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Schneider Missed DJ Moore. Now He’s Calling Minnesota About Jonathan Greenard. The Shopping List Never Ends.
Here’s where things stand three days before legal tampering opens: the Seahawks have exactly one new signature on a contract — Drake Thomas, linebacker, two years, $8 million — and approximately forty-seven problems that need solving before March 11. Good morning.
The big revelation from yesterday is that the Seahawks were in the mix for DJ Moore before the Bills swooped in with a second-round pick and snatched the veteran receiver from Chicago. James Palmer of The Athletic confirmed Seattle was among the teams with interest. Moore is headed to Buffalo. The Seahawks still need a WR3 after Rashid Shaheed’s expected departure. The universe provides.
But if you’re John Schneider and one trade target slips through your fingers, you don’t mope — you pivot. And pivot he apparently has, because the Seahawks have inquired about Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, per Corbin K. Smith of the Emerald City Spectrum. Smith reported that Minnesota has received inquiries from “half the league,” including Seattle, and that a second-round pick and Day 3 selection is the likely sweet spot for a deal. ESPN’s Adam Schefter backed it up Thursday, saying on The Pat McAfee Show that it’s “probably more likely than not” that Greenard gets traded.
This is where the math starts to get stress-inducing. Greenard has two years left on his deal at approximately $22 million per year. That’s not cheap. But it’s not Maxx Crosby money, either, and the Seahawks need edge rush help desperately with Boye Mafe headed to free agency, DeMarcus Lawrence flirting with retirement, and Uchenna Nwosu’s $11.5 million cap hit making him a potential cut candidate. Greenard posted 12 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in 2024 before a shoulder injury limited him to 12 games and just 3 sacks in 2025. The talent is real. The durability question is the kind of thing that keeps Schneider up at night.
I think the Seahawks are going to be aggressive this week. I don’t think they expected Moore to go to Buffalo, and now they’re recalibrating in real time. Greenard fills a massive hole. Whether Schneider wants to part with that second-round pick — in a draft where Seattle only has four picks total — is the question that defines the next six days.
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Signed
Drake Thomas Gets Paid: The Waiver Wire King Secures His Bag
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This is one of those signings where the story is almost better than the stats. Thomas was an undrafted free agent out of NC State in 2023 who initially signed with the Raiders, got waived before the season started, and was claimed on waivers by Seattle. He spent two years primarily on special teams. In 2025, he emerged as a 14-game starter at weakside linebacker alongside Ernest Jones IV and absolutely balled out: 96 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and an interception on the NFL’s top-ranked scoring defense. He added 18 tackles across three playoff wins, including six in Super Bowl LX.
At $4 million per year for a starting linebacker on a championship defense? That’s the kind of deal that makes you remember why Schneider still has a job. Thomas was a restricted free agent, so the risk of losing him was lower than an unrestricted guy, but locking him in now — in lieu of a one-year tender — gives both sides certainty. The Seahawks’ defense lost some people this offseason. They don’t have to lose this one.
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RB Watch
The KW3 Replacement Plan Is Forming, And It Involves Shopping At The Discount Aisle
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Allgeier is a zone-running specialist who rushed for 514 yards and eight touchdowns behind Bijan Robinson in Atlanta last year. He’s projected to cost roughly $5.6 million annually. Robinson Jr. is projected at around $3 million. Together, both players would cost less per year than what Walker would have made under the franchise tag. That’s the math Schneider loves. That’s the math fans hate.
It also makes sense for this system. New offensive coordinator Brian Fleury is a former 49ers run-game coordinator who will lean into zone schemes, and Allgeier is one of the best zone runners on the market. Robinson Jr. brings familiarity with that style too. And with Charbonnet on PUP and Holani as the only back currently under contract with real experience, Seattle needs bodies regardless of what happens with Walker.
Three days until legal tampering. The Super Bowl MVP is still available. The Seahawks are looking at Tyler Allgeier. This is fine.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Hendrickson to Tampa? Multiple reports indicate Trey Hendrickson has interest in joining the Buccaneers in free agency, with his offseason home in Florida being a factor. CBS Sports’ Prisco described the market as a “probably a three-year deal.” Well. So much for that speed dial we had set up for him. Tampa has sun, no state income tax, and a need at edge. We have rain, the millionaire tax, and vibes. It’s going to be fine. NFL Spin Zone
The Giants remain KW3’s most-linked suitor. NFL Spin Zone projects Walker signing a three-year, $45 million deal with New York, where John Harbaugh presumably wants to give Jaxson Dart a running game that doesn’t consist of hoping really hard. NFL.com also named the Broncos, Raiders, Commanders, and Vikings as landing spots. Everyone wants him. Nobody in Seattle wants to hear about it. NFL Spin Zone
The Seahawks only have four draft picks. That’s their fewest since 2021, when Schneider had three picks after the Jamal Adams trade. Seattle has selections in the first three rounds and a sixth-rounder from Cleveland. The shortage stems from the Rashid Shaheed trade and the Roy Robertson-Harris deal. Every pick matters. No pressure. The Athletic / Seattle Sports Today
Danielle Hunter just got $40M per year from the Texans. That’s the edge rusher market in 2026. The Seahawks are out here looking at Jonathan Greenard at $22M/yr and thinking “bargain.” ESPN’s top 100 free agents list ranks Hendrickson as the No. 2 overall free agent. You either pay for pass rush or you watch other teams pay for it. Those are your only two options. ESPN
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Sean McVay is openly begging Jimmy Garoppolo to come back as his backup. “I love Jimmy; I would absolutely want him back,” McVay said, before adding he’s “not naive” to the fact that other teams, including the Cardinals, might steal him away. The Rams are fighting to keep their backup quarterback from leaving for a division rival. The same franchise that proposed outlawing the Zachwards Pass is now worried about losing Jimmy G to Arizona. The NFC West giveth, and the NFC West taketh away.
NINERS
The San Francisco 49ers hired Matt Eberflus as their assistant head coach of defense. The man who went 14-32 as Bears head coach and was fired mid-season. The man whose Cowboys defense ranked 32nd in scoring defense and 32nd in passing defense last year. Six takeaways all season in Dallas. Kyle Shanahan looked at that résumé and said: yes, this is the energy we want in our building. Sleep easy, 12s. The competition is assembling its brain trust from the clearance rack.
CARDINALS
The Garoppolo-to-Arizona pipeline is now a full-blown love story. A league source told ESPN that new head coach Mike LaFleur considers Garoppolo “his guy” after two years together in LA. The Rams want him back. The Cardinals want him as a starter. The man hasn’t thrown a regular-season pass since 2024 and multiple franchises are fighting over him. Meanwhile, Kyler Murray is still getting released March 11. Jimmy Garoppolo: starter in Arizona. Say it out loud. Let it wash over you. This division is perfect.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
The Seahawks acquired Devon Witherspoon with the 5th overall pick in the 2023 draft — a pick obtained from the Broncos as part of the Russell Wilson trade. Who was the OTHER first-round pick Seattle got in that trade package, selected 9th overall in 2022?
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Charles Cross, the offensive tackle out of Mississippi State.
THE MAILBAG
Do you think Mike Macdonald gets a long-term extension soon or does he coach on his current deal?
— Tenure Truthers in Tukwila
Oh, Tenure Truthers. I love this question because the answer is so obvious that the only reason to ask it is because you need someone to say it out loud so you can stop worrying.
Mike Macdonald just won the Super Bowl in his first year as a head coach. He is 38 years old. The defense he built was the best scoring defense in the NFL. He beat the 49ers 41-6 in the playoffs. He beat the Rams in the NFC Championship. He beat the Patriots 29-13 on the biggest stage in sports. The man is not coaching on his current deal through 2027 without an extension. That’s not how any of this works.
The timing, though, is interesting. John Schneider got his extension through 2031 already, per the AP. Macdonald’s extension is a when-not-if situation, but the team sale complicates the exact timing. A new ownership group might want to be the ones to sign off on a long-term commitment to the head coach. Or the trust might lock it in before the sale closes specifically to provide stability. Either way, Macdonald has all the leverage a 38-year-old Super Bowl champion can have.
My best guess: extension comes this summer, probably around the time JSN and Witherspoon’s fifth-year options get exercised in May. The Seahawks will want to project stability on multiple fronts, and Macdonald will deserve every dollar. Sleep easy, Tukwila. Your coach isn’t going anywhere.
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See you tomorrow. — The Rooster