As usually happens to Super Bowl-winning teams, the Seattle Seahawks sat and watched while everybody else in the league tried to steal their secret formula. They've lost four key contributors to their title-winning season, and they have yet to make a big splash of their own.
Notably, that may not change any time soon. As much as the Seahawks are sitting on a ton of cash to spend, general manager John Schneider will probably want to think things through. This isn't a deep free-agent class, and in some cases, the Seahawks might be better off staying put.
That's, of course, because of the league's milenary and somewhat secret compensatory pick formula. Per Spotrac, the Seahawks have only four draft picks in 2026, and they might get a big haul in 2027 with all the prominent players they lost in free agency.
The Seattle Seahawks' compensatory pick formula will be crucial to their strategy
Nick Korte of Over The Cap projects the Seahawks may get a fourth-round pick for OLB Boye Mafe and fifth-round selections for running back Kenneth Walker III, safety Coby Bryant, and cornerback Riq Woolen.
Granted, that can all change, and the Seahawks wouldn't be entitled to that compensation if they were to sign a big-name free agent to replace any of those players.
As such, Schneider and the decision-makers might be more inclined to sign players who were released as salary-cap casualties since they won't count toward the compensatory pick formula. They can also make a run at non-tendered players.
Of course, that's not to say that the Seahawks will only consider the compensatory pick formula when adding a player. If there's an opening for a star, they will most definitely pull the trigger, but again, this just isn't that type of draft class, and the biggest dominoes in free agency have already fallen.
That leaves the Seahawks with low-tier options to replace the reigning Super Bowl MVP, including Sean Tucker, Emmanuel Wilson, and Emari Demercado. Those can all be placeholders while Zach Charbonnet is on the shelf.
According to Over The Cap, the Seahawks had $42.9 million in available cap space. That should have been more than enough to replace all the guys who left, and also add a star if they feel like doing so. That, however, isn't the way John Schneider usually operates, and he's not going to make a big move just for the sake of it.
The Seahawks will look pretty much the same as they did last season, even without Walker and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. As such, the fans had better not have high expectations for the next couple of weeks and free agency.