Category Archives: The roster

5 weeks before opener, where things stand

August 7, 2026 cc 1 Comment

We’re two weeks into camp, a week away from the first preseason game, and less than five weeks from the Wednesday night NFL opener between the Seahawks and their recent Super Bowl foil, New England.

As Mike Macdonald and the Hawks prepare to host their Football Fest at Lumen Field on Saturday, we have learned a few things and gotten a lot of quotes from the first couple of weeks of practices.

Here’s a look at where things seem to stand at each position (based on various camp reports).

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The roster, Training camp

As camp begins, a look at the roster of the Super Bowl champs

July 24, 2026 cc Leave a comment

In the wake of a quicker-than-expected Super Bowl victory, it’s easy to forget that Mike Macdonald has been coach of the Seahawks for only two years. And apparently it’s easy for a lot of people around the NFL to wave him and his team off as a “lightning in a bottle” champion — never mind that Macdonald has almost his entire roster back and is still building the best version of his team as he begins Year 3.

People like Bucky Brooks who cannot see that Macdonald has the foundation of a possible dynasty in his hands are just not very smart (a 7-10 season? Come on, dude). Macdonald’s team is still ascending.

As the players reported Friday, Ernest Jones IV confirmed that when he said, “I’m super excited … (about) how much better of a team we are now than we were at this time last year.”

The roster is already so set that we count, at most, seven open spots. Three probably will go to backup offensive linemen, one to a fourth cornerback. The last spots will be special-teams roles that could rotate as the season goes on.

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The roster, X's & O's

EPA splits reveal defense is no worse for departures

July 5, 2026 cc 2 Comments

Many NFL observers have made a big deal about the Seahawks losing two starters and two major backups this offseason. Some argue that those four losses – along with an offensive coordinator change — are enough to even make them questionable as contenders in 2026.

But Brian Nemhauser (HawkBlogger) recently performed a fun exercise that confirmed what we and other savvy observers already knew: The Seahawks certainly did not get any worse this offseason.

On the contrary, on defense anyway, the Hawks are likely to be even better off (as we have said).

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The roster

Talking tight ends: Barner’s value & Arroyo’s ‘opportunity’

June 26, 2026 cc Leave a comment

Tight ends are the talk of the town this week.

As many of the NFL’s “chess knights” – as Mike Macdonald calls them – attend the sixth annual Tight End University, a couple of the top guys also have received new contracts.

All of this activity — a month out from training camp – brings the focus in Seattle on the Seahawks’ two young tight ends, AJ Barner and Elijah Arroyo. Both are entering big seasons, for different reasons.

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Free agency, The roster

Fowler (maybe) completes roster; now how good is it?

May 5, 2026 cc 1 Comment

The signing of Dante Fowler Jr. does a couple of things for Seattle: (1) Finishes the replacement of the four key free agents who left and (2) potentially upgrades the pass rush by a bit.

The roster is now largely set – with maybe seven spots up for grabs or rotation — as the Seahawks prepare for another Super Bowl title run in 2026.

The question is: How much better are the Hawks now than they were in their 2025 championship season?

More important: Are they good enough on defense to stop Matthew Stafford’s Rams?

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Free agency, The roster

Macdonald: ‘We have to rebecome the team we are destined to be’

March 30, 2026 cc Leave a comment

“We’re a new team, and we have to rebecome the team that we’re destined to be.” – Mike Macdonald, sounding like Yoda at the owners meetings in Phoenix

Mike Macdonald channeled the wizened Jedi master when he told everyone that the Seahawks are “not defending anything” and need to “rebecome” a Super Bowl team all over again.

Macdonald offered some great team-rebuilding philosophy and also talked about various elements of his roster – among other things, saying he expects DeMarcus Lawrence back, looks forward to Rashid Shaheed’s growth in the offense and has high expectations for new and younger players.

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Super Bowl LX, The roster

Back-to-back? Defense that dominated Pats will return in 2026

February 9, 2026 cc Leave a comment

In his first team meeting in 2024, Mike Macdonald predicted the Seahawks would be in the NFC Championship Game.

“It’s inevitable,” he told his first group of Seahawks, which included many of the guys who beat the Rams in the NFC title game a couple weeks ago.

Macdonald did not predict a Super Bowl win, but he and his team delivered that Sunday, beating the Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX. Afterward, he said he had “100% confidence” that his team would win. That’s certainly how it felt to us (we had predicted a 31-13 win).

Macdonald brought a vision to Seattle, and – along with some great help from John Schneider — he has made it come to life by creating the best defense in the NFL. It is a unit that is poised to dominate in 2026 — and probably beyond.

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#LARvsSEA, Contracts, The roster

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

January 21, 2026 cc Leave a comment

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.

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Contracts, The roster

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

November 26, 2025 cc Leave a comment

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.

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Franchise history, The roster, Trades

How Schneider built a Super Bowl contender as fans called for his firing

November 12, 2025 cc Leave a comment

After the 2024 season, a lot of Seahawks fans wanted John Schneider to be fired. They were understandably tired of his failure to put together an even average offensive line throughout his 15 years as general manager, and they were annoyed by a 2024 offseason that seemingly had done little to help the franchise.

It’s surprising how quickly things can change. Amid a 7-2 start that has featured major contributions from half a dozen new players and proven that Sam Darnold is indeed a franchise quarterback, Schneider has been getting a lot of credit.

In fact, in a survey of 42 NFL decision makers by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, 23 voted him as the executive of the year at the midseason point.

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