Who is the Seahawks Best Bargain?

Which Seahawks are the best bargains in the next 2 years?

By drafting well and choosing carefully on the free agent market, the Seattle Seahawks have amassed a collection of great bargains on their roster. Not only for this year’s salary cap, but also 2027 and 2028.

Who is the best bargain of them all? The answer wasn’t easy, the competition was aplenty, and the reasons had a lot more to do than with simply looking at next year’s cap hits.

First, we have to agree on which players are not a bargain.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is not a bargain

Although Smith-Njigba’s $10 million cap hit in 2026 is extremely beneficial to Seattle’s cap, he’s not the same as being a bargain. That’s because JSN’s $36 million in cash paid this year ($35 million signing bonus + salary) is the most by an receiver in the NFL in 2026.

Additionally, look at JSN’s "cash flow” from 2026-2028: A team-leading $93.5 million.

Nobody else is even close, although Sam Darnold will most likely surpass this number by signing an extension in 2027.

On that note, Darnold is certainly a bargain by “veteran free agent QB signings who won a Super Bowl” standards, but I can’t call him the best bargain either. While there are still rookie quarterbacks like Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels making $10 million or less, Darnold’s $37 and $44 million cap hits in the next two years don’t qualify as steals.

Other Seahawks who aren’t quite a bargain:

• Charles Cross, $60 million cash through 2028

• Leonard Williams, $29.6 million cap hit in 2026

• Rashid Shaheed, $35.5 million cash through 2027

• Uchenna Nwosu, $20 million cap hit in 2026

• Cooper Kupp, $17.5 million cap hit in 2026

• Julian Love, over $20 million cash through 2027

In Love’s case, while his cash seems somewhat tenable when he’s playing at a high level, he is also being paid as a top-10 safety. That’s not a bargain. It’s not bad, it’s just not a bargain.

Of course, this puts veterans at a huge disadvantage compared to players on rookie contracts, but some veterans could still be a bargain over the next couple of years.

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Veteran Bargains

RT Abe Lucas

Even though Lucas just signed a three-year contract extension in September, raising the bar for how good he has to be to a bargain, the Seahawks locked down their right tackle at the right time. By extending Lucas after two injury-plagued season, John Schneider took a risk and it paid off last season, as he didn’t miss a single snap except when starters were being rested.

The season culminated in Lucas being the highest-graded player in the Super Bowl by PFF.

Betting on a player when his stock is down is sort of like being a pool hustler. You let your opponent win a few by intentionally looking weak, then when he’s ready to bet it all on one game, you lose the limp and take him down.

Lucas has a $10.4 million cap hit in 2026 and $16.8 million in 2027. Those rank eighth and 12th among all right tackles at the moment. But Lucas has the upside of being a top-five right tackle and not only that, he has the upside to insure the worst case scenario at left tackle if Cross got injured. Lucas has the ability to play either side.

As vets go, Lucas is a bargain and he’s a bargain through 2027.

OLB DeMarcus Lawrence