Are the Seattle Seahawks winning the 2025 offseason? The team very likely might be doing so. Sure, other teams, such as the New England Patriots, have signed a bunch of free agents, but smart moves are what matter most.
Seattle's offense is going to look different next season. The offensive coordinator, starting quarterback, and two of the top three receivers have all been changed. The changes made look promising, but who knows until the real games begin next season?
A week into free agency, who are some winners and losers as far as Seattle's moves? Most are positives. Two are no longer with the team.
Winners and losers for the Seattle Seahawks through the first week of free agency
Winner: General manager John Schneider
This is the offseason where Schneider must prove his real value. Between 2010 and 2023, Pete Carroll was really the guy in charge in Seattle as the coach/Vice President of Football Operations had final roster control. Last offseason, Schneider was figuring out how to make all those decisions himself while also getting a first-time head coach acclimated to the job.
In turn, Seattle had a bad offseason last year. Few of the draft picks proved to be immediately impactful, and all of the free agent acquisitions did not pan out. But Schneider has made some tough decisions this offseason and tried to turn those into positives for the team.
If Seattle turns into a contender next year, it will be due to Schneider. He chose to bring in Sam Darnold and get Cooper Kupp to sign. Most importantly, he trusts Klint Kubiak to take those pieces and make the offense more efficient. Let's just hope Schneider is not done trying to fix the offensive line.
Loser: Wide receiver DK Metcalf
Rash decisions are often not the best ones. Metcalf decided he wanted to leave Seattle after the team was not working out a contract extension, but Metcalf was rumored to want to go to a team with a better quarterback situation than Seattle, a warm-weather climate, and a team closer to competing for a Super Bowl. Enjoy the Pittsburgh Steelers, Metcalf!
Pittsburgh is not a bad team, but they are no closer to winning a championship than the Seahawks, and likely less so. They have no quarterback in place, and even when they do, there is no guarantee they will be as good as Darnold. Plus, Pittsburgh gets colder than Seattle.
At least for Metcalf, he got his extension of five years and $150 million. That is what he truly wanted, most likely.
Winner: Head coach Mike Macdonald
When Macdonald took the gig as head coach after the 2023 season, he knew he had a good scheme, but he might not have known how well the players he inherited could work the scheme. There was, after all, a transition period at linebacker last season, and the team rid itself of poor free agent acquisitions Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson and replaced them with Tyrice Knight and Ernest Jones IV.
Now, after knowing which players were a good fit in the scheme, including safety Coby Bryant, Seattle has brought back the key players from last year while also adding DeMarcus Lawrence. The coach likely wanted a team that was defense-first, and now he has it. Seattle and Schneider trusted Macdonald to improve the team, and now they have given him the tools to do it.
Loser: Wide receiver Tyler Lockett
Any chance of Lockett coming back to Seattle after he was released likely disappeared once the team signed Cooper Kupp. There is little money to spend specifically on a wide receiver, and Lockett would not have a clear place in the rotation. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is WR2, Kupp is WR2, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling appears to be WR3.
Lockett is not better than Kupp at this point, and he obviously is not as good as JSN, and he is smaller than MVS. If he wants to play, he might have an opportunity with the Las Vegas Raiders. Or, ideally for 12s anyway, Lockett could sign a one-day deal with Seattle and retire as a member of the Seahawks.
Winner: Seattle Seahawks fans
Look, all the moves Seattle made this offseason could go south. The truth is, though, the Seahawks needed to do something, and John Schneider was able to get trade value back for two players, Geno Smith and DK Metcalf, who were going to be extremely expensive beginning in 2026. Neither would have been happy if they didn't get an extension this offseason, and that could affect the locker room.
The team still needs to fix its offensive line, but overall, Seattle is likely to have a stronger locker room with leaders like Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp, and the defense should be even better. 12s might be watching a less explosive offense in 2025 but a better team overall. In other words, Seahawks fans should still be cheering for their favorite team into the playoffs next season.