Free Agent Primer: Do Seahawks Plan to Re-Up Boye Mafe as Part of Pass Rush Rotation?

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Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe (53) rushes against New England Patriots offensive tackle Will Campbell (66) during the second quarter in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images [/caption]

After climbing back to the NFL’s mountaintop by winning Super Bowl LX, the Seattle Seahawks have no shortage of big decisions to make this offseason as they begin their title defense, starting with the free agency period.

With a new league year slated to kick off on March 11, the Seahawks have nine unrestricted free agents scheduled to test the market along with seven restricted free agents and two exclusive rights free agents. Compared to prior seasons, general manager John Schneider has more financial flexibility at his disposal with OverTheCap.com listing the franchise as sixth in available effective cap space ($62 million), but with several big name stars in line for extensions such as All-Pro receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the team won’t be able to keep everyone after running the table to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

Over the next several weeks, using statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and TruMedia, I will break down each and every one of the Seahawks' unrestricted free agents by revisiting their 2025 seasons, assessing why they should or should not be re-signed, breaking down an ideal contract, and making an early prediction on whether or not the player will return in 2026.

A quality rotational piece for Seattle’s offensive line during four seasons with the franchise, will the front office further invest in Boye Mafe with eyes towards a more productive future? Or will they allow another team to make that financial commitment?

2025 in Review

Remaining a key part of Seattle’s pass rushing rotation despite the offseason addition of Demarcus Lawrence and return of a healthy Uchenna Nwosu cutting a tad into his overall playing time, Mafe suited up for all 17 games, logging 559 snaps primarily off of the edge. Though he didn’t have much success getting to the quarterback with career-lows with two sacks and four quarterback hits in the regular season, his overall rushing numbers remained solid, as he finished with 40 pressures, two swatted passes, and a forced fumble. He continued to show improvements as a run defender as well, finishing ahead of teammates Derick Hall and Nwosu with 12 run stops, the sixth-most on the team. He played some of his best football in the playoffs, including generating a trio of pressures on Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in Super Bowl LX, putting quality play on film for prospective teams in January and February.

Why Seattle Will Re-Sign Mafe

Mafe’s sack and quarterback hit numbers from 2025 were more than a bit misleading in regard to his overall effectiveness, effected in part by the abundance of talent around him on Seattle’s defense line. His Pass Rush Win Rate (11.1%) actually scored slightly ahead of his pressure percentage from the season prior, and he tied with Leonard Williams for the second-most hurries (36) on the roster, showing he still had plenty of juice rushing off the edge and likely suffered from misfortunate more than subpar play. Far better against the run than he was when he first arrived out of Minnesota, his run stop rate nearly doubled from 2024 to 2025, and he held his own setting the edge as a key component of a top-five run defense.

With contracts revolving around perceived future value, Mafe stands out as a possible bounce-back candidate next season given his previous history. He’s only one year removed from a six-sack season and nearly hit the double-digit mark in 2023, proof that he can get hot and rack up hits on the quarterback in bunches. Still just 27 years old, his pedestrian numbers during a Super Bow-winning season could actually leave his value in an ideal area to re-sign without breaking the bank while carrying plenty of untapped potential for Mike Macdonald and his staff to unearth.

Why Seattle Will Let Mafe Walk

Whether fair or not, edge defenders primarily earn their value by harassing quarterbacks, and Mafe simply didn’t do much of that last season during a critical contract year. He would go long stretches without making any plays, evidenced by his career-low 31 combined tackles and only two sacks, going into ghost mode for multiple series at a time before finally coming through with a noteworthy contribution. Beyond traditional stats, he didn’t score favorably against most of his peers, ranking 42nd out of 60 qualified rushers with a 6.7 Pass Rush Productivity Rating, nearly two full points less than 2024. Out of players with at least 319 pass rushing snaps, only one player (Duwuane Smoot) had fewer quarterback hits than he did.

Even considering those diminished numbers, Mafe’s previous track record and youth could make him an appealing target for pass rush-needy teams who believe they can unlock more from him in a different scheme. From Seattle’s perspective, it may not make much sense to throw $10 million or more per year on a multi-season contract at a player who has only two seasons with 10 or more quarterback hits and has produced inconsistent sack totals over the course of his career.

Ideal Contract

One year, $8.5 million

Prediction

The Seahawks always have interest in retaining homegrown players at the right price, and if Mafe has a lukewarm market coming off of a down season by his standards, it’s absolutely possible the team could welcome him back with open arms on a one or two-year deal. With Nwosu and Hall both being free agents after the 2026 season, bringing him back would allow for a bit more continuity and create an opportunity for him to reset his own market for a bigger pay day with Seattle or another team in 2027 or 2028. If he rounds back into his 2023 and 2024 form, John Schneider may have more reason to consider a long-term commitment to the former second round pick as a foundational piece for Macdonald’s defense at a position with question marks beyond next season.

However, with several other marquee free agents as well as stars Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon needing new contracts, while Mafe still may have unfulfilled potential to unlock, the Seahawks aren’t in a position to be able to allocate big bucks to a player who has taken a statistical step back in each of the previous two years after a breakout 2023 season. Instead, Schneider has been investigating potential upgrades on the free agent and trade market, a sign of the team’s intentions. Depending on interest from other teams, the former starter could be back in a Seahawks uniform, but reading between the tea leaves, it seems more likely he will sign elsewhere.

Previous Free Agent Primers: Ken Walker III | Riq Woolen | Rashid Shaheed | Coby Bryant