You can't lose what you gave away

Seahawks are having the exact free agency week that they wanted to have

Teams that “win” free agency don’t tend to have many more victories to celebrate for the rest of the year. I guess we can let the Raiders and Titans have their March moment.

Seahawks fans, who should know by now that the franchise that has been to three Super Bowls in the last 13 years doesn’t tend to involve itself in outside moves this early in free agency, can take solace in the fact that real wins don’t start for another six months.

But then you also know by now that every year during this week there’s a feeling that Seattle “should be signing free agents” despite how well proven it is that they shouldn’t.

Who let the K9 out? Who? Who, Who, Who?

The phrase “the Seahawks lost free agent…” was said many times on Monday and I can’t help but correct that terminology. Now I’m not saying it’s the majority of Seahawks fans, plus most of the calls are coming from outside the house (meaning rivals who really want the Seahawks to suck next season), but we’ve all been experiencing the same narrative about Seattle’s first day of free agency:

“Wow, Kenneth Walker, Coby Bryant, and Boye Mafe got PAID! The Seahawks must really be hurting that they couldn’t afford to keep the Super Bowl team together!”

This is the NFL and the salary cap is as flexible as al dente spaghetti: The Seahawks didn’t keep these players because the Seahawks were not keen to pay any amount of “second contract value” that would have come to pass, with or without a supposed “Super Bowl tax”.

But before we talk about who Seattle didn’t sign we have to remind those fans who the Seahawks did sign before Monday because they DO keep the players they want to keep:

• June 2025: Seahawks extend Michael Dickson to 4-year deal

• September 2025: Seahawks extend Abe Lucas to 3-year deal

• December 2025: Seahawks extend Eric Saubert to additional year

• January 2026: Seahawks extend Charles Cross to 4-year deal

Seattle’s 2022 draft class goes down as one of the best of all-time even if the Seahawks didn’t keep all of those players: Cross and Lucas signed for a combined $150 million in new money, Walker got $45 million, Mafe got $60 million, and Bryant got $40 million. That’s ONE team’s class in ONE year that has already made $295 million in extension money and that’s before Riq Woolen signs.

I can’t stand the narrative that a team “couldn’t keep the band together” when the reality is that the Seahawks actually kicked people out of the band; not because they can’t play the instruments but just due to the fact that they’re headed in different artistic directions.

*What is the “Super Bowl tax”?

The notion goes that if a team wins the Super Bowl, that team’s players will be overvalued on the market because of the championship and sure there’s got to be a <ring> of truth to that. However, don’t lose sight of the obvious just to make one specific point:

More non-Super Bowl winners got overpaid than Super Bowl winners.

It’s the normal every day FREE AGENCY TAX and that’s why Seattle doesn’t get involved: Washington State ain’t about them taxes.

Pass on Pass Rusher Market

Boye Mafe: 3 years, $60 million

Yes, actually, that is too much money for Mafe.

Jaelan Phillips: 4 years, $120 million

Yes, actually, that is too much money for Phillips.

Mafe got overpaid because he’s an outside linebacker not because he was Seattle’s (backup) outside linebacker. The Panthers signed Phillips for $30 million per season even though it’s been less than six months since the Dolphins traded him to the Eagles for a third round pick. Phillips only had five sacks last year (and missed most of 2023-2024) but the market saw a former first round player at a premium position and couldn’t get past it.

Well, Mafe barely missed being a first round pick and he’s an athletic freak, which has a lot more to do with his $20 million AAV than the fact that he played in 38% of the playoff snaps with the Seahawks. 38%???

So desperate for defensive help were the Bengals that a Cincinnati blogger called his contract “affordable” for a player who had 2 sacks:

As of right now, the Bengals will still likely seek out interior defensive line help, too. But with Mafe deepening the rotation and Cook being a dramatic upgrade at safety, the Bengals certainly improved on Day 1 of the legal tampering window.

Grade: A

I can’t imagine any of us would have given the Seahawks an “A” for re-signing Mafe at that price. But it was only the price because he’s got the same argument for potential that he had four years ago as an over-drafted player out of Minnesota, not because of his association to Seattle.

Therefore the Seahawks didn’t “lose” Mafe; they prayed for him to get as much money as possible from another team as to improve their comp pick situation and the Bengals came through.

In that same vein, look at these pass rush contracts:

Odafe Oweh, Commanders: 4 years, $100m

John Franklin-Myers, Titans: 3 years, $63 million

Kwity Paye, Raiders: $16m AAV

Joseph Ossai, Jets: 3 years, $36 million

Dre’Mont Jones, Patriots: 3 years, $39.5 million

Kingsley Enagbare, Jets: $10 million

All a Seahawks fans needs to know is that Dre’Mont Jones was worth $40 million to someone.

Skill-Ex: Ken find a cheaper running back

It’s difficult to compare Kenneth Walker to just running back free agents because so few get paid (another reason to think very carefully before you pay one) so let’s look at all the key skill player contracts so far:

• RB Travis Etienne, Saints: 4 years, $52 million

• WR Alec Pierce, Colts: 4 years, $114 million

• Rashid Shaheed, Seahawks: 3 years, $51 million

• WR Mike Evans, 49ers: 3 years, $60 million

• TE Isaiah Likely, Giants: 3 years, $40 million

• WR Wan’Dale Robinson, Titans: 4 years, $78 million

• RB Kenneth Gainwell, Bucs: 2 years, $14 million

I even mentioned Jalen Nailor as an option for the Seahawks several times but that was not with the expectation that he would get 3/$35 from the Raiders!

All of those deals seem inflated to me, even including Shaheed. Seattle probably felt more motivated to extend Shaheed because they gave up two draft picks that they could have used to look for another receiver/returner, and having already parted ways with Walker, Bryant, and Mafe there was awareness there to shore up at least one need.

Even at the bottom end with Gainwell, that’s still a DeeJay Dallas-ish player who got $7 million per year.

It wouldn’t be smart for the Seahawks to “just go pay somebody today!” because it had been all of two hours since Walker left. Something will eventually happen…Monday didn’t have to be the day to address it.

“But shouldn’t fans panic as if the first game is tomorrow?”

Probably not. It’s not tomorrow, it’s not Sunday, it’s not in a month, and it’s not in five months. Fans do not need to know today what John Schneider’s plan is for the positions that will require further investments and even if those eventual moves feel underwhelming and it still feels bad to you when it is Week 1….SO WHAT?

There were not many fans who felt the Seahawks had made the necessary moves last offseason to win the Super Bowl. But they did. And Seattle started 0-1.

Who will the Seahawks start at running back? Somebody.

How will Seattle address the edge rusher position? Somehow.

What should Schneider do with the draft picks? Something.

Those are good questions but getting specific answers means nothing to me because I’ve given up the need to feel like I’m in control of an expectation. Ask me nine months ago if Drake Thomas, Ty Okada, Jalen Sundell, and DeMarcus Lawrence would feel so important to Seattle’s Super Bowl chances. I wouldn’t have.

I was also skeptical that Grey Zabel and Nick Emmanwori were the right picks at 17 and 35 but I was also open and hopeful to be proven wrong which is exactly what happened. That feels just as good, or better, than thinking that I need to know the Seahawks’ plan so that I can pre-judge it…because we don’t need to know the plan.

We just need to accept that we have no control, react to the outcomes, and hope for the best.

It’s good to feel encouraged by what the Seahawks do year-round and I typically do (one losing campaign in the last 14 seasons—one losing campaign in the last 14 seasons—one losing campaign in the last 14 seasons), but not because Seattle does what most people <think> teams should do in the offseason. Instead I respect the moves that the Seahawks make and don’t make because they don’t care what people think.

Seaside Joe 2562