Which Seahawks will be available against Panthers?

If the Seahawks traded a first round pick for a player, which player would they trade it for?

The Seahawks have to treat the Panthers like its a playoff game because in many ways it is. If Seattle loses, it could be the reason that they have an extra playoff game in January instead of skipping the wild card round altogether. Read about the updated playoff scenarios for Week 17 right here.

Which players are expected to be available and which ones aren’t?

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Roger Earl: I would like to hear about health/injuries after the Rams game.

This is obviously something that would have to be updated throughout the week.

• Charles Cross described as “2-4 weeks” so not likely to return vs Panthers

• Nick Emmanwori not expected to miss any time

• Coby Bryant’s knee will cost him some time

• Riq Woolen’s injury doesn’t appear serious

• Bringing back Tory Horton this week would be a surprise

The expectations are that Josh Jones starts at left tackle, Ty Okada starts at safety, Horton stays on IR, Emmanwori and Woolen are fine.

Mark Edwards: I can't recall a recent season that's felt so fortunate on the injury front. With so many players going down and leaving games across the NFL lately, a healthy competitive team surely experiences something of a boost. Are these Hawks healthier, or am I imagining it?

I think it’s all relative. A few weeks ago there was a question regarding whether the Seahawks were one of the un-luckiest injury teams in the league.

Most teams would let injuries be an excuse for why they’re a bad team. The Seahawks have relied on a lot of second or third options, whether that’s Olu Oluwatimi, Okada, Jones, Drake Thomas, Shaheed, and sometimes a second option becomes a first option. The 49ers may have had the worst injury luck of any team.

I’d say that your gut feeling is right because Seattle’s core players have remained mostly intact. I’d also say that it feels better because the Seahawks have managed to thrive through injuries (including Thursday’s massive victory) rather than fall apart and then blame injuries.

Chuck Turtleman: Considering the reported shallow 1st round of the 2026 NFL draft, is there a player you'd target to trade our first-round pick for? I feel like we're a trench player on each side of the ball from being a juggernaut. And among K9, Cross, et al is there a player you think we might not retain that could surprise us?

How about the fact that the Bears traded a fourth round pick for Joe Thuney in March and the guard is set to make his third straight All-Pro team? And I didn’t even realize it. I had to go look up who was traded this year and right there in front of our faces is one of the top guards in the league being dealt for a day three pick and we already knew he was great.

If the goal is to use a draft pick on an interior offensive line upgrade, I don’t think the Seahawks have to dangle a first rounder for him.

Offensively, I would throw out Drake London as an option. The perfect 24-year-old receiving complement to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the Falcons don’t have a first round pick in 2026. You could sell that to the Seahawks as a way to give Sam Darnold another long-term weapon just as you’re probably transitioning to a new offensive coordinator.

How about the fact that London has 5 100-yard games this season (as many as George Pickens) and he’s only played in 10 games? I see the Mike Evans comparisons.

Defensively, the Maxx Crosby thing will continue to be out there. I ask myself if the Seahawks couldn’t just pursue Trey Hendrickson as a free agent instead. If they want a younger guy then maybe Kayvon Thibodeaux or Travon Walker or Tyree Wilson, but I can’t imagine they’d be worth first round picks.

I think the Seahawks probably use the pick, maybe they trade down to recoup the draft value they lost in the Rashid Shaheed trade. But if I had to take a chance on a trade for a current NFL player, I think London stands out to me as a player who checks the most boxes.

And I know some people probably feel very high on Shaheed right now and that’s all good, but a) there’s no comparison allowed between London and Shaheed as starting #1 or #2 receivers and b) they do much different jobs.

Eduardo: Interested in understanding how much Rashid Shaheed’s 0 catches was a product of good D, QB being overly cautious with the Rams’ secondary or the WR himself?

P.S. Shaheed’s non-celebration after the punt return TD isn’t being talked about enough. That for me is the epitome of “Mission Over BS” mindset. Respect

Firstly, I want to emphasize that it doesn’t matter to me if Shaheed gets 0 catches as if I’m going to condemn him as a “bad receiver” for it. Getting 10 catches or 100 yards is not what Shaheed was brought to Seattle to do.

That being said, I also think that’s the point: Fans shouldn’t make Shaheed into being something that he isn’t. That’s not fair to Shaheed or fair to the Seahawks or to the fans.

He’s a Pro Bowl returner. He’s a gadgety offensive weapon. He’s not supposed to have 70 receiving yards every week. He’s not supposed to become your number one receiver if JSN misses a game or a two. I’m never going to go into a game thinking, “Ah, the Seahawks really need to feed Shaheed this week and he needs to come up with 100 yards!”

I’ll say that about JSN. I might even say that about Cooper Kupp. Anything Shaheed does on offense is a bonus.

On that note, I’d be surprised if defensive coordinators thought that way about Shaheed so is it a product of “D”? I mean, I don’t think the Rams were worried about doubling or bracketing Shaheed. Was Sam Darnold being “overly cautious” against the secondary? The Rams have a bad secondary and I’m struggling to think of many times this season that Darnold has taken deep shots to Shaheed against anybody. He’s had a few. Could be something that Seattle pulls out of their hat in the playoffs.

Shaheed was targeted 1 time on 22 routes, which is his lowest TG% of the season, that’s true. But not extremely outside of the norm.

If I had to put an expectation on him, I might say, “What if Jermaine Kearse was really fast?”

Expectations-wise, that’s where I’m at with Shaheed. A solid option to have on your team, a guy who can make “the play” for you, but not a WR1 or WR2. Which is going to sound to some people like I’m putting him down, to which I say what’s wrong with being Jermaine Kearse? That’s really good!

Rusty: So…it’s a week from the NFC championship game in Seattle in late January. Who are you gonna ask to raise the flag before the game?

I recently met a family member of Kenny Easley, so that’s probably why my mind goes there first. What if his wife Gail Easley raised the flag in honor of one Seattle’s few Hall of Famers?

The last time Easley raised the flag was before Seattle’s 31-17 playoff win over the Panthers in 2015.

Yesterday I wrote about some of the similarities between the 2025 team and the 1984 team, which is of course when Easley won Defensive Player of the Year. (By the way, Easley won DPOY over Mark Gastineau when he set the record with 22 sacks, so imagine the poetry of another magical Seahawks season while Myles Garrett is about to set a new sacks record.)

What are your answers?

Seaside Joe 2485