When you win big in the NFL, you lose players. That‘s the nature of success in a salary cap era. On the first day of legal tampering, the Seattle Seahawks saw three integral pieces of its Super Bowl-winning squad agree to deals with new teams.
Barring any last-second surprises, edge rusher Boye Mafe, running back Kenneth Walker III, and safety Coby Bryant will sign contracts on Wednesday with other teams totaling almost 150 million dollars in total compensation.
There was good news, too. John Schneider was able to hold onto receiver/returner Rashid Shaheed and cornerback Josh Jobe. But it won’t be easy replacing the three departures. In two of the three cases, Schneider will almost certainly turn first to in-house options to pick up the slack. In the third, he may have to look outside the organization.
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This is a rapidly evolving situation, and the Seahawks’ GM still has cash on hand. So he may indeed go outside at any or all of the positions. But for now, let’s take a look at how Monday’s deals are likely to affect the current Seahawks.
Mafe may be the easiest player to replace. That is not a knock on the 2022 second-round pick’s production over his four years in Seattle. It is more a result of how effectively Schneider and Mike Macdonald have built this defense.
Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde were able to platoon four quality edge rushers throughout the season. DeMarcus Lawrence quickly established himself as the alpha of the group after arriving from Dallas in last year’s free agency frenzy.
But Uchenna Nwosu and Derick Hall are both plus edges. In 2025, Nwosu played a few more snaps than Mafe and Hall played a few less, but all were effective.
Hall figures to move into a more prominent role. As he showed in the Super Bowl, where he had his way with Patriots left tackle Will Campbell, he may be the best pure pass rusher of the bunch. If he develops the other parts of his game – playing the run and dropping into coverage – he could be special.
Nwosu has already shown what he can do, piling up 9.5 sacks in his first year with the Hawks back in 2022. After a couple of injury-plagued seasons, he bounced back nicely last year with another seven sacks and 23 total pressures.
Given Lawrence’s age and Nwosu’s injury history, Macdonald will certainly be looking for more depth on the edge. That is where youngsters Jared Ivey and Connor O’Toole should get their chances to step into the rotation. Both showed enough talent to stick with a very competitive defense after being signed as undrafted free agents last year.
Bryant's loss will be felt more than Hawks fans may expect. But Ty Okada played a lot of football for Seattle in 2025 and proved he deserved a spot, perhaps as a starter, in the NFL.
The extremely athletic Montana State grad proved he could play either safety role, though he is closer to Julian Love than to the departing Bryant. Both Love and Okada may be better playing deeper, in a typical free safety position. But both are athletic enough to move around.
Besides, Macdonald still has his Swiss Army Knife, Nick Emmanwori, to fill in wherever needed. On the other end of the spectrum, practice squad player Maxen Hook might get a look if Macdonald wants someone who can play a little closer to the line.
Walker is the toughest player to replace. Assuming Zach Charbonnet makes a full recovery from his torn ACL, Seattle will have his strong, powerful running. But they have no one who can match Walker’s big-play ability. K9 provided a rare blend of speed and power.
The closest back Seattle has to Walker is Kenny McIntosh, who is also recovering from a torn ACL. McIntosh has mostly been confined to special teams during his three years in Seattle, but he has shown flashes as a runner and receiver in the few chances he has gotten.
There’s a very big gap between the potential of a player like McIntosh – or George Holani and Velus Jones, Jr. – and the proven production of Walker. Even if Charbonnet is 100 percent by opening day, new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury will need a more explosive back to pair with him. And there’s no real guarantee when Charbonnet will be back at full strength.
This is the spot where Schneider will almost certainly look outside the organization for help, either through free agency or in the draft. He is not going to find another Kenneth Walker, but he may be able to find a runner who is more explosive than anyone currently on the roster.