Seattle Seahawks

Seattle carries just $1.8M in dead money (30th-least in the league), holds $27.6M in current room, and is projected to balloon to $54.2M in space next year, making this one of the most financially flexible situations in the game.

34 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Four starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Seattle holds seven picks in the upcoming draft across six rounds, including a first-rounder, and three first-round picks over the next three years out of 20 total, giving the franchise genuine long-term draft leverage to fuel the rebuild behind its young core.

• Acquired: Round 7 from Falcons, this draft
• Traded away: Round 4 to Browns, this draft
• Traded away: Round 7 to Jets, next draft

The roster's top strength is its receiver room headlined by a 99-overall Jaxon Smith-Njigba, while the weakest spot is the interior offensive line, where the center and right guard starters both rank near the bottom of the league.

• Chigh

  Jalen Sundell starts at center but ranks 31st among starting centers league-wide, making this the most urgent upgrade on the roster.

• RGhigh

  Anthony Bradford is the starter at right guard but ranks 27th at the position, and the group behind him does not offer a significant upgrade.

• SAMhigh

  Tyrice Knight starts at SAM linebacker but grades out 14th among the 16 qualifying starters, leaving a clear gap at the position.

• FSmedium

  Bud Clark mans the free safety spot, but his starter rank of 26th league-wide and the shallow depth behind him signal a real need for investment.

• TEmedium

  A.J. Barner is the top tight end at 75 overall, ranking 26th at the position, and the depth options behind him are aging veterans on the cut list.

• REDGElow

  Derick Hall starts at right edge but sits 22nd among starters, though Seattle's depth rank of sixth gives some comfort that the group is serviceable.

• WILLlow

  Drake Thomas opens at WILL linebacker ranked 20th among starters, a low-priority concern given the team's solid depth rank of sixth at the position.

• 76Uchenna NwosuREDGEUchenna Nwosu sits second on the REDGE depth chart and frees $11.0M against $9.0M in dead money, making him a candidate to clear space if the savings justify absorbing the cap hit.Frees $11.0M · $9.0M dead
• 78Jarran ReedDTJarran Reed is third on the DT depth chart at 33 years old and in the twilight of his career, and releasing him frees $3.5M while leaving only $3.9M in dead money.Frees $3.5M · $3.9M dead
• 64Nick VannettTENick Vannett is 33 years old, buried behind two other tight ends on the depth chart, and cutting him is essentially free value since it costs $0 in dead money while freeing $1.1M.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead
• 66Drew LockQBDrew Lock is third on the quarterback depth chart at 66 overall, and releasing him frees $2.3M against just $500K in dead money, making him a straightforward roster trim.Frees $2.3M · $500.0K dead
• 67Eric SaubertTEEric Saubert is 32 and appears as a depth option across both the TE and FB depth charts, and his release frees $1.7M against only $470K in dead money.Frees $1.7M · $470.0K dead

Seattle hands the franchise player a legitimately exciting core. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a generational weapon at receiver, Devon Witherspoon is a shutdown corner in his prime, and Nick Emmanwori and Byron Murphy II are young ascending defenders with real upside. Sam Darnold is a functional starter at 87 overall, though his Star dev trait means the ceiling at quarterback is defined rather than limitless. The interior offensive line is the most immediate structural flaw, with the center and right guard spots ranking near the bottom of the league, and addressing that is the clearest path to making the offense function at the level its skill-position talent deserves. On the edge, DeMarcus Lawrence and Leonard Williams are high-impact veterans, but both are in the late stage of their careers, and building a succession plan behind them is a medium-term priority. With $27.6M in current cap room, a rollover of $15.0M, and next-year projected room jumping to $54.2M, Seattle has the financial tools to address needs in free agency while keeping the young core together for a genuine contention window.

The NFL awarded Seattle an expansion franchise in June 1974, and the Seahawks began play in 1976 alongside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They are the only NFL team to switch conferences twice in the post-merger era: they played their inaugural 1976 season in the NFC West, swapped with Tampa Bay to join the AFC West from 1977 through 2001, then returned to the NFC West in 2002 following league realignment. The team played in the Kingdome (1976-1999), Husky Stadium (2000-2001), and since 2002 at Lumen Field. Early success came under coach Chuck Knox in the 1980s, with Jim Zorn, Steve Largent, and Kenny Easley leading teams that reached the 1983 AFC Championship Game and posted a then-best 12-4 record in 1984. The Mike Holmgren era produced the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance: a 13-3 team in 2005 that lost Super Bowl XL to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The defining dynasty arrived under Pete Carroll (hired 2010) and QB Russell Wilson (drafted 2012). Powered by the "Legion of Boom" secondary and RB Marshawn Lynch, the Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII after the 2013 season, routing the Denver Broncos 43-8, then returned to Super Bowl XLIX but lost to the Patriots on the goal-line interception of Wilson by Malcolm Butler. After a rebuild that saw Wilson traded (2022) and Carroll's departure, Seattle hired Mike Macdonald in January 2024. In 2025 the team went a franchise-record 14-3, won the NFC West, secured the NFC's No. 1 seed, and captured Super Bowl LX over the New England Patriots (29-13), the franchise's second title. Weeks later, on February 18, 2026, the Paul Allen estate announced it would sell the team.