Seattle, WA
How the Seahawks should approach 2024 free agency
While John Schneider is getting ready to tamper, we should all temper our expectations for the early stages of NFL free agency from a Seahawks perspective.
Seattle does have cap room and the ability to make some moves when free agency opens but whether they actually will is the question. John Schneider rarely dips his toes into the first wave of free agency where the big contracts are given out. Last year’s 3-year, $51 million contract to Dre’Mont Jones is an outlier.
How did that work out?
Jones still has the chance to play up to that contract but the fact that some were already debating whether he should be kept on the roster is telling. The Seahawks went after a top outside free agent and might be regretting that which could inform how Schneider will approach free agency in 2024.
I do think they’ll prioritize Leonard Williams, but they shouldn’t move heaven and earth to make a deal happen. Losing him would be a gut punch, though the trade capital used to acquire him is already gone so that shouldn’t be a factor. On the positive side, Williams has already been in the building and the front office staff was able to see how he fit in the organization. If Schneider reels him back in for a few more years, the culture fit won’t be questioned.
Williams is really the only guy that I want the Seahawks to give a big contract to in this free agency period. Outside of that – and particularly with players that haven’t been with Seattle – Schneider should look for value. That means no Patrick Queen. You could maybe convince me that the Seahawks should sign one of the top offensive guards but that would only be if they strike out on Williams. I don’t think Seattle will be handing out multiple top-of-the-market deals this year.
That doesn’t mean that the Seahawks should sit out of free agency altogether. Instead, I’m expecting them to dole out a handful of mid-level contracts on one or two-year deals to fill holes ahead of the draft. It’s not exciting but that’s been Schneider’s modus operandi for much of his time as the GM of the Seahawks. This gives him insurance in case the draft falls in an unexpected way.
Look at the 2023 outside free agent signings from our own recap.
Except for Jones, all of the deals were for one or two years. It was much the same in 2022 for Justin Coleman, Quinton Jefferson, Austin Blythe, Uchenna Nwosu, and Artie Burns.
There are some positions that are loaded with free agents where value can be found like the safeties. Seattle just cut Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs. Julian Love is returning but his running mate for next season is a question mark. It seems like every NFL team also shed some salary at the safety position because the free agent list is LONG. This is a chance for Schneider to hunt for value and potentially get a very good player on the cheap.
Think of how this worked out with Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett in 2013. Both guys signed short-term deals and were eventually rewarded with long-term contracts after they proved their fit in Seattle. Ditto for Uchenna Nwosu, who signed a short-term deal and earned a contract extension with his play for the Seahawks.
It could turn out the same for Julian Love, who signed with Seattle last offseason. His market didn’t materialize as he imagined, and the Seahawks scooped him up. Considering the purge at the safety position that Schneider just orchestrated, it seems like a pretty shrewd move.
The Seahawks currently have holes at interior OL, tight end, linebacker, and safety. Depending on what happens with Williams, we might have to add interior DL to the list. Seattle needs to field a complete roster, but they don’t need to break the bank to fill all of these spots. Look at what Macdonald did last year with guys like Kyle Van Noy and Jadeveon Clowney in Baltimore. Clowney signed with the Ravens in August and Van Noy in September. Both players were on cheap, one-year deals and produced 18.5 sacks combined for the Ravens.
Speaking of Baltimore, I do expect the Seahawks to sign at least one player from the Ravens to help instill Macdonald’s culture. Maybe it’s Geno Stone if he’s cheap enough. I already mentioned Clowney and would endorse that move. It could be Kevin Zeitler on the OL, which should only be a one-year deal given his age. These players provide another type of value that could be more important to Seattle than any other team given their familiarity with Macdonald.
He’s inheriting a roster that already has plenty of young talent. Now, Schneider can augment that even more with smart, calculated free agent additions to stock the cupboard and free up the possibilities heading into the NFL Draft.
Seattle, WA
Seattle Seahawks land 2 players on list of potential salary cap cuts in 2026
No matter how the playoffs go for the Seatte Seahawks, general manager John Schneider and his team are looking at a very busy offseason ahead.
In addition to their usual preparations for the 2026 NFL draft, Seattle has a ton of important players who are about to become unrestricted free agents. That list includes special teams superstar Rashid Shaheed, running back Ken Walker and defensive standouts Boye Mafe, Riq Woolen and Coby Bryant.
It’s going to be really difficult to keep that entire group together, even with a lot of cap space projected to be open in 2026. The Seahawks may have to create room with some salary cap casualties after the season is over.
On that note, Over the Cap has listed a pair of Seattle players as potential cap casualties. Let’s review both of them.
OLB Uchenna Nwosu
Coming in at No. 46 on OTC’s list is veteran edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu, who has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit just over $20 million. Nwosu has been valuable when he’s on the field but he’s also missed a ton of time due to injuries and it will be difficult to justify his cap hit with so many other players to pay.
Seattle can save a little over $11.5 million if they cut Nwosu, before June 1 or after. However, they would also take on a dead money hit north of $8.5 million, which takes a lot of the flavor out of those cap savings.
In 45 games with the Seahawks, Nwosu has tallied 19.5 sacks, 52 QB hits, 24 tackles for a loss, five forced fumbles and eight pass breakups.
That’s a lot of good production across the board as an all-around defender, but he’ll turn 30 years old before next season is over and there are a lot of mouths to feed for Mike Macdonald’s defense.
Over the Cap projects there’s a 58.5% chance that the Seahawks will wind up cutting him. Our best guess is that will be the case, especially if they want to pursue someone like Maxx Crosby on the trade market.
K Jason Myers
The only other Seahawks player who made the list (at No. 77) was placekicker Jason Myers, where the team has an interesting choice to make.
Myers has been around since the 2019 season and he’s come through for them more often than not. In 117 games he’s converted 200 of 232 field goal attempts, coming out to 86.2%. On extra point attempts he’s gone 292/307 for 95.1%.
Those are very solid numbers for an NFL kicker, and when you have a solid option at this position you don’t mess with it.
Another factor working in Myers’ favor is that Seattle really can’t save all that much money by cutting him. According to OTC’s numbers the Seahawks would create $5.1 million in cap room by cutting him, with a dead money hit of $1,875,000.
Five million might get Seattle a decent backup for their interior offensive line, or another contributor to Mike Macdonald’s defense. It’s not enough to really move the needle for this roster, though.
OTC gives it a 52.5% chance that Myers will get cut, but we don’t see that happening. If they want to lower his cap hit, the Seahawks can create a little over $3 million for 2026 with an extension. That’s the only move they should be looking to make at this spot.
More Seahawks on SI stories
Seahawks’ dream trade target for 2026 has successful surgery
Leonard Williams on how Seahawks learned to win at home again
Why Seattle Seahawks legend Russell Wilson needs to call it quits
ESPN sees key Seahawks assistant as strong fit for the Falcons
Seattle, WA
Kraken Extend Streak In Comeback OT Loss | Seattle Kraken
And while Dunn’s head coach insisted afterwards he doesn’t believe in “measuring stick games” the Kraken measured up fairly well in this one considering they played a pretty poor first period and needed half of the second frame to get any type of offense going against the league’s No. 2 defensive unit.
But they eventually got it going and the salvaged point, as Dunn mentioned, was huge in that it allowed the Kraken to remain in third place in the Pacific Division – just two points behind leaders Vegas and Edmonton – as they now embark on a five-city road trip. They extended their points streak to 10 games in the process, going 8-0-2 that stretch to transform a season hinging on the brink.
Mats Zuccarello got the overtime winner for Minnesota, converting a Kirill Kaprizov pass off a 2-on-1 break after the Kraken had been foiled just moments prior on their own odd-man rush. That foiled an outstanding night for Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer, who’d made several huge stops in both overtime and the third period to keep things tied, as well as prior to that frame to give his team the shot at a comeback.
The Kraken had spent the past week filling opposition nets with pucks but waited until the final 17 minutes to score their first goal of this game. By that point, they’d been trailing 2-0 since a pair of 42-foot wrist shot goals by Ryan Hartman and Brock Faber in the first period silenced the home crowd.
“The first period was awful, and our execution was probably the biggest part of that,” Dunn said. “It’s just tough when you’re chasing the game a little bit to start the game. So, we kind of set ourselves up for the second period to come out and play the right way and I thought as the game went on, we got a lot better.
“And I thought it was a pretty competitive game both ways. A lot of chances both ways.”
Grubauer kept things close from there, stopping 31 of 34 shots on the night to give his team a chance to get back in it.
Adam Larsson then got the Kraken on the board three minutes into the final period with a slap shot goal from the right circle after Dunn had rung one off the post on a prior blast seconds earlier. And the Kraken weren’t done yet.
The Wild ran into penalty trouble not long after and the Kraken capitalized on the power play with Matty Beniers banging home a net front rebound off a Jared McCann shot that lifted the home side into a 2-2 tie and sent the Climate Pledge Arena crowd into a frenzy.
Seattle, WA
Valter Walker vs. Marcin Tybura booked for UFC Seattle
Heavyweights will collide in “Rain City.”
MMAmania.com confirmed with multiple sources today (Thurs., Jan. 8, 2026) that No. 10-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Marcin Tybura will take on surging Brazilian prospect Valter Walker at UFC Seattle on Sat., March 28, 2026, inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.
Walker (15-1) stumbled out of the gate in his UFC debut, suffering a loss to Lukasz Brzeski in 2024. Since then, however, “Clean Monster” has completely rewritten the narrative — and the UFC record books.
Walker opened 2025 by submitting Don’Tale Mayes with a heel hook (watch highlights), his second straight victory via the technique. Five months later, he followed it up with another first-round heel hook against Kennedy Nzechukwu (watch highlights), setting a new UFC record for most consecutive heel hook submission wins with three.
But he wasn’t finished.
At UFC 321 in Oct. 2025, Walker once again locked in a first-round heel hook — this time against Louie Sutherland — tying Rousimar Palhares for the most heel hook submissions (four) in UFC history while extending his own record for consecutive heel hook finishes (watch it).
A win in Seattle would almost certainly vault Walker into the Top 10 of the Heavyweight rankings.
Tybura (27-10), meanwhile, will be defending his No. 10 spot when he steps into the cage. The Polish veteran went 1-1 in 2025, handing highly touted U.K. prospect Mick Parkin his first professional loss at UFC London before suffering a quick knockout loss to debuting Ante Delija at UFC Paris (watch highlights), snapping a two-fight win streak.
Now 40 years old, Tybura is 5-3 over his last eight appearances.
Here are some other bouts currently scheduled for UFC Seattle:
Casey O’Neill vs. Gabriella Fernandes
Alexa Grasso vs. Maycee Barber
Nicolle Caliari vs. Carol Fiori
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.
-
Detroit, MI6 days ago2 hospitalized after shooting on Lodge Freeway in Detroit
-
Technology4 days agoPower bank feature creep is out of control
-
Dallas, TX5 days agoDefensive coordinator candidates who could improve Cowboys’ brutal secondary in 2026
-
Health6 days agoViral New Year reset routine is helping people adopt healthier habits
-
Dallas, TX1 day agoAnti-ICE protest outside Dallas City Hall follows deadly shooting in Minneapolis
-
Iowa3 days agoPat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star
-
Nebraska3 days agoOregon State LB transfer Dexter Foster commits to Nebraska
-
Nebraska4 days agoNebraska-based pizza chain Godfather’s Pizza is set to open a new location in Queen Creek