Seattle, WA
Huard: 3 Seattle Seahawks contract moves to make this offseason
The future looks bright for the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks, who appear to be finding their stride under first-year head coach Mike Macdonald.
That future will include some major decisions this offseason.
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There are still four weeks left in the 2024 regular season, but based on what has transpired so far, what are three contractual moves the franchise should make when next offseason comes around? Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard was posed that question during Tuesday’s Blue 88 segment on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. Below are the three moves he mentioned.
• Extend LT Charles Cross
After a promising first two seasons in the NFL, 24-year-old Charles Cross is performing like the foundational left tackle the Seahawks envisioned when they made him the No. 9 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-5, 311-pound former Mississippi State standout doesn’t become a free agent after the 2025 season, but he likely has shown enough at this point to warrant an extension prior to the final year of his rookie contract. Cross has been a steady force all season, starting every offensive snap for Seattle and ranking 11th out of 80 tackles across the league in Pro Football Focus grading.
“Charles Cross is playing great football,” Huard said. “These guys don’t grow on trees. They’re unique. They’re unicorns. He does everything right. So you’ve got to lock in your left tackle. … He is a building block at one of the most important positions on a football team. You take care of him first and foremost.”
• Move on from WR Tyler Lockett
Tyler Lockett is the second-leading receiver in franchise history, having racked up 8,505 receiving yards over his decorated 10-year career in Seattle. But over the past two seasons, the 32-year-old wideout’s production has declined. After four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 2019 through 2022, Lockett finished with 894 receiving yards last year while playing through a nagging hamstring injury. And this year, he’s on pace for 668 receiving yards – which would be his lowest total since 2017.
Lockett’s dip in production coincides with a breakout season from second-year wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who ranks sixth in the NFL with 911 receiving yards. Lockett still has one year remaining on his contract, but likely carries too big of a price tag to warrant keeping him around in 2025, given his status as Seattle’s No. 3 receiver behind DK Metcalf and Smith-Njigba. According to Over The Cap, Lockett’s salary cap hit would surge from nearly $18.9 million this year to nearly $30.9 million next season, which would account for 11% of the team’s 2025 cap space. The Seahawks would save $17 million in cap space by parting ways with Lockett this offseason, according to Over The Cap.
“This is probably it for Tyler,” Huard said. “He has been awesome. … Absolutely incredible. But when you look contractually, it’s just the way it works in the NFL when you’re an older guy and all of a sudden you’re not producing at a (high) level. The one that is the most team-friendly to free up a bunch of money on that cap will be Tyler.”
• Re-sign Ernest Jones IV
Jones has been a revelation since arriving in an Oct. 23 trade with the Tennessee Titans. The fourth-year inside linebacker has been a steadying force in the middle of Seattle’s defense, helping key a dramatic midseason turnaround that’s resulted in the Seahawks holding each of their past five opponents to 18 offensive points or fewer in regulation. The 6-foot-2, 233-pound Jones has racked up 63 tackles and an interception in his six games since joining Seattle, while playing a major role in helping fix the team’s run-defense issues.
“You can’t do a deal yet with (second-year cornerback) Devin Witherspoon or some of those other (young players), so I think it’s Charles Cross first,” Huard said. “I think it’s saying goodbye to Tyler Lockett and hugging him on the way out. And (then) it’s making sure that (Jones) and Tyrice Knight can be your two linebackers for years and years to come.”
Listen to the full Blue 88 segment at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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Thanks to Carrie Brown for the westward view of our Saturday night sunset. The high today hit 68 at the airport – eight degrees above normal – but nowhere near the record for this date, which was 89 degrees back in 2016. The forecast suggests two more days of partly sunny, almost-70-degree weather, before the chance of rain returns.
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
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The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
Mariners RHP Bryce Miller to begin rehab assignment
Seattle, WA
Brandon Nimmo hits leadoff homer, Jacob deGrom works 4 scoreless as Rangers beat Seattle Mariners 5-0
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – APRIL 17: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers tags out Dominic Canzone #8 of the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on April 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff home run, Jacob deGrom threw four shutout innings and Gavin Collyer earned his first career win as the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-0 on Friday night.
Seattle lost its fourth straight game, and was shut out for the fourth time in 21 games, falling to 8-13. The Mariners were shut out six times during the 2025 season. Texas won its third straight game.
Nimmo led off the game with a 372-foot shot to right field off Mariners starter Logan Gilbert (1-3). It was Nimmo’s 16th career leadoff homer and second of the season. He also hit a leadoff home run on April 11 in a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
DeGrom effectively maneuvered through Seattle’s lineup, and worked out of a one out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning. The two-time Cy Young Award winner recorded two of his three strikeouts after walking Josh Naylor to load the bases. Randy Arozarena fanned on a curveball, and Luke Raley swung through a fastball.
Texas added to its lead after Nimmo’s homer. Wyatt Langford’s single to left scored Corey Seager, who led off the third inning with a double. The Rangers stretched the lead to 3-0 on an RBI single from Jake Burger in the seventh.
The Mariners’ best scoring chance came in the sixth after Collyer (1-0), who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, left the game.
J.P. Crawford singled to left off Tyler Alexander with two out, and Mariners third base coach Carlos Cardoza sent Naylor from second base, but he was thrown out by Langford.
Texas added two more runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen and an RBI double by Josh Jung.
Seattle third baseman Brendan Donovan left the game early due to a left hip issue.
Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, who started the year on the injured list with a left oblique injury, was at T-Mobile Park for the first time this season. He will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
Up next
Mariners RHP George Kirby (2-2, 3.25) will face Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.40) on Saturday afternoon.
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