Free agents playing on Saturday
Should Seahawks target any of these 2025 free agents who are in the playoffs?
There are 2 playoff games on Saturday and the closest vote we had on Friday was a perfect 50/50 split for who you think will win the Ravens-Bills games on Sunday:
But 69% of you voted that you want the Bills to win.
These are players who are playing on Saturday who are scheduled to be free agents. It’s not a 100% complete list (to save time) and some of these players won’t hit free agency, but keep an eye on these names:
Houston Texans
WR Stefon Diggs
DE Derek Barnett
LB Neville Hewitt
DE Mario Edwards
LB Devin White
C Kendrick Green
WR Robert Woods
CB Jeff Okudah
S Eric Murray
NB Myles Bryant
TE Irv Smith
QB Case Keenum
TE Dalton Keene
G/C Kendrick Green
Don’t mistake KENDRICK Green for former first round pick KENYON Green, although neither one of them has had a good career. KENDRICK was a third ronud pick by the Steelers in 2021 who started 15 games at center that season, but didn’t play well enough to be in Mike Tomlin’s future plans.
Pittsburgh moved Green to guard in 2022 and he lost a competition to Kevin Dotson (now a really good starter for the Rams) and didn’t see any action that entire season. The Steelers traded Green to the Texans and a knee injury put him on IR after four weeks; he’s now a reserve center.
(The other Green is not a free agent, but he could be released or traded due to also being benched.)
I don’t know if Kendrick Green should be a target for the Seahawks, but due to his availability and poor play he certainly could be.
Kansas City Chiefs
G Trey Smith
S Justin Reid
WR DeAndre Hopkins
WR Marquise Brown
OT D.J. Humphries
LB Nick Bolton
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
QB Carson Wentz
DE Charles Omenihu
NT Tershawn Wharton
RB Kareem Hunt
DT Derrick Nnadi
WR Justin Watson
WR Mecole Hardman
RB Samaje Perine
DE Josh Uche
DT Mike Pennel
G Trey Smith
He will be rated by some as the top overall free agent in 2025 because he’s 25 and a standout at a position without a lot of present day talent. The reason Smith could hit free agency in spite of his importance to the Chiefs is the list you see above:
Roughly 7 key starters hitting free agency
KC willl have to restructure Patrick Mahomes to create $39 million in cap space
Franchise cornerstones like Travis Kelce (36), Joe Thuney (33), and Chris Jones (31) are getting to “that age” and the Chiefs have to prioritize the best ways to insure their roles for the future
I still expect the Chiefs to keep Trey Smith.
Restructuring Mahomes is a must and that also means protecting him. The only way I see Smith leaving is if the Chiefs tag-and-trade him which means that the acquiring team must also sacrifice draft picks for a guard. Maybe I’m overrating Smith, but he’s much better than Robert Hunt, 2024’s top free agent guard who got a five-year, $100 million deal from the Panthers.
As much as Seahawks fans (and plenty of other fanbases) want the team to throw everything at Trey Smith, is it really preferable than Seattle finally spending their first pick on a guard? Even Smith was only a sixth round pick.
Washington Moons
LB Bobby Wagner
OLB Dante Fowler, Jr.
S Jeremy Chinn
CB Noah Igbinoghene
CB Michael Davis
TE Zach Ertz
WR Olamide Zaccheaus
DE Clelin Ferrell
OT Cornelius Lucas
WR K.J. Osborn
CB Benjamin St-Juste
LB Mykal Walker
WR Jamison Crowder
WR Dyami Brown
QB Marcus Mariota
C Michael Deiter
K Zane Gonzalez
P Tress Way
ST Nick Bellore
For what it’s worth, I don’t make a lot of free agent picks or trade targets, but the two edge rushers who I wanted the Seahawks to sign last year were Frankie Luvu and Andrew Van Ginkel.
Van Ginkel went to the Vikings, had 11.5 sacks and made second-team All-Pro
Luvu went to the Moons, had 8 sacks and also made second-team All-Pro
Those were two of my four picks for the Seahawks to spend their money on in free agency. The others were Jonathan Greenard (12 sacks, made his first Pro Bowl) and tackle Michael Onwenu.
Other than Onwenu (who was never leaving New England but could have still helped Seattle’s issues on the right side), these turned out to be pretty good targets. The Seahawks instead spent their money on players like Jerome Baker, Tyrel Dodson, and Rayshawn Jenkins. It’s not one-for-one because they play different positions, but that’s also an area we clearly didn’t see eye to eye on because I clearly had more concerns about the edges of the defense than John Schneider and Mike Macdonald.
This may not be the time or place, but half of Derick Hall’s eight sacks were a quarterback falling down or running out of bounds behind the line.
OLB Dante Fowler, Jr.
The former third overall pick on his fifth team had 10.5 sacks, 14 tackles for a loss, 12 QB hits, and his first career interception. Fowler’s strange career arc is more like a rollercoaster:
8 sacks in 2016
11.5 sacks in 2019
10.5 sacks in 2024
Only between 3-6 sacks in his other six seasons
But Fowler has played for Dan Quinn for the last three years, so staying in Washington is probably a priority.
Detroit Lions
DT Levi Onwuzurike
CB Carlton Davis
G Kevin Zeitler
DE Marcus Davenport
DT Al-Quadin Muhammad
WR Tim Patrick
DE Derrick Barnes
S Ifeatu Melifonwu
OT Dan Skipper
WR Allen Robinson
DT Myles Adams
LB Ben Niemann
DT Levi Onwuzurike
It’s not much of a list. The Lions have their good players locked in for the near future and yet they’re still going to have about $60 million to spend in free agency and extensions.
Onwuzurike is a name that’s not easy to say, but familiar to many of you because he played at the University of Washington from 2017-2019. His career hasn’t gone as planned since being a second round pick in 2021 — Onwuzurike missed all of 2022 with a back injury and had just five tackles in 2023 — but this has been his best season to date.
16 games, 10 starts, 1.5 sacks, 13 QB hits, 28 tackles
In comparison, 13 QB hits is more than Boye Mafe’s 12 and as many as the 13 by Dre’Mont Jones. But between Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, and Jarran Reed (a priority free agent to keep), Onwuzurike wouldn’t seem to fit the bill as a Seattle target. That could change but for now the Seahawks must look to the other side of the trenches.
Out of this entire article, which names stand out to you?
Seaside Joe 2148
Mariota, if for no other reason than I've followed him since college and appreciated the aggressive way he plays, especially now he's put on muscle. He's at the age that knows what he brings and what we need. If Coach sees' it the same way, watch out. Boom. A butt kicking field General with PRESENCE. MacD knows what he's looking for. I know- it's nuts, but you asked.
Chiefs-Texans: This has not been a banner game for NFL officiating. The Texans are getting jobbed.