Category Archives: The roster

Coaches, Free agency, The roster

Kubiak ties to Darnold & MVS countered losses of Geno & Metcalf

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Relationships make the NFL go round – and that was never more obvious than in all of the Seahawks’ dealings over the past week.

The franchise’s relationship with DK Metcalf soured to the point that he simply wanted to go play elsewhere. John Schneider said he could not work it out with Metcalf, so he traded him to Pittsburgh.

Then Geno Smith forced a trade when he and his agent refused to respond to Seattle’s fair contract offer – $40 million in 2025, per Brady Henderson. Whether Smith intended it or not, he got a reunion with his favorite coach, Pete Carroll, back in the NFL with the Raiders.

That might have left the Seahawks in a bind if not for Mike Macdonald’s preemptive move to hire Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator. Kubiak’s previous relationship with Sam Darnold made it easy for the Hawks to quickly replace Smith with Darnold.

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Free agency, The roster

Free agency Day 3: Hawks apparently gave it a good shot for Fries

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The Seahawks apparently were willing to pay $17 million a year for guard Will Fries but got beat out on guaranteed money.

The Vikings reportedly guaranteed $34 million in a five-year, $88 million deal. The Hawks reportedly were offering a three-year contract similar to what they gave Dre Jones in 2023.

The Hawks also reportedly wanted Fries to take a physical so they could check his broken tibia (suffered in Week 5 last year). But he apparently did not want to wait until today when he had other good offers.

So the Hawks are on to cheaper options. The top guys available all have flaws, but most of them likely would be upgrades over what Seattle has at guard right now.

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Free agency, The roster

Free agency Day 2: Vikings strike back

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The disappointment continues for Seahawks fans who hold out hope every year that John Schneider will pay for a quality offensive lineman or two.

While Schneider did well to quickly sign Sam Darnold on Monday, he has yet to find a starting left guard — and the best options are dwindling.

In a small twist of irony that Darnold is probably chuckling over after he endured so much pressure in the playoff loss to the Rams, the Vikings actually have signed two linemen that Seahawks fans were hoping Schneider would get: center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries.

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Free agency, The roster

Would Darnold be only a ‘bridge’ quarterback?

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If Sam Darnold does indeed sign with the Seahawks, would he be the next Russell Wilson or just the next Geno Smith – a long-term answer or another so-called placeholder?

National media is abuzz with the projection that Darnold and the Seahawks are headed for a quick marriage – as soon as Monday, when teams can agree to deals with outside free agents.

Along with that informed speculation comes plenty of this: “Darnold would replace Smith as the bridge quarterback while Seattle looks to draft a potential franchise QB in 2025 or 2026.”

But why couldn’t the not-yet 28-year-old Darnold be the longish-term answer for Seattle?

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The roster, Trades

Geno traded: Why and how Hawks are suddenly changing quarterbacks

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In a surprising move that seemed unlikely based on everything John Schneider and Mike Macdonald had said, the Seahawks traded Geno Smith to Pete Carroll’s Raiders on Friday.

They got a third-round pick (No. 92) in return – which all things considered was a solid payout. In fact, if Carroll had not returned to the NFL, we doubt there would have been a trade market for Smith. Carroll and the Raiders clearly coveted Smith enough to give up a Day 2 pick.

Here is how it all went down, based on various reliable national NFL reporters:

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Contracts, The roster, Trades

Will Schneider trade Metcalf this time?

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Three years ago, John Schneider had a decision to make: Extend DK Metcalf with a top-of-the-market deal or trade him.

Even though the Seattle general manager admitted to being shocked at the skyrocketing numbers for receivers back then (they were just hitting $20 million per year), Pete Carroll really wanted to keep Metcalf, so Schneider paid the talented receiver $24 million per year.

Now Metcalf is again approaching the end of his contract and it’s deja vu all over again for Schneider.

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NFL draft, On the air, The roster

Draft and develop: Schneider wants to emulate Eagles’ O-line construction

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“We know exactly what our deficiencies are. We can all see it, right? And we have a plan to address everything.” – John Schneider, on fixing the offensive line

For fans thinking John Schneider is suddenly going to change his spots and start paying offensive linemen big money, the Seahawks’ GM once again made it clear he is going to stick to the draft-and-develop strategy.

In his first 2025 weekly show on Seattle Sports 710 AM, he said he wants to emulate the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line construction that featured four draft picks developed by the team.

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Contracts, The roster, Week 16: Minnesota

Hawks need help now, so time to look to 2025

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Whenever we get to the point that the Seahawks need help to make the postseason, we start looking ahead to the offseason – because it typically means the team is not good enough to win in the playoffs even if it gets whatever assistance it needs to sneak in.

Mike Macdonald has done a pretty strong job in his rookie year, creating a strong defense and having the Hawks in position where they could have been 12-3 if they had not given away four games via their own errors.

They blew yet another one Sunday, letting Minnesota get away with a 27-24 win because the defense made some key mistakes that the enigmatic offense could not overcome in the end. So the Hawks sit at 8-7, which is exactly where we figured they would be when we projected out the season back in late August.

The Hawks can still make the playoffs if they beat the Bears and Rams AND (1) the Rams also lose to Arizona this week or (2) a whole bunch of other teams do their part over the final two weeks to give Seattle the strength-of-victory tiebreaker against the Rams.

We’ll let that sort itself out, but it’s time to start looking to the changes that need to be made in the offseason.

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Contracts, The roster

If Geno plays well, could he stick around for a ‘few years’?

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Everyone keeps wanting to kick Geno Smith to the curb, replacing him with a draft pick or Sam Howell — or anybody really.

But it sure seems like he is growing on new Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald. Not enough to get a new contract yet, as Smith reportedly would like, but it sounds as though the door could be open to a new deal after the season – if Smith plays worth it.

During camp, Macdonald hinted that Smith could indeed be in Seattle beyond 2025.

“I think that relationship is blossoming,’’ Macdonald told SI’s Albert Breer. “We’re not there yet; it’s still six months in or whatever. But we’re looking forward to seeing where it evolves over the next few years.’’

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Preseason, The roster

Howell, O-line still have work to do, but Mike Mac’s defense looks good

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Well, August is here and the first preseason game is in the books, which means our three-month break from football is over and it’s time to start paying attention again.

One thing that seems clear is John Schneider and Mike Macdonald have made the Seahawks better over those past three months.

While Macdonald has been building what looks to be a much tighter, more disciplined defense, Schneider’s addition of center Connor Williams answered the last big question on offense. If Williams is healthy and plays like he did in Miami – and if Ryan Grubb can call an NFL game — the offense should be more consistent than it was in 2023.

If that happens, the Hawks could be better than the nine-win team we peg them for. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Instead let’s look at the roster by position after the 16-3 win over the Chargers in the preseason opener.

Continue reading Howell, O-line still have work to do, but Mike Mac’s defense looks good →