Analysis: Seahawks Wise to Commit to Derick Hall, Lock Up Young EDGE Through 2029
Back in March, the Seattle Seahawks allowed former second round pick Boye Mafe to walk in free agency, watching the pass rusher bolt to join the Cincinnati Bengals a little over a month after helping the team win Super Bowl LX.
As the saying goes, NFL teams can’t keep everybody with salary cap limitations, and that’s especially the case for defending champions. Tough decisions have to be made with the understanding quality players will flee the nest for greener pastures.
By choosing not to bring back Mafe, the Seahawks suddenly faced significant questions with their EDGE group beyond 2026 with only one known commodity - veteran Demarcus Lawrence, who had been the subject of consistent retirement rumors throughout the spring - under contract beyond this upcoming season. The organization faced a real possibility that all four of their primary pass rushers from last year’s Super Bowl run could be either in a different uniform or hanging up their cleats by 2027.
But general manager John Schneider ensured Seattle won’t have to worry about such a disastrous situation coming to fruition on Tuesday, inking rising outside linebacker Derick Hall to a three-year deal reportedly worth $42 million and potentially carrying a maximum value of $46.5 million, tying him to the franchise through the 2029 season.
After only recording two sacks in the regular season a year ago, it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that the Seahawks overpaid for future expectations rather than past production, possibly even doing so out of desperation given the future outlook at the EDGE position. However, Schneider deserves major props for getting this extension done at a price point that ultimately could turn into one of the NFL’s best bargains for a player just entering his prime whose overall contributions vastly exceed raw sack numbers, ultimately re-signing him for what now amounts to a four-year, $44 million extension with the final year of his rookie deal attached.
Starting with the most obvious positive, with the player appearing to bet on himself to an extent and prioritizing staying with the organization that drafted him long term rather than chasing a few more bucks, Schneider and Seattle managed to retain the 25-year-old Hall on a three-year extension at roughly 66% of the overall value of Mafe’s $60 million pact signed with Cincinnati nearly three months ago. At $14 million per season, he barely inches into the top 35 EDGE defenders for annual average salary and falls several rungs below his former teammate, a big financial win for an organization that has several other stars to extend in the near future.
Comparatively, even though Hall and Mafe equaled one another with two sacks apiece last season, the former had a significantly more productive campaign overall. Including postseason games, which culminated with a two-sack performance against the Patriots in the Super Bowl, he generated 11 quarterback hits compared to Mafe having just two while posting a superior Pass Rush Win Rate of 15.5%, per Pro Football Focus charting.
From a league-wide perspective, Hall’s 41 quarterback pressures in the regular season ranked a pedestrian 46th among EDGE defenders. But with playoff games included, he turned in a rock solid 16.7% pressure rate, which ranked 17th among qualified players at the position and illustrated excellent efficiency with his pass rushing snaps. His 11 quarterback hits before the postseason began also sat inside the top 25, a respectable total for a player who only received 259 pass rushing opportunities as part of a deep rotation in Seattle.
Demonstrating his well-rounded game, Hall also earned a stellar top-20 run defense grade from PFF during the regular season, using his physicality, toughness, and relentless motor to set a firm edge and help anchor one of the NFL’s top rush defenses.
It’s also worth noting that only two years ago, even with a sub-9% Pass Rush Win Rate that didn’t sniff his efficiency last season, Hall enjoyed a semi-breakout of sorts in his sophomore campaign, nearly hitting the double digit mark with eight sacks and finishing second behind only Leonard Williams for the team lead. According to TruMedia, his 13 quarterback hits in the regular season tied for eighth in the league in 2024, equaling perennial All-Pro and newly-acquired Rams star Myles Garrett among others, giving the Seahawks a taste of what he’s truly capable of.
Beyond his on-field efforts, Hall also has been renowned by coaches and teammates for his selfless mentality and coachability, making him a well-respected member of the locker room. With maintaining their culture being a top area of emphasis, such intangibles that don’t show up in a box score have always been valued by Seattle as much as any team in the league when it comes to contract extensions.
Like any extension of this magnitude, the Seahawks clearly believe Hall’s best football remains ahead of him, and he will have to live up to those expectations for the contract to wind up being a worthwhile investment. After struggling to finish off quarterbacks - at least until the postseason - last year, he will have to be more consistent manufacturing sacks moving forward to go with continued stellar play as a feisty run defender to provide the necessary bang for the buck.
From that standpoint, there’s some built in risk extending Hall before the final year of his rookie contract, particularly with Uchenna Nwosu, Lawrence, and Dante Fowler Jr. all still potentially gone by this time next year. No matter what, other moves will have to be made to retool and reload around their newly-paid rusher in the future.
At the same time, however, Seattle’s willingness to tab Hall as a foundational piece for the defense’s long-term outlook now rather than wait until he’s on the verge of free agency and potentially prices himself out of town has a chance to be a steal down the line. If he erupts as Schneider and the coaching staff believe he will entering the prime of his career, at a fraction of the cost Cincinnati signed Mafe for, he could become one of the league’s biggest bargains in quick order under a contract that creates additional cap flexibility to keep more of his teammates alongside him and presents another shot for a massive pay day in a few years.
