Seattle, WA
Anthony Santander Not Likely to Sign With Seattle Mariners Rival, Houston Astros
Thus far, the Seattle Mariners have done next to nothing this offseason. They’ve acquired utility player Austin Shenton in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays but they haven’t spent even $1 in major league free agency.
The teams around them in the American League West have been active though, with the Houston Astros trading away Kyle Tucker and bringing in Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes. They are also set to lose Alex Bregman. The Angels have brought in Jorge Soler, Kyle Hendricks, Scott Kingery, Travis d’Arnaud and Yusei Kikuchi while the A’s have signed Gio Urshela and Luis Severino. The Rangers brought back Nathan Eovaldi, signed Joc Pederson and traded for Jake Burger.
While there’s been plenty of movement around the Mariners, here’s one rumor that doesn’t look like it will happen: Anthony Santader to the Astros.
Santander has been linked to the Toronto Blue Jays, Angels and Astros, but Ari Alexander in Houston doesn’t see the team spending at the level necessary to acquire Santander.
While Santander is also a fit with the Houston Astros, who could use a high-impact outfielder after trading away Kyle Tucker, a league source tells KPRC 2 that it is unlikely Santander will land in Houston. The switch-hitting outfielder is seeking the type of long-term deal that would put the Astros well into the competitive balance tax for the second consecutive season, something that is very unlikely to be palatable to the Astros.
The 30-year-old Santander is native of Venezuela and is coming off an incredible year for Baltimore where he hit .235 with 44 homers and brought in 102. A lifetime .246 hitter, he helped Baltimore get to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons (2023 and 2024)
The Astros won the American League West in 2024, chasing down the Mariners, who had a 10-game lead in June.
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Seattle, WA
NFC Playoff Picture: Seahawks impact Wild Card schedule with win over Rams
While the Los Angeles Rams might have rested several of their key starters and limited the snap counts of those who did play against the Seattle Seahawks, you certainly can’t accuse them of not making a concerted effort to still win the game.
The Seahawks had to make a late red zone stand to win 30-25 in their season finale. Even if the Rams didn’t treat this game with the utmost importance in terms of playoff seeding, it did impact who they’ll play and potentially their road to the Super Bowl.
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning the NFC South earlier in the day, the Rams needed to win to remain the No. 3 seed or else they’d drop to No. 4. That’s the difference between playing the Washington Commanders and the NFC North runner-up Minnesota Vikings, whom the Rams did defeat on a Thursday night back in October.
Seattle’s win has set up a Rams vs. Vikings rematch for next Monday night, while the Buccaneers will rematch the Commanders on Sunday night.
The Rams dropping to No. 4 means that unless the No. 2 seed Philadelphia Eagles and No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers both lose next weekend, the Rams would have to go on the road for the NFC Divisional Round. As a No. 3 seed, the Rams would’ve only needed a Green Bay Packers win over the Eagles to snag a second home game, much in the way the Detroit Lions did last season when the Packers thrashed the No. 2 seed Dallas Cowboys.
Maybe, just maybe, the Seahawks sent the Rams to a more difficult path for a Super Bowl run… or even to get out of the opening weekend. If Minnesota sends the Rams packing, I think we’d be all happy with giving LA a tougher matchup.
While you’re here, check out the full Wild Card schedule for next week.
Saturday, Jan. 11
No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 4 Houston Texans, 1:30 PM PT on CBS, Paramount+
No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens, 5 PM PT on Prime Video
Sunday, Jan. 12
No. 7 Denver Broncos at No. 2 Buffalo Bills, 10 am PT on CBS, Paramount+
No. 7 Green Bay Packers at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles, 1:30 PM PT on FOX
No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 5 PM PT on NBC, Peacock
Monday, Jan. 13
No.5 Minnesota Vikings at No. 4 Los Angeles Rams, 5 PM PT on ESPN/ABC
Byes: Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions
Seattle, WA
Who the Seattle Seahawks will be playing in the 2025 regular season
The Detroit Lions beat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football to wrap up the NFC North and the No. 1 overall seed. It also means that the Vikings will not only be on the road as a 14-3 team playing in the Wild Card against the Los Angeles Rams next Monday night, but they’ll be returning to Lumen Field to play the Seattle Seahawks in the 2025 regular season.
Game 272 was the final piece of the puzzle for the Seahawks’ 2025 opponents list. Whichever of the Vikings or Lions finished second in the NFC North would be headed to Seattle next season. While it would’ve been cool to see the Lions finally play at Lumen Field again after three straight Seahawks-Lions meetings in Detroit, it’s not happening.
The schedule is formulaic, which means the NFC West will play the whole of the AFC and NFC South, as well as the same-placed opposition from the NFC North (home), NFC East (away), and AFC North (away). Next season will be the AFC’s turn to get an extra home game, so the Seahawks will have nine away trips.
Home
Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
Arizona Cardinals (8-9)
San Francisco 49ers (6-11)
New Orleans Saints (5-12)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
Indianapolis Colts (8-9)
Houston Texans (10-7)
Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
Away
Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
Arizona Cardinals (8-9)
San Francisco 49ers (6-11)
Tennessee Titans (3-14)
Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)
Washington Commanders (12-5)
Atlanta Falcons (8-9)
Carolina Panthers (5-12)
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
The early returns on Michael Penix Jr and the late surge by Bryce Young could make the NFC South portion of the schedule much tougher than it looks right now. Never assume the league is so static that the teams that were good/bad now will remain the same the following season.
The NFL regular season schedule will be released at some point in May.
Seattle, WA
Byron Murphy II Active as Seahawks Wrap Up Season at Rams
Despite missing practice time this week with a new back injury, after receiving a questionable designation on Friday, Seattle Seahawks rookie Byron Murphy II will be active for the team’s season finale against the Los Angeles Rams.
Selected out of Texas with the 16th overall pick in April’s NFL draft, Murphy will look to finish his first season with the Seahawks on a strong note. Going into Sunday’s finale, he has produced 34 combined tackles, half a sack, and 21 quarterback pressures, playing a key role in helping the team’s run defense improve over the course of the season and providing more of an impact than his general numbers may suggest.
After placing tackle Abraham Lucas and cornerback Josh Jobe on injured reserve on Saturday, Seattle had to deactivate several healthy players for Sunday’s final road contest due to the 46-man limit on game day. Among them, quarterback-turned-receiver John Rhys Plumlee won’t suit up for his NFL debut and receiver Cody White will also be held out as a scratch with Jake Bobo and Dareke Young being active as reserves behind starters DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
In addition, the Seahawks listed Jaren Hall as their emergency quarterback for the third straight game, and he would be eligible to play if Geno Smith and Sam Howell both suffered injuries and could not continue playing on Sunday. Tight end Tyler Mabry also won’t play after being signed back onto the 53-man roster this week.
On defense, with Murphy good to go after testing out the injury in pre-game warmups, Seattle deactivated defensive tackles Quinton Bohanna and Brandon Pili after elevating the former from the practice squad and signing the latter to the 53-man roster earlier in the week. Linebacker Patrick O’Connell also won’t suit up for the finale with special teams ace Josh Ross getting the nod instead behind starters Ernest Jones and Tyrice Knight.
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