Now that the early free agent feeding frenzy has subsided, NFL teams can take stock of their rosters and figure out where they still need to improve.
Though the primary focus of front offices will now shift to next month's draft, there are still free agents on the market who can play important roles in 2026. Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider is no doubt looking at any number of second-wave UFAs who could help fill in his roster.
Schneider has been relatively quiet thus far. That’s not surprising. If the Seahawks don’t have the best roster in the NFL, they are very close.
Free agents who could still help the Seattle Seahawks remain on top in 2026
The Lombardi Trophy is proof of that. The fact that they won the Super Bowl with a relatively young roster and a quarterback who had been seen as a failure until very recently reinforces that fact. Seattle’s victory in 2025 was not a fluke. They will be challenging for championships for the foreseeable future.
But they did lose key players. And they have seen their main rivals make bold moves to improve. The Rams added Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, and extended Kamren Curl to address their under-performing secondary. San Francisco has provided Brock Purdy with improved receiving options in Mike Evans and Christian Kirk.
Schneider has focused on retention this offseason. He re-signed Rashid Shaheed and Josh Jobe, along with a group of valuable supporting players like Josh Jones and Brady Russell. The new pieces all project to be backups – Noah Igbinoghene and Rodney Thomas in the secondary and Emauel Wilson in the backfield.
Schneider still has money to spend, but he is wise not to waste it simply for the sake of adding bodies. Still, here are five players who remain available and who would be worth an investment in the coming season.
Joel Bitonio, Guard
Bitonio is one of two players on this list who step into a starting role on day one. Even at 34, the five-time All-Pro would be the best interior lineman on the team. In addition to his on-field ability, he would serve as an outstanding role model for the Seahawks contingent of young offensive linemen.
Bitonio has played with Cleveland his entire career. Age has slowed him a bit, but he remains a premier player at his position. Though a return to Cleveland is not out of the question, it seems that after 12 seasons, both he and the Browns have determined it is time for them both to move on.
Coming to a Super Bowl contender would have to hold a certain appeal for a player who has been trapped in Cleveland for more than a decade.
Given his age, Bitonio will not command a salary reflective of his talent. Schneider could afford to bring him in on a short-term deal to try to keep the offense operating at a high level. His arrival would likely signal the end of Anthony Bradford’s time in Seattle, but that move seems to be in the cards for next season already.
The only downside is that Bitonio has played on the left side of the line his entire career. That is where Grey Zabel plays. One of them would have to move. If that seems like a reasonable possibility (and Zabel could move to center as well as to right guard), Bitonio could be a very valuable short-term addition.
Jauan Jennings, Wide receiver
Jennings is the other immediate starter. The manner in which he would split time with Shaheed, Cooper Kupp, and Tory Horton as complements to Jaxon Smith-Njigba needs to be worked out. But that’s a good problem to have.
Jennings would provide something that the receiver room currently lacks. He is a physically imposing receiver. Horton and Shaheed have speed, and Kupp has savvy. JSN has it all. But none of them are as physically dominant as the 6’3”, 212-pound Jennings. He has improved his route running over the course of his five seasons, and getting to study under JSN and Kupp could only build on that.
The added bonus is that Seattle would be snatching him away from San Francisco. The 49ers, as mentioned, have already moved on. They may have determined that the volatile Jennings is too much of an emotional volcano to be a reliable receiver. But if I’m Seattle, I would love to see what a fired-up Jauan Jennings would do a couple of times a year against his former team.
Ben Bartch, Guard
And as long as we’re contemplating poaching players from Kyle Shanahan, why not bolster the interior of the line with a promising young guard? The 6’6”, 315-pound Bartch was Jacksonville’s fourth-round pick back in 2020.
He seemed poised to break into the starting lineup with San Francisco last year, but it didn’t work out that way. He suffered through multiple injuries that put a halt to any momentum he seemed to be building in the Bay.
Bartch is healthy again and could be a valuable addition to any team seeking quality depth on the line. Unlike the first two players mentioned, Bartch would not arrive as a starter, but he has that upside potential. The Seahawks have invested in a lot of young interior linemen over the past several seasons, but they are looking for someone to emerge to challenge Bradford.
Is Bartch better than Christian Haynes or Bryce Cabeldue? That remains to be seen. Josh Jones can play guard in a pinch, and Olu Oluwatimi could slide into the role as well. The Seahawks don’t necessarily need Ben Bartch. But he would be a very good player to plug into the depth chart.
Xavier Woods, Safety
Seattle lost starting safety Coby Bryant to free agency. They brought in Rodney Thomas to help fill that void. The fact is, with Julian Love, Nick Emmanwori, and Ty Okada still in-house, safety would not appear to be a real position of need. But the Dark Side is at its best when several of its sensational playmaking athletes can freelance. That applies to both Emmanwori and Love at the back end.
To do that, Mike Macdonald and Aden Durde need steady safeties who can move around when Emmanwori comes on a blitz or Love reads a deep shot and drifts out of position to cover it. The veteran Xavier Woods can do that. He turns 31 this Summer and his best days may be behind him, but he still is a very solid all-around safety who has performed in the box and deep.
He was injured late last season, but if his hamstring is healthy, he would provide solid veteran support for Seattle’s hyper-talented secondary/
Chuck Clark, Safety
Everything I just said about Xavier Woods applies to Chuck Clark. What’s more, Mike Macdonald is very familiar with him after their many years together in Baltimore. (Woods joined Dallas just after Durde left the Cowboys and then departed just before he returned. Durde probably has a very good read on Woods. But Macdonald knows Clark even better.)
Clark is very good against the run. Both Okada and Love are better playing deep, so having an additional safety who is comfortable in the box would contribute to the flexibility that is at the heart of Seattle’s defense.
Both Clark and Woods would likely come in with a low-cost, one-year contract. If one of the younger safeties on the squad outperforms them in camp, so be it. It is an inexpensive investment that could provide valuable snaps this season.
Schneider is going to add three players in the first three rounds of the draft who are expected to contribute in 2026. Even with the losses of Kenneth Walker and Boye Mafe, Seattle will field a formidable squad this season. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be better. The first wave of free agency may be over, but John Schneider’s work is never done.