The Seattle Seahawks have made several cuts over the past week, freeing up $41.6 million in cap space. Seattle now has money to spend in free agency and will be looking at trying to find value to fill empty roster spots. With an entirely new coaching staff, Seahawks GM John Schneider is going to meet with the new coaches to talk about where they can make improvements to the current roster.
Schneider has already started to shape this roster in new ways. Cutting S Quandre Diggs, S Jamal Adams, TE Will Dissly, and DT Brian Mone. After making cuts, Schneider's focus will now shift to finding players who fit the roster he and Mike Macdonald want to build. To accomplish this, Schneider will need to look at the Seahawks who are becoming free agents, as well as other free agents across the NFL.
There are several key positions that lack depth as the Seahawks head into free agency. They need to address the linebacker spot, as both Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks will be free agents this off-season. The Seahawks also need to address tight end, after cutting Will Dissly, and with Colby Parkinson and Noah Fant becoming free agents. Another position of need for Seattle, is safety, as Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams were released earlier this week.
Three relatively low-cost free agents the Seattle Seahawks should sign
These are just a few of the Seahawks' pressing position needs this off-season, as they head into free agency. With several positions to fill, John Schneider will look to leave no stone unturned, as he begins to build this roster for the Mike Macdonald era.
Given the amount of positions that need to be addressed, Schneider will need to do what he can to find players for the right price. Here are three players who the Seahawks could sign for a bargain:
Free agent target No. 1 - Safety Geno Stone
The Baltimore Ravens just let safety Geno Stone become a free agent. Could the Seahawks reunite him with head coach Mike Macdonald? Stone played for Macdonald for two seasons in Baltimore and was quite productive in 2023. He had seven interceptions last year, along with nine passes defensed, and 68 total tackles. Stone has made a name for himself after being selected as a seventh-round pick at 219th overall back in 2020.
Per Spotrac, Geno Stone's market value sits at $7.2 million a year with an expected contract of 3yrs/$21.6 million. With the money the Seahawks just saved after cutting Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams, Geno Stone looks like a potential bargain for the Seahawks at safety. Considering Seattle was paying Diggs an average of $13 million a year and Adams $17.6 million a year. With Stone's knowledge of Macdonald's defense, the Seahawks should not pass up the opportunity to sign him.
There are several safeties on the free agent market this off-season who were cut from their teams that Seattle could sign in addition to Stone. Not only did the Seahawks cut safeties Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, but also Justin Simmons (was cut by Denver), Jordan Poyer (got released by the Bills), and Kevin Byard (was let go by the Eagles). In total, over $100 million in safeties have been cut this off-season, which means the Seahawks can find other bargains on top of signing Geno Stone. If they feel the need to add more depth to the position.
Free agent target No. 2 - Linebacker Bobby Wagner
The Seahawks received good production from veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner this past season. He led the league in tackles with 183 tackles in 2024 and was a force for the Seahawks in the run game. The Seahawks were able to get Bobby Wagner for less than market value in 2023 because the LA Rams were paying $3 million of his contract after cutting him after the 2022 season. Seattle only had to pay Wagner $7 million with incentives in 2023 since the Rams still owed him money.
Now that Wagner is no longer receiving money from the Rams he might want a bigger contract from Seattle this off-season. Wagner had earned a five-year and $50 million contract with the Rams, with $20 million guaranteed, but played just one season for the Rams. Given his age, and struggles in the passing game, Wagner is probably not on the same level as a younger, more athletic linebacker such as Patrick Queen. Wagner's ability to make tackles and come up in the run game still should be rewarded though.
The Seahawks should aim to give Wagner a contract that is respectable for both sides. There is a good possibility for Seattle to bring Wagner back at a reasonable price. A contract in the $5-7 million range for one year with incentives feels right. Bringing Wagner back to Seattle would give the Seahawks a veteran presence in an otherwise young defense. Now that Quandre Diggs is gone, signing Wagner is both affordable and impactful for a defense full of young talent.
Free agent target No. 3 - Tight end Noah Fant
The Seahawks acquired tight end Noah Fant from the Denver Broncos as part of the Russell Wilson trade two years ago. He is now a free agent after starting each of the last two years for the Seahawks. Fant started every game for the Seahawks in 2023 at tight end and led all of Seattle's tight ends in receptions (32) and receiving yards (414). With the Seahawks letting go of Will Dissly, the Seahawks are going to need to at least re-sign one of their two pending free-agent tight ends.
Noah Fant and Colby Parkinson are both going to be free agents this off-season. The Seahawks are going to want to do everything they can to re-sign them this off-season. Both Fant and Parkinson are expected to earn about the same amount of money, according to Spotrac, Fant expects to earn a contract for $6.2 million a year, and Parkinson about $6.6 million per year.
Seattle may prioritize Fant over Parkinson because Fant started every game for the Seahawks in 2023. Whereas Parkinson came off the bench most of 2023 and made just one start for the Seahawks last season. The Seahawks would love to bring both of these two tight ends back, but if they can only pick one, then Fant appears to be the tight end Seattle needs to re-sign. Fortunately for the Seahawks, both Fant and Parkinson should not expect to command top dollar if they bring them back to Seattle.