Category Archives: Contracts

Schneider talks Shaheed, running backs, taxes & more

John Schneider is pretty tight-lipped about Seahawks business, so it was hard to expect much out of him Thursday on his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports 710 AM.

But he offered a few nuggets on various topics: (1) how Seattle managed to keep Rashid Shaheed, (2) expectations for new additions Emanuel Wilson and Rodney Thomas, (3) the state of the running back position, (4) the Maxx Crosby saga and (5) the impact of the new millionaire tax in Washington.

Let’s break down the takeaways.

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Good first day as Hawks keep Shaheed, Jobe

The first day of free agency went better than expected for the Seahawks, who managed to keep both Josh Jobe AND Rashid Shaheed.

The latter was a nice surprise, as the Seahawks stunningly paid market value to keep their superstar return man. On the other side, they kept Jobe at their price – a little lower than his projected market value.

Shaheed was, in our estimation, Seattle’s top priority among its six big free agents. The fact that John Schneider and company chose to give him a three-year, $51 million deal ($17 million per year) is proof that they valued him very highly.

Jobe is back on a three-year deal as well, at $8 million a year.

As expected, the Hawks lost Kenneth Walker III, Coby Bryant and Boye Mafe. They all got paid very well. Mafe got a shocking $20 million a year from Cincinnati, Walker got over $14 million from Kansas City, and Bryant got over $13 million from Chicago.

Let’s take a look at how these moves impact the Seahawks’ roster and coming moves.

Continue reading Good first day as Hawks keep Shaheed, Jobe

The expected plan: Shaheed, trades, comp picks, extensions

With more intel and scuttlebutt emerging from the Combine, we think we have a good idea how John Schneider and the Seahawks are going to approach the new league year next week.

All signs point to Kenneth Walker III leaving Seattle along with Riq Woolen, Coby Bryant and Boye Mafe. Some fans are wondering why the team would not want to pay them top dollar when the Seahawks have the sixth-most salary cap space in the NFL: “Why not pay them all and run it back with the same crew?”

It is simple: The Seahawks have to plan beyond 2026, and they have better needs and desires for that cap space.

In a nutshell, here’s how we think it is going to play out:

Continue reading The expected plan: Shaheed, trades, comp picks, extensions

Hawks seem ready to replace Woolen, Bryant and Walker

While John Schneider is staying pretty tight-lipped, as usual, about the Seahawks’ personnel plans, we have heard enough scuttlebutt from the Combine to have a pretty decent idea what is going to happen over the next couple of weeks.

For one, the draft lines up very well where the Seahawks might need to replace some guys – and the Hawks have been meeting with a bunch of prospects who could fit.

Two, we now have a very good idea where Schneider and the team stand on Kenneth Walker III – it is basically what we expected.

Three, we know a bit more about how and why the Hawks probably are going to handle extensions for Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon.

Let’s break it all down, using intel offered up by ESPN’s Brady Henderson and others.

Continue reading Hawks seem ready to replace Woolen, Bryant and Walker

Combine week means time to get down to business

It’s Combine week. And you know what that means: While the scouts are checking out the draft prospects, a bunch of bigger business is being done behind the scenes in Indianapolis.

A year ago, John Schneider was listening to trade offers for DK Metcalf while trying to get a deal done with Geno Smith’s agents (and declining a trade offer from Pete Carroll’s Raiders).

A few days after the Combine, Schneider traded both Metcalf and Smith and quickly pivoted to Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp in the first week of free agency.

Nothing so drastic and dramatic is expected this week, although you can bet Schneider will check with the Raiders about Maxx Crosby again. He reportedly offered Smith and Metcalf for Crosby just before making the separate trades to Las Vegas and Pittsburgh a year ago.

Beyond that, Schneider and his guys will figure out the markets for Kenneth Walker III, Rashid Shaheed and their other free agents.

Last year, Schneider and team contract negotiator Joey Laine got both Ernest Jones IV and Jarran Reed re-signed just before the league year began. They surely hope to keep a couple more guys this time as well.

Here’s the latest.

Continue reading Combine week means time to get down to business

Savvy coaching moves, plus markets for Walker & others

The offseason comes fast for Super Bowl champs, but Mike Macdonald and John Schneider were ready for it.

The Super Bowl celebration is over, and Macdonald is already back to Chasing Edges with some new coaching hires. Meanwhile, in what is no surprise, the Seahawks apparently are not considering the franchise tag for Kenneth Walker III.

Let’s run down the intriguing coaching moves by Macdonald and then take a look at Walker’s situation and project the markets for Seattle’s other key free agents.

Continue reading Savvy coaching moves, plus markets for Walker & others

With Charbs out, will Hawks now need to overpay Walker?

When the news emerged early this week that Zach Charbonnet had been lost to an ACL injury, the first thought was: Who will be Kenneth Walker’s backup in the NFC title game? But the more long-term question is: Will the Seahawks now feel pressured to pay Walker more than they might have wanted to?

The answer to the first question was resolved when the Seahawks let George Holani begin practicing. He went on IR with a hamstring injury after the Week 12 win over Tennessee, but he said he has been healthy for several weeks now. So expect him to step in for Charbs as Walker’s rotational running mate against the Rams on Sunday.

With that determined, let’s look ahead to the offseason for a minute and see what might happen with the Hawks’ running back room.

Continue reading With Charbs out, will Hawks now need to overpay Walker?

JSN is earning a big payday — let’s look ahead to 2026

With every passing week that he helps the Seahawks notch another win, Jaxon Smith-Njigba makes himself a lot more money.

He had perhaps his best game of the season in a 30-24 win over Tennessee in Week 12, catching eight passes for a season-best 167 yards and scoring twice, including a season-long 63-yarder.

JSN set the franchise record for receiving yards in just the 11th game. His 1,313 yards are 10 more than DK Metcalf had in 16 games in 2020. JSN is on pace for 2,029 yards, which would break Calvin Johnson’s record of 1,964 from 2012 (in 16 games). JSN is just 0.4 yards per game behind Johnson’s pace through 12 weeks.

With JSN eligible for a contract extension after this season, it is time to start looking at what he will cost — and how it all fits with the rest of the roster.

Continue reading JSN is earning a big payday — let’s look ahead to 2026

Carroll’s return was Geno’s out as he felt ‘disconnect’ in Seattle

Without saying it out loud, Geno Smith basically confirmed what we always thought: Pete Carroll’s return to the NFL precipitated Smith’s departure from Seattle.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again (along with ESPN’s Brady Henderson): We think Smith very likely would still be in Seattle (under a new deal) if Carroll had not been hired by the Las Vegas Raiders.

Continue reading Carroll’s return was Geno’s out as he felt ‘disconnect’ in Seattle

Hawks saved $30M in 2025 swapping out QB and receivers

Ever since the Seahawks
essentially swapped Geno Smith, DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett for Sam Darnold, Cooper Kupp and Marques Valdes-Scantling, plus a couple of Day 2 picks, fans have debated whether the Hawks made a good aggregate deal.

Now that we have numbers on all of Seattle’s contracts, we can compare the money (pending Smith’s new deal with the Raiders).

Continue reading Hawks saved $30M in 2025 swapping out QB and receivers