The Seattle Seahawks have 23 players who can hit free agency this offseason. Not all are restricted free agents, however. A couple are restricted and several others have an exclusive rights tag. For the restricted free agents (RFA), Seattle has the right of first refusal and can match any offer made. The exclude rights players (ERFA), Seattle can simply keep them or not as there is much another team can do to get them unless Seattle sets them free.
Seattle doesn’t have a lot of cap room currently. The amount they do have, which will still change quite a bit before free agency (likely by the Seahawks releasing some players currently under contract for next year) starts, is not even enough to pay for their 2024 draft picks right now. Clearly, that will not be the case by the time the draft happens.
But besides trying to potentially sign free agents from other teams, general manager John Schneider will have decisions on which of Seattle's own free agents to try to bring back. Those decisions, of course, may be limited to what cap room Seattle has. But here is what they should be thinking.
The Seahawks have to find a way to bring back these gems
Defensive lineman Leonard Williams
Williams came over at the trade deadline this season and did not disappoint. He was without a doubt the Seahawks best defensive lineman from Week 7 through the rest of the year. Seattle also gave up a second-round pick to get him so that alone should be enough to force Seattle to find the money they need to re-sign the Big Cat. At only 29 years old, Williams should have at least three good years left.
Linebacker Bobby Wagner
Wagner has left Seattle once, of course. He played for the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 after Seattle released him the previous offseason. Wagner led the NFL in tackles this year. While he is not great in coverage, he is still terrific at just about everything else. He also shouldn’t be too expensive to re-sign.
Linebacker Jordyn Brooks
Brooks was just below Pro Bowl level this year and could be even better next season and beyond after fully recovering from a band knee injury he suffered late in the 2022 season. Seattle’s defense struggles overall, but is worse when Brooks is not on the field. He should part of the Seahawks defense for the next five years.
Seahawks should re-sign these players
Offensive tackle Jake Curhan
Curhan will never be a long-term starter in the NFL but he is fine in a pinch. He isn't great in pass protection but he is fine as a run blocker. Plus, Seattle probably needs to run the ball more.
Defensive end Mario Edwards, Jr.
Edwards has probably undersold himself, or his agent has, for his entire career. He has rarely made $2 million a season but for a veteran who is good against the run and supplies occasional pass rush - he has had at least 2 sacks a year in seven straight seasons and 5 or more quarterback hits in every year of his nine-year career except two - he should get paid more. All that said, he likely won't be expensive again next year and Seattle should re-sign him and make him a part of the defensive line rotation.
Cornerback Mike Jackson (RFA)
Jackson being a restricted free agent almost guarantees he will be back in Seattle. The Seahawks can match any offer he gets and since Jackson went from a 2022 starter to being on the bench to begin 2023 probably makes him less desirable. But Jackson was graded as the 20th-best cornerback in the league this year, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). In six games this year, he allowed less than 10 yards a reception when he was targeted.
Defensive tackle Myles Adams (ERFA)
Adams might struggle with injuries from time to time, but he also probably does not get enough playing time. In limited snaps this year he still graded as the Seahawks' third-best defensive lineman, according to PFF. He might never ever be much more than a rotational run-stopper but that is what Seattle needs.
Seahawks should let these players walk away
Linebacker Devin Bush
I was fairly indifferent about Bush prior to Week 18. He was a healthy scratch in many games this year. While he was in on 17 tackles in Week 17 - a game where the Seahawks literally got run over much of the contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers - only 4 of those were solo tackles. But in Week 18, Bush hit Cardinals Kyler Murray after Murray had given himself up by sliding and Bush celebrated the hit. Pete Carroll should have walked out on the field and told Bush then and there that he had been released.
Guard Phil Haynes
Haynes has simply been too injured over his five-year career with Seattle to be counted on moving forward. He also no longer has a starting spot as Anthony Bradford has taken that. Haynes should leave no matter how little it would take to re-sign him.
Center Evan Brown
Brown's biggest issue with re-signing in Seattle isn't that he wasn't consistently good in 2023 (Brown was graded as the 30th-best center in the NFL this season, per PFF). It is that the Seahawks drafted Olu Oluwatimi in the 2023 NFL draft. Oluwatimi should be the starter moving forward.
Offensive lineman Jason Peters
Peters retired once and he will probably just do that again. It was an honorable move for him to come out of retirement to try to help the Seahawks this year, though. He just wasn't very good and an injury risk.
Cornerback Artie Burns
I don't dislike Burns. He is just never going to be close to a starter. The Seahawks need to find more cornerback in the 2024 NFL draft and release Burns.
Linebacker Darrell Taylor (RFA)
Taylor does one thing decently and that is pressure opposing quarterbacks, but he does that extremely inconsistently. In 2023, Taylor had a career-low in sacks and quarterback hits. His reps should be taken by someone who plays the run better and that literally might be anyone else in the world.
Linebacker Jon Rhattigan (RFA)
I mean this as no offense to Rhattigan. He plays hard, but he is not going to help much more than on special teams. He is taken up a roster spot that could be filled by someone who is more versatile.
Tight end Brady Russell (ERFA), offensive lineman McClendon Curtis (ERFA), offensive lineman Raiqwon O’Neal (ERFA), Linebacker Josh Omujiogu (ERFA)
These players are easily re-signable for Seattle, but none are likely to play meaningful snaps. There is no reason to keep them near the roster or on the practice squad if that is the case.
Seattle should catch them from leaving, if possible
Quarterback Drew Lock
Lock did fairly well in limited snaps this season. He certainly wasn't as bad as some feared (nor was he as good as some hoped, either). Lock threw for 3 touchdown passes against 3 interceptions, completed 63.2 percent of his passes, and had a quarterback rating of 81.2. Not exactly numbers that come anywhere close to Geno Smith, but Lock would be a good backup to Smith again in 2024.
Guard Damien Lewis
Once again Lewis was graded as the best Seahawks offensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus. But his grade did slip from the top 20 in 2022 to 38 this year. Lewis allowed 29 total pressures including 3 sacks as opposed to 19 and 3, respectively, last year. He simply might be out of the price range for Seattle once Lewis hits the open market.
Tight end Noah Fant and tight end Colby Parkinson
I am grouping the tight end together. Both Fant and Parkinson were probably underserved in the Seahawks' offense and not used enough. Both have the ability to catch and run and neither was put in a position to do that very often. If I were either of those two, I would leave and go to an offense that uses me better. I am just hoping they return to Seattle and that whoever the Seahawks offensive coordinator is getting them more targets.
Running back DeeJay Dallas
Dallas didn't do much running the ball this year, but he proved to be a decent kick and punt returner. If he comes back, he could hold down those two jobs for several seasons. But he might choose to go somewhere that he can run the ball more.