The Seattle Seahawks once again did not make the playoffs. The team has now missed the postseason in three of the last four seasons. The issue is the team is never truly bad, but just not-good enough to make the playoffs. This makes it difficult to rebuild a team quickly.
Seattle will not have a high first-round 2025 NFL draft pick unless general manager John Schneider finds a way to move up in the draft. Instead, Seattle will pick midway through the round. This implies the team will not take a quarterback, at least not one who is expected to be immediately highly successful.
There will be some roaster changeover as always, though. Week 18 was the last game in a Seahawks uniform for many players. One of these might be a fan-favorite, while a few others 12s might be happy to see leave. One player not on the list below is quarterback Geno Smith. In all probability, he will return in 2025, though that could be his final year in Seattle.
Seven Seattle Seahawks who have probably played their final game with the team
Edge rusher Dre'Mont Jones
- Cap savings: $11,572,500
Jones' cap hit is actually $25 million next year, and there are few players in the league who play Jones' position who should make that kind of money. The hope was that after coming to Seattle in 2023 free agency Jones would become greatly impactful in a way that he never truly was with the Denver Broncos.
Instead, Jones is nearly the exact player he was in Denver. He isn't a bad player, but he is inconsistently productive and cannot be counted on game in and game out to be a disruptor.
Wide receiver Tyler Lockett
- Cap savings: $17 million
Lockett caught two key passes in Week 18 but he has diminished as far as importance in priority for quarterback Geno Smith and in the overall scheme. The receiver has also made more "business decisions" this season, where he tends to give himself up earlier than other receivers might have done. There is nothing wrong with that as a human being.
Still, Lockett's $30 million cap hit next year is too high for a wideout who is truly a WR3 and about to be 33 years old. He is a good person and a good player, but he is too expensive to keep at his current deal.
Offensive tackle George Fant
- Cap savings: $3.8 million
Fant has been missing most of the season. He was signed last offseason as a backup/fil-in starter for injured right tackle Abe Lucas, but then Fant was oft-injured himself. He also was not overly good when he did play. He is not worth his 2025 cap hit to keep around.
Safety Rayshawn Jenkins
- Cap savings: $5.4 million
Jenkins began the season as the starter and was not overly efficient. He then got injured and missed several games. In his place was Coby Bryant who was much more impactful and capable of creating turnovers. When Jenkins returned, he could not (nor should he have) regain his starting gig. Bryant was better for the defense overall.
The fact is that if Jenkins does return, he will only be a backup. His deal is too expensive for a backup safety. He needs to be let go.
Defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris
- Cap savings: $6.6 million
Robertson-Harris was a solid contributor as a rotational defensive tackle. He would certainly be worth keeping on the roster if he was only paid a couple of million dollars. $6 million is far too much. If he wants that then he will need to try the waters of free agency.
Edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu
- Cap savings: $8,481,666
Nwosu simply has not been healthy enough over the last two seasons to be counted on moving forward. This is especially true as Seattle needs to create some cap space and releasing Nwosu would save nearly $8.5 million. That seems too much to pass on given that the Seahawks have even younger edge rushers with Boye Mafe and Derick Hall.
Edge rusher Trevis Gipson
- Free agent in 2025
Who is Gipson? Does any 12 know? We will likely never know. He was more often a healthy scratch because he was not productive when he did play.
Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins
- Free agent in 2025
Hankins was everything 12s were promised. He was an inconsistent run-stopper who did not do much in terms of pass pressure. He is not a bad player, but Seattle should try to get younger along the defensive line (both Leonard Williams and Jarran Reed if he re-signs) are past 30 years old. The Seahawks need to draft Hankins' replacement.
Cornerback Tre Brown
- Free agent in 2025
Brown has been given the opportunity to be a starter at one outside cornerback spot a couple of times and has never been able to hold down the position. His quarterback rating allowed entering Week 18 was a ridiculously bad 139.6. Seattle might keep Josh Jobe and make him Brown's long-term replacement.
Safety K'Von Wallace
- Free agent in 2025
Wallace was only signed for one season, and after starter Jenkins was injured earlier in the season, Seattle rightfully decided to go with Coby Bryant rather than Wallace. Wallace was oft-injured himself and was more of a special teams player than much help on the defense.