The Seattle Seahawks enter the 2025 offseason with many questions and, likely, not enough answers. Yet. What will the team do in free agency, and what will the team do in the draft? Let's start with the first problem.
Seattle has no money to spend this offseason which means the team will have to re-work some contracts or release some expensive players. This might mean wide receiver Tyler Lockett, who has a cap hit greater than $30 million, might need to go. So could edge rusher Dre'Mont Jones.
If Seattle does move on from pricey veterans, their replacements might need to come in the draft. That is a huge risk. Another risk is keeping the following five players around in hopes they have some of their best seasons in 2025.
Seahawks players who must silence their critics next season
Quarterback Geno Smith
Let's assume Smith will be back. Sure, the team could save $25 million by releasing him, but then, where would the team go from there? Backup Sam Howell surely showed no potential in limited time this season that he could be a full-season starter next year. Plus, even though Smith's cap hit is about $44 million that does not rank in the top eight of the league.
Still, Smith's final year under contract is next year. If general manager John Schneider has any inkling that Smith will not be QB1 for the next several seasons, then he will not extend the quarterback. In other words, Smith has a one-season prove-it deal with the Seahawks to show he deserves to still be with the Seahawks in 2026.
Running back Kenneth Walker III
Walker's 2024 season was a waste. Due to injuries, he played in his fewest games, and he also had his lowest yards per average carry (3.7) of his three-year career. It is not like Seattle's offensive line was much better in 2022. Walker was able to do more with the same kind of O-line efficiency.
In 2025, the running back has to stay healthier (availability is a talent, too), and find ways to move the piles forward when he does get stopped immediately at the line. Zach Charbonnet has done that, though he did not get the chance to do more because Seattle inconsistently ran the ball. Walker has to have the 2025 season he portended in 2022 or he likely will not be back the year after.
Wide receiver DK Metcalf
What to do with DK. He is clearly physically gifted with size, speed, and strength. What he lacks is either an inability or an unwillingness to run routes well. Three times (that we know of) Metcalf was the target of Geno Smith's passes that the receiver failed to cut his route sharply enough so that the defender was able to undercut the route and intercept the ball. Smith threw the ball to the place Metcalf should have been.
Metcalf is also now clearly Seattle's WR2 after the emergence of Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2024. Metcalf draws a lot of attention from a defense, and that allows JSN to work underneath, but Metcalf also costs his team turnovers. The final year of his deal is 2025, and he will probably get paid $30 or more a season beginning in 2026. He might not be worth that to the Seahawks.
Cornerback Riq Woolen
What a weird year Woolen had. He was very good in 2022, and he led the league in interceptions with six. In 2023, he got hurt in camp and then seemed to fear trying to help shut down the opponents' run game. In 2024, he was at times great in coverage and against the run, and then, for long stretches, he was not. He had a career-low in quarterback rating allowed (72.1), but he also missed 17.9 percent of his tackle attempts.
Woolen now just has one year left on his rookie contract and could be set for free agency in 2026. If he produces at a high level next season, he will earn a massive contract. If he doesn't, he will struggle to cling to a team.
Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu
There are some fans who might think that Seattle cannot move on from Uchenna Nwosu because the amount of dead cap involved would be too much. That is not correct. Sure, there the edge rusher carries $13,016,667 in dead cap, but he also brings $8,151,666 in cap savings. The last part is the most important. Plus, Seattle released Jamal Adams last offseason and he had far more dead money.
Nwosu just has not been able to stay healthy over the last two seasons. Out of 34 games, he has played in 12. He has three combined sacks in that time. He simply has not been productive enough to be worthy of a $21 million cap hit in 2025, but if the team chooses to keep him then he needs to be great next season.