusher with their first pick in the 2025 NFL draft because we can assume John Schneider is not going to take an interior offensive lineman.

Wide receiver Tyler Lockett

Cap hit: $30,895,000
Cap savings: $17,000,000

No one wants to see Lockett leave, and he has once again been a quality receiver, but he is no longer as explosive as he used to be. That is not his fault, as that is what happens to an NFL receiver who will be 33 years old early in the 2025 season and is currently in his tenth season. He only averages 2.6 yards after the catch (compared to someone like DK Metcalf, who averages 5.6 yards after the catch).

Lockett has been arguably the second-best receiver in Seahawks history and he has been an even better human being. He restructured his deal this offseason which raised his cap hit in 2025 to a number that few receivers currently have. His $17 million is probably too much to pass up for Seattle. Lockett could simply go full-time into his real estate venture.

Safety Rayshawn Jenkins

Cap hit: $7,900,000
Cap savings: $5,400,000

Jenkins started the season as a great fit next to Julian Love. Through the first two weeks, he had allowed catches the four times he was targeted, but for only 15 yards and only one yard after the catch. He was also good against the run with 11 run stuffs.

Then, things changed dramatically. In Weeks 4 through 6, Jenkins gave up completions on all 11 of his targets and 75 yards after the catch. He also had just two run stuffs. In other words, his early-season effectiveness had vanished.

He then got injured and is currently on injured reserve. There is no timetable for his return, and in his place, Coby Bryant has been just as good. Seattle could draft Jenkins' replacement in 2025 and save more than $5 million.

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