Seahawks Readying For Busy Week of Roster Decisions After NFL Combine
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Tyler Lockett reels in a touchdown catch for the Seattle Seahawks against the New York Giants at Lumen Field. Credit: Tyler Lockett/Instagram [/caption]
Following the conclusion of the annual NFL combine this weekend, the Seattle Seahawks will promptly shift their focus towards free agency, which means a number of moves should be coming down the pipe in the next few weeks as the team ramps up negotiations to re-sign their own players and court outside free agents.
Currently, after the NFL announced the salary cap would increase to $279.2 million on February 27, the Seahawks sit $6.8 million in red according to OverTheCap.com. This means general manager John Schneider will need to make at least one significant move for Seattle to be cap compliant, while additional transactions will be required to open up financial flexibility for free agency with contract extensions, restructured contracts, cap casualties, and potentially trades all on the menu to achieve those means.
Up to this point, Seattle has generally been quiet this offseason, with restructuring Leonard Williams’ contract being the only notable move to create cap space thus far. But coming out of the combine, several other decisions will have to be made regarding the future of players such as quarterback Geno Smith, receiver Tyler Lockett, and outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu that would help open up necessary cap relief before the new league year opens on March 14.
Taking a deep dive into what went down behind the scenes in Indianapolis last week, where are things trending for Smith, Lockett, Nwosu, and other players with two weeks until free agency as the Seahawks aim to create ample space for the offseason?
Geno Smith, Seahawks mutually motivated to ink a multi-year extension
Since the offseason opened with Seattle unfortunately missing the playoffs, Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald have come to bat for Smith, reiterating their desire to re-sign him to a new contract as their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. Schneider called him “our guy” off podium at the combine earlier in the week, indicating the organization as a whole wanted him back for 2025 and beyond.
Negotiations for a new contract began in earnest last Friday with the Seahawks meeting with agent Chaffie Fields and Smith to start hashing out the framework for an extension. While both sides have interest in striking a deal, discussions could be a bit more complicated than they were two years ago when the veteran signal caller signed a team-friendly three-year, $75 million baked with tons of incentives, in part due to his age. With his 35th birthday approaching in October, the organization may be hesitant to spend more than $40 million per year and go beyond a two-year extension for a player with 12 years of NFL experience under his belt.
Adding to the complexity of a possible deal, with this potentially being his last big deal in the NFL, Smith might not be as inclined to settle for a deal heavy on performance escalators like his last one and could push for more guaranteed money this time around. But the two sides are driven to make this work and if they can reach a compromise between incentives and guaranteed money while landing him in the ballpark of $37-40 million per year, an extension could come together quickly, especially since the Seahawks could create more than $20 million in cap space by doing so.
The end of an era unfortunately looks to be approaching with Tyler Lockett
One of the most popular and productive Seahawks to ever don a uniform, Lockett ranks second in franchise history in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns behind only Hall of Famer Steve Largent and likely will be a strong candidate to have his No. 16 hung in the rafters as a Ring of Honor inductee at Lumen Field. But after unofficially bidding adieu after the team’s season-ending win in Los Angeles in early January at the tail end of his worst statistical season since 2017, the odds of him wearing the jersey again appear to be slim to none.
Speaking with reporters off podium in Indianapolis, Schneider indicated that he and the front office would meet with Lockett’s agent Andrew Kessler at the combine to discuss the receiver’s future and potentially look into revising his contract to keep him in the fold. But reading through the tea leaves, when asked if he thought the veteran could be back, he didn’t seem overly optimistic on a solution being reached.
"Do I anticipate it? I don't know,” Schneider responded. “We'll see how the conversation goes, but I don't... Yeah, I'm not sure."
With Lockett carrying a hefty $30 million cap hit on the final year of his contract, his status has been murky at best since before the 2024 season concluded and all signs continue to point to him being a cap casualty in the near future, potentially early as this week. By cutting him loose, the team would immediately create $17 million in cap relief that could be used to sign other players leading up to free agency.
Seattle wants to keep Uchenna Nwosu… at the right price.
Since signing a four-year extension in July 2023, Nwosu has missed 22 regular season games due to a litany of injuries, including suffering a sprained knee on a dirty chop block by Browns guard Wyatt Teller in the preseason and tearing his quad only 20 snaps after returning from the first injury last season. Given his durability issues, some speculated the Seahawks would move on from him, but he played well down the stretch in the final five games and he remains a critical leader in the locker room, so the organization would like to keep him around.
With that said, Seattle wisely moved Nwosu’s February 14 roster bonus date, with Schneider confirming at the combine that the two sides were working on a restructured contract to lower his cap hit for 2025. The front office would not have had to ask for the player’s permission to do a simple restructure, which would have lowered his cap hit by up to $6.6 million, but they opted against that move because his cap hit would jump to $24 million in 2026.
Looking to restructure Nwosu without placing so much extra burden on the cap next season, the Seahawks have discussed a similar deal to the one they gave Dre’Mont Jones last season where they tacked on a void year at the end of his deal, allowing them to further spread out the increased cap hit over two years instead of one. Other options remain on the table, but an agreement will have to be reached soon, as they don’t want him to be on the books for north of $20 million against the cap next season.
A few dominoes may need to fall before Ernest Jones lands new deal.
On the priority list, signing Jones to a multi-year extension sits atop Schneider’s offseason agenda, as the Seahawks expect him to be a foundational piece of Macdonald’s defense for years to come. Coming over in a midseason trade with the Titans, his arrival led to dramatic improvements on that side of the football, including allowing nearly 50 rushing yards per game less with him in the starting lineup alongside rookie Tyrice Knight.
Negotiations re-opened last week and with Jones being promoted in several team-related activities on their social media accounts as of late, those discussions seem to be trending in the right direction. Before the season ended, the former South Carolina standout made it clear he wanted to stay in the Pacific Northwest, and with Schneider valuing the linebacker position as much as any general manager in the NFL today, he will be ready to open up the checkbook to pay the rising young star upwards of $13-14 million per year - at least when the bank account looks a bit better.
Though the Seahawks can re-sign Jones before making other moves and don’t have to be cap compliant until the start of free agency, Schneider has typically initiated cut downs and extensions before re-signing his own free agents and courting players from other teams. Just two years ago, he extended Smith on March 6, and the extra cap room came in handy pursuing Jones, who they gave a three-year, $51 million contract.
Smith’s latest extension may not come before Jones signs the dotted line, but even if that’s the case, the fates of Lockett, Nwosu, and Jones, who carries a $25 million cap hit of his own in the final year of his current contract, likely will be decided before any pending free agents sign as a means to shore up the salary cap situation. Other high-priced veterans such as tight end Noah Fant, safety Rayshawn Jenkins, and defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris could also potentially be on the block to open up the space needed to afford Jones’ new deal.
