Over the 15 years that John Schneider has been the general manager of the Seattle Seahawks, he has proven that he isn't afraid to make a splashy move. While not all the deals work out (see: Jamal Adams), many do. He also tends to zig when other GMs zag.
This is why the Pittsburgh Steelers' current meltdown might work to Seattle's advantage. Pittsburgh was bounced out of the playoffs in the Wild Card Round by the Houston Texans. It was the Steelers' seventh straight loss in the postseason. The day after the game, head coach Mike Tomlin decided to resign.
Pittsburgh could look to make a number of changes as a bit of a culture reset. The team will definitely need a new quarterback because Aaron Rodgers looked old by the end of the season. Maybe the Steelers decide to move some pricey players as well.
Seattle Seahawks should kick the tires on a trade for the Steelers' TJ Watt
The dream would be that Pittsburgh makes edge rusher TJ Watt available, and John Schneider makes an offer that the Steelers like. While the Seahawks' edge rush group is a good one, it might also be bound to change this coming offseason. Boye Mafe is a free agent, and Uchenna Nwosu has a cap hit of $20 million but has an iffy injury history in the two seasons before 2025.
Seattle could even keep Nwosu, a good player and a great human being, but see Mafe walk in free agency. Replacing Mafe with Watt would be an upgrade because while Watt's numbers were lower than in previous seasons when he was healthy, they were still better than Mafe's.
Plus, the assumption is that on a new team, and one with real Super Bowl aspirations, Watt would be reinvigorated and be extra motivated to destroy opposing offenses. He is a four-time First-Team All-Pro. Since he is 31 years old, though, the Steelers might not get multiple high draft picks in return for him.
The edge rusher is worth a first-round pick, surely, and maybe a veteran player. The issue for the Seattle Seahawks is that they already have a small number of draft picks in 2026. Seattle has its picks in rounds one through three, and then a selection in round six.
Would Schneider want to leave himself with only three picks? That didn't work well in 2021 when the team had only three, and none of the picks worked out.
Pittsburgh would be shaving $32 million off its salary cap by trading Watt, but the Seahawks could afford the edge rusher's salary. Seattle is projected to have the fourth-most cap room in the 2026 offseason ($76,616,458).
While Seattle needs to decide whether to try to re-sign Kenneth Walker, Mafe, Riq Woolen, and others, trading for TJ Watt isn't a tough decision. He's had 11.5 sacks or more in a season six times in his career. He is an elite player, and he would make an already elite Seahawks defense even better.