The Seattle Seahawks did something this season they had done only once before in franchise history: Win a Super Bowl. The team has a great roster with a mix of young players and veterans. The issue is that many of the younger players just finished the final year of their rookie contracts.
This means that general manager John Schneider has his work cut out for him this offseason. He has to prioritize who to re-sign and who to reluctantly let go. Running back Kenneth Walker? He needs to come back. Safety Coby Bryant? Depends on his price in free agency.
Some players have clearer answers on whether the team should have them back or not. Three of them are below. One isn't even a free agent.
3 Seattle Seahawks players who might have played their final game for the Super Bowl champion
Overall, though, it's difficult to pinpoint players for blame. The Seahawks won a championship. Let's hope it happens again in 2026.
Cornerback Riq Woolen
Woolen needed to have a career season in his walk year to make a lot of money in free agency. The Seahawks might have made him a priority, too, had he been brilliant, but in many ways, he had the worst season of his career.
He was called for a career-high 11 penalties (a couple came at the worst possible times in games), and allowed a career-high passer rating at 93.8. To make matters worse, he allowed three touchdown passes in the NFC Championship and Super Bowl combined. He might have been mostly solid in those games, but giving up a long touchdown pass once a game is not good.
As all 12s know, he was also called for a terrible taunting penalty against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship, and it allowed LA to sustain a drive. On the next play, quarterback Matthew Stafford threw over Woolen for a TD. The cornerback's mercurial attitude and inconsistent coverage need to go.
Offensive tackle Josh Jones
Jones isn't a bad player. He saw action in Weeks 16 through 18 when starting left tackle Charles Cross had an injury, and Jones was pretty good. He gave up a couple of sacks and multiple pressures, but he was also going up against other teams' best rushers. Jones was solid.
The question is how healthy he can stay. He wouldn't have been able to be active early in the season with an injury, and in the playoffs, he had ankle and knee issues. At one point, undrafted rookie Amari Kight had to get reps (thankfully, Kight was good).
Jones has been an NFL backup for most of his career, but when given the opportunity to play in 2025, he could only stay healthy for a short time. If nothing else, a backup needs to be available when called upon, and Jones might not be able to be that.
Quarterback Jalen Milroe
Having Milroe here isn't meant as a swipe toward the rookie. In fact, for his sake, he probably should be playing elsewhere in 2026 and beyond. He was chosen in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft, likely with the hope he could sit for a year or two, and then potentially take over at QB1.
In training camp, he proved his immense athleticism could translate to the NFL, but he still needed to work on his passing accuracy. The team obviously doesn't trust him to throw in games yet, as the limited snaps he received early in the season only involved him running the ball. That didn't work well, however.
The problem for Milroe is that Sam Darnold played so well this season that he is likely to stay as the starter for many years to come. This means Milroe has no path to play. The Seattle Seahawks need to add some draft picks for 2026. Trading Milroe might get one or two. Plus, Milroe would probably go to a team that would give him a chance to play sooner than in Seattle.