Seattle Seahawks

With $22.8M in current room, nearly zero dead money at $1.8M, and $56.3M projected next year, Seattle's cap situation is one of the cleanest in the league.

23 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Four starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Seven picks this cycle including three first-rounders over the next three years gives Seattle genuine ammunition to accelerate the rebuild at any position of need.

• 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 the receiver and secondary pairing, where Smith-Njigba and Witherspoon both rate among the best at their positions, while the interior offensive line, particularly center, is the weakest spot on the depth chart.

• Chigh

  Jalen Sundell (69 overall) starts at center, ranking 30th among starters league-wide, making this the most glaring line weakness on the roster.

• RGhigh

  Anthony Bradford (72 overall) holds the starting job but ranks 28th at the position, so upgrading the right guard pairing with Beau Stephens behind him is a priority.

• SAMhigh

  Tyrice Knight (75 overall) starts at SAM but the position ranks 11th of 13 in starter quality, signaling a need for a legitimate difference-maker at the spot.

• TEhigh

  A.J. Barner (75 overall) leads a tight end room ranked 28th in starter quality and 19th in depth, making it one of the most underpowered position groups on the team.

• REDGEmedium

  Derick Hall starts at REDGE but the position ranks 25th in starter quality, with Dante Fowler Jr. deep into the twilight of his career in the backup role.

• HBlow

  Zach Charbonnet (83 overall) gives Seattle a capable starter, but the position ranks 21st overall and the depth behind him is unproven.

• 78Jarran ReedDTJarran Reed is the third DT on the depth chart behind Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II, and cutting him frees $3.5M against $3.9M in dead money, making it a cap-neutral move that opens a roster spot.Frees $3.5M · $3.9M dead
• 67Eric SaubertTEEric Saubert sits third on the TE depth chart at just 67 overall, and releasing him frees $1.7M while leaving only $470K in dead money.Frees $1.7M · $470.0K dead
• 68Drew LockQBDrew Lock is the second quarterback behind Darnold at 68 overall, and cutting him frees $2.3M against only $500K in dead money, a net gain that can be redirected to a position of need.Frees $2.3M · $500.0K dead
• 76Uchenna NwosuREDGEUchenna Nwosu does not appear in the REDGE starting rotation above Derick Hall or Dante Fowler Jr., and his release frees $11.0M against $9.0M in dead money, making the timing impactful but the savings real.Frees $11.0M · $9.0M dead
• 57Patrick O'ConnellMIKEPatrick O'Connell is the second-string MIKE at just 57 overall behind Ernest Jones IV, and cutting him frees $1.1M with zero dead money, a clean and costless roster upgrade.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead

Seattle hands the franchise-mode player one of the most complete rosters in the game, headlined by Jaxon Smith-Njigba at 99 overall and a secondary anchored by Devon Witherspoon and young Star safety Nick Emmanwori. Sam Darnold at 86 overall gives the offense a functional starter, and Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas form a reliable tackle duo protecting him. The concern on offense is interior line depth, where the center and right guard spots rank near the bottom of the league. Defensively, Leonard Williams is the engine of the line but is entering the later stage of his career, and DeMarcus Lawrence is even further along, making edge and interior succession a real priority heading into the middle seasons. The cap picture is healthy, with $22.8M in room now and $56.3M projected next year, and three first-round picks over the next three draft cycles give the front office real ammunition to fill holes and develop the young core of Smith-Njigba, Emmanwori, and Byron Murphy II into perennial contributors.

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.