Most of the Seattle Seahawks roster in 2026 will know what it feels like to win a Super Bowl. The only players who won't are the free agents signed from other teams who have never won a title. That means, for the most part, the roster knows how much hard work goes into winning a championship.
That also implies that even while head coach Mike Macdonald's team has gone through some expected attrition, players who might not have been key to the title run, or players who need to be even more productive than they were last season, understand that to keep their jobs, they need to continue to get better.
The only way for Seattle to keep its championship window open is for starters to be better than they have been or for previous backups to step into key roles and be productive. That is the case with most of the players below. For one, he might just need to show he can be good enough to play elsewhere.
These four Seattle Seahawks could make a lot of money in 2026 (or lose a lot)
Quarterback Jalen Milroe
Milroe might need to be moved to a different team for his own sake. He's, by all accounts, a good guy with the right approach to the game, wanting to get better as quickly as possible while attempting to master the fundamentals. Still, he has no path to starting for the foreseeable future.
In 2026, he will still be QB3 behind starter Sam Darnold and veteran backup Drew Lock. Darnold, who obviously isn't going anywhere soon after leading his team to a Super Bowl victory this past season, will only be 29 years old at the start of next season, and is signed for two more seasons with a likely extension beyond.
The only way Milroe has any chance of getting real reps is if he proves he's leaped from last year in terms of mastering the fundamentals, and then applies that to training camp and the preseason. Ultimately, the quarterback will be better served by being traded to a team where he has a chance to play in real games. That is the only way he is going to truly improve.
Right guard Anthony Bradford
This one is more of a risk. Whatever the Seahawks are seeing from Bradford, they clearly believe in him because Bradford keeps starting every year. Seattle hasn't aggressively pursued a player who could replace Bradford, either. Christian Haynes obviously isn't that guy.
Maybe Seattle takes an interior lineman in the NFL draft, but the team currently has only four picks and only one after round three. That means general manager John Schneider would need to choose a guard relatively early again (the team took left guard Grey Zabel in the first round in 2025), and that seems unlikely.
The right guard has one year left on his rookie contract. He doesn't improve in all facets of the game (he allowed 38 QB pressures in 2025, for instance); he needs to be let go for the betterment of the offensive line overall. He might just not have the athleticism to be a very good guard.
Running back Zach Charbonnet
Charbonnet is somewhat in a tough spot. Had he not torn his ACL in the Divisional Round against the San Francisco 49ers, he would absolutely be the starter at running back in Week 1. But he did suffer that injury, and that might mean he doesn't return until later in the season. He would need to immediately be productive even then.
The running back has to prove he can be RB1 for the first time next season while also showing he is fully recovered from a terrible injury. He can control neither because he was hurt. To make matters worse, he is entering the final season of his rookie deal in 2026.
In other words, the running back has to have a lot go right in a short amount of time. Maybe some potential suitors will be scared of signing him in 2027 because of his ACL, and he returns to the Seahawks, but let's just hope he is healthy by Week 1 and magnificent for the entire season.
Linebacker Drake Thomas
Thomas is entering a season as a projected starter for the first time. He replaced Tyrice Knight in Week 4 last season and got better as the season grew older. Thomas does need to work on his tackling, however. He whiffed on 17.1 percent of his tackle attempts last season, and that's an awful number for an inside linebacker.
He was excellent in pass coverage (his quarterback rating allowed was just 74.6, and he didn't give up a touchdown), and got 18 quarterback pressures. As the Seattle Seahawks don't blitz much, that last number being as high as it was is a testament to Thomas's ferocity and speed.
He has to be very good next to Ernest Jones next season, too, though. He was re-signed for two more seasons this offseason, but the second year of the contract has no guaranteed money, and the team could save $3.7 million of Thomas's $4.45 million cap number by releasing him.
In other words, he will need to prove he can be good for the second year in a row to earn his third season as the starter.