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# Veteran Connection: Seahawks’ Coaching Staff Leaning on Past Ties in Free Agency
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/veteran-connection-seahawks-coaching-staff-leaning-on-past-ties-in-free-agency/
- Published: 2025-03-13T17:42:33.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T06:21:08.000Z
- Author: Corbin Smith
- Tags: Seahawks, NFL Free Agency, Demarcus Lawrence, Sam Darnold, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Cooper Kupp, Lucas Patrick, Teven Jenkins, Matthew Judon, Brent Urban, Kyle Juszczyk, Adam Prentice

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/revised-twitter-template-format-original-7.png)

As a first-time NFL head coach, many expected to see Mike Macdonald lure several of his former players to the Seattle Seahawks last offseason, including the possibility of pursuing safety Geno Stone and linebacker Patrick Queen, who starred in his defense with the Baltimore Ravens.

However, Macdonald and the Seahawks didn’t make a run at Stone or Queen, choosing to go different directions by signing more affordable veterans in safety Rayshawn Jenkins and linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker instead. Surprisingly, of the team’s free agent additions last March and April, Dodson and nose tackle Johnathan Hankins were the only ones with previous ties to the coaching staff, as the former played for assistant head coach Leslie Frazier in Buffalo and the latter previously played for defensive coordinator Aden Durde in Dallas.

Turning the calendar a year in advance, Seattle has flipped the script 180 degrees so far this offseason, leaning heavily on prior connections with Macdonald’s revamped coaching staff during the early stages of the free agency period.

Starting at the quarterback position, the Seahawks signed Pro Bowler Sam Darnold to three-year, $100.5 million deal as the replacement for Geno Smith, who the team dealt to Las Vegas for a third round pick only a few days before the start of the league year. The move reunited the former top-five pick with newly-hired offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who worked with him as a pass game coordinator for the 49ers during the 2023 season.

Though Darnold only started one game in San Francisco as a backup behind Brock Purdy, he played well in limited action with 297 passing yards and two touchdowns. His time in the bay area paired with Kubiak proved instrumental in paving the way for the signal caller’s career resurgence in Minnesota last season, as he regained his confidence after a rough first five seasons in New York and Carolina, throwing 35 touchdown passes and leading the NFL in air yards on deep passes to lead the Vikings to a 14-3 record.

After excelling in a scheme with plenty of parallels to Kubiak’s system under coach Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota, Darnold should be poised to hit the ground running without having to learn a completely foreign offense while working with a coach who understands his strengths and how to cater his scheme to the quarterback’s skill set, which played a key part in the appeal of Seattle signing him as a successor for Smith.

Darnold will take over as the Seahawks new starter without the benefit of throwing to DK Metcalf or Tyler Lockett, two of the franchise’s most decorated receivers who both will be playing in different uniforms next season after being traded to the Steelers and released as a cap casualty respectively. To help mitigate the substantial loss of production at the receiver position, general manager John Schneider once again turned to a player with connections to Kubiak, signing veteran wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a one-year deal worth up to $5.5 million with incentives.

Starting off last season with the Bills before being released, Valdes-Scantling joined the Saints as a free agent last October following injuries to receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. Taking advantage of his latest opportunity, the speedy downfield threat got off to a fast start in Kubiak’s offense, catching four touchdowns in his first four games with the team. An injury to quarterback Derek Carr wound up hurting his numbers the last four games, but he finished with 17 receptions for 385 yards and four touchdowns in half a season, averaging a ridiculous 22.6 yards per reception.

Since 2018, among receivers with at least 200 receptions, Valdes-Scantling ranks first in the NFL averaging north of 17 yards per reception, nearly a full yard and a half more than any other player during that span. Roughly a third of his career receptions have gone for at least 20 yards and 13 of his 20 touchdown catches have been at least 20 yards, illustrating his propensity for creating explosive plays. Nobody will mistake him as a replacement for Metcalf or Lockett, but his talents as a vertical weapon and knowledge of Kubiak’s offense will help compensate for their losses and complement rising star Jaxon Smith-Njigba quite well.

On the defensive side of the ball, as Macdonald hinted Seattle would do during the combine, the franchise doubled-down on fortifying one of its biggest strengths by adding multi-time Pro Bowl defensive end Demarcus Lawrence to an already stacked defensive line on an incentive-laden three-year deal. The 12th year veteran has been a staple of the Cowboys defense since coming out of Boise State and he enjoyed three of his best seasons with Durde serving as the team’s defensive line coach from 2021 to 2023, making a pair of Pro Bowl squads during that time.

A junkyard dog who will bring toughness, physicality, and disruptive playmaking ability to the Seahawks’ front line, Lawrence has been one of the most productive all-around players at his position for more than a decade. Along with racking up 61.5 career sacks, including a pair of double digit sack seasons in 2017 and 2018, he has consistently been an elite run defender who uses his long arms and powerful hands to set a firm edge and a quick first step to regularly visit the backfield. With Durde as his position coach, per Pro Football Focus charting, he ranked second in run stops (36) in 2022 and seventh in run stops in 2023 (27).

As a pass rusher, Lawrence’s production has tapered off in the sack department since he produced 25 combined sacks in 2017 and 2018, but he still has been highly effective at harassing quarterbacks. From 2020 to 2023, he surpassed 48 quarterback pressures three times, and prior to suffering a Lisfranc fracture in his foot that ended his season prematurely in 2024, he generated three sacks in four games, showing he still can create trouble collapsing the pocket.

With free agency just kicking off on Wednesday, the Seahawks have more work left to be done as they reload their roster following the departures of Smith, Metcalf, and Lockett, and if the first few days of the new league year have been any indication, signing players with past connections to members of the coaching staff will likely be a big part of the equation.

Looking at who remains available on the market, after signing Lawrence on Wednesday, it seems unlikely Macdonald will reunite with linebacker Matthew Judon, who starred for him in Baltimore when he was the linebacker coach. The need for another big-bodied edge such as Brent Urban, another player who excelled in Macdonald’s scheme, should be filled as well.

However, Kubiak confirmed during his introductory press conference last month that the Seahawks will be utilizing a fullback as part of their offense, a position that the team currently doesn’t have a great fit for on the roster. Luckily, two familiar options remain unsigned, with former Saints fullback Adam Prentice available and long-time 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk hitting the market as a cap casualty. The latter would be the most exciting option after being a perennial Pro Bowler in San Francisco, but Prentice played well for Kubiak in New Orleans last season and could come at a fraction of the cost.

In the trenches, the Seahawks swung and missed trying to land guard Will Fries, who accepted a five-year offer from the Vikings. At this stage, it feels unlikely that the team will make a splash on the offensive line, but quarterback coach Andrew Janocko has a relationship with free agent Teven Jenkins from their time together with the Bears, which explains reports of interest on that front. Additionally, guard Lucas Patrick played solid football for the Saints last year and both Kubiak and offensive line coach John Benton know him well, setting the stage for a potential reunion to bring a veteran into the fold for an otherwise young interior offensive line.

At the skill positions, Seattle has also been linked to ex-Los Angeles Rams star receiver Cooper Kupp, who was released on Wednesday and already has drawn interest from several teams with reports indicating he could make a decision quickly. Aside from previously starring at Eastern Washington and growing up in Yakima, the former All-Pro previously worked with Seahawks pass game specialist Jake Peetz, creating another built-in relationship that could lead to him returning to the Pacific Northwest as another talented target for Darnold and staying in the NFC West division.

For as fast as free agency opens, the process tends to slow down after a couple days with teams becoming more guarded with their cap space and taking their time by bringing remaining free agents into town for physicals, oftentimes reserving these visits for older players or ones coming off of significant injury. But the second and third phases of free agency have typically been where Schneider has done most of his work as a thrift shopper, and with several quality players such as Kupp and Jenkins still out there who have familiarity with the coaching staff, fans should expect them to ramp up activity in coming days filling out the roster.