The Seattle Seahawks just won the Super Bowl last season, which is something that all 12s know, but many other fanbases of NFL teams might need reminding of. The team was great, and that excellence shouldn't stop after one season. 2026 could be special, too.
After the season, though, and for better or worse in whatever happens, the team will have difficult decisions to make. Some reliable players might need to go, and that is the case for every team. The answers might just be more of a challenge to accept in Seattle.
Some players who are either facing a 2027 fifth-year option or entering the final year of their current deal in 2026 will need to be re-signed. That includes the Seahawks finding a way to sign cornerback Devon Witherspoon to an extension. The players below might not be so lucky.
Seattle Seahawks right guard Anthony Bradford
Bradford appears to be a certain choice not to get an extension, but then he has found his way to starting for the team for much of the previous three seasons. The Seattle Seahawks could be seeing something in him that fans aren't.
His overall play hasn't been good, and the team could do with an upgrade, but hasn't found one. It could be that right guard is not a highly valued spot for the organization, and knowing what they get from Bradford is understanding that his best is just good enough.
What's clear is that if Bradford leaves in free agency, the team still has to find his replacement. No player on the current roster is an obvious fit. Bradford might be the best the team can do with the money the Seahawks want to spend on right guard in the near future.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock
To be fair, Lock is probably one of the better examples of a backup quarterback in the league. He might not be any team's option for a long-term QB1, but he is a good guy in the locker room, supportive of the starter, and appreciativate for his situation. And in a pinch, Lock can likely win a few games.
The issue is that Drew Lock is in the way of progress for Seattle's third quarterback, 2025 third-round draft pick Jalen Milroe. Milroe deserves his chance to show what he can do as QB2, and if he doesn't work out, it isn't because he didn't have the chance.
Hopefully, Lock has a chance to go elsewhere and, unlike after he signed with the New York Giants in 2024, has a real chance to try for a starting gig. He's a good and nationally disrespected QB2, but one who should get a chance at a promotion elsewhere.
Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet
Charbonnet has been a solid running back for Seattle, but one maybe not truly be worthy of being a second-round draft pick. In the current NFL, a running back being chosen that high should develop into a true RB1. Charbonnet has never had the chance to do that with Kenneth Walker on the roster.
Unfortunately, entering the final year of his rookie deal, Charbonnet is rehabbing from his knee injury suffered in last season's playoffs. He might not be able to return until December, at the earliest. By that point, the hope is that Jadarian Price will have earned his place as the long-term starter for Seattle.
Paying for Charbonnet to come back, unless the amount is quite low, shouldn't happen. The team can find another running back in the 2027 draft to replace Charbonnet, with the hopes that that back becomes a quality RB2 the way Charbonnet was.
Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu
Perhaps the toughest part of this list isn't the on-field production of the players; it's that, at least for the last three, they are all very good human beings, and that matters in the locker room. Nwosu is a leader and great in the community. If he stays healthy for much of the season, he deserves to be awarded a new short-term deal.
The issue is that, except for 2025, Nwosu has had his injury issues with the team, and he will turn 30 years old during the coming season. That is still young enough to be productive for a few seasons, but also a time when many players begin to diminish a great deal.
Nwosu could be caught up in a change for the Seattle Seahawks. Other fellow edge rushers, DeMarcus Lawrence and the recently signed Dante Fowler, are also past 30. The team could be looking at a massive revamp of the position, and younger players could push Nwosu out of his spot.
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