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Analysis
Darnold Is Headed for $50 Million a Year. The Seahawks Are in No Rush.
Daniel Jeremiah went on Brock and Salk this week and said what everyone with a calculator already knew: Sam Darnold is heading toward the $50 million-per-year salary range on his next contract. The Super Bowl-winning quarterback currently makes $33.5 million a year. Daniel Jones just got $44 million from the Colts. The math is not subtle.
$33.5M
Darnold’s current AAV — 15th among QBs. A Super Bowl ring didn’t move the number. Yet.
But here’s the part that matters for Seattle: Jeremiah doesn’t think this is a crisis. He actually thinks both things can coexist. Darnold gets into the $50 million club, and the Seahawks still get a relative discount because the market will have moved past him by the time he signs.
The key, per Jeremiah, is the draft pipeline. If Schneider keeps hitting on picks the way he has the last two cycles, Seattle can absorb a massive QB number and still field a contender. He pointed to Kansas City’s model: Patrick Mahomes wasn’t driving those last couple of Super Bowls. The defense was. Schneider, Jeremiah said, is “going to have to continue to just knock it out of the park.”
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The Seahawks are paying Darnold like a top-15 quarterback and getting top-5 results. That math only works until the contract expires.
Darnold has two years left on his deal. He’s scheduled to earn $27.5 million in 2026 and $35.5 million in 2027. No extension talks are expected this offseason. That’s not a sign of trouble. It’s a sign of strategy.
SOURCES →
Front Office
The Vikings Want Nolan Teasley. The Buzz Is Getting Louder.
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Virtual interviews began this week, with in-person second rounds potentially not happening until after Memorial Day. The Vikings fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in January and have been running with interim GM Rob Brzezinski since. The candidate list now stretches to at least ten names across seven organizations.
If Teasley gets the job, the Seahawks would receive two third-round compensatory picks, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson. That’s meaningful draft capital for a team that entered this cycle with the fewest picks in the league. It’s also the kind of loss that hurts in ways picks can’t replace. Teasley has been in the building since 2013. He helped build two Super Bowl winners.
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Third-round compensatory picks Seattle would receive if Teasley is hired away.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
The Seahawks signed UDFA receivers Rashad Rochelle and Trayvon Rudolph on Thursday, waiving edge rusher Devean Deal to make room. Seattle now has 14 wide receivers on the roster. Fourteen. Camp is going to look like a casting call. Seahawks.com
Field Gulls’ Mookie Alexander published his seven takeaways from the schedule and called the post-bye stretch “treacherous.” Three division games, two road games against 2025 playoff teams, and the Cowboys and Giants at home. The first half is a cruise. The second half is a gauntlet. Field Gulls
Jadarian Price remains the only unsigned member of Seattle’s draft class, but picks 21 through 32 are all still unsigned. This is a calendar problem, not a negotiation problem. Breathe. Seattle Sports
Mike Macdonald’s anti-dynasty language continues to harden. He told reporters: “We’re not defending anything.” Not running it back, not defending anything. The man won a Super Bowl four months ago and speaks about it like someone describing a previous relationship. Heavy
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
McVay is planning to limit Stafford’s training camp reps again after the back scare last year, which means first-round pick Ty Simpson and Stetson Bennett get to compete for the backup job all summer. The Rams drafted a quarterback who never even spoke to the GM or head coach before draft night, and now they’re trying to convince the reigning MVP that everything is fine. Stafford’s extension that was reportedly “close” in April is still not done. The Seahawks play them twice in the final three weeks of the season. Merry Christmas.
NINERS
The 49ers are projected to travel 38,100 miles this season, the most in a single campaign in NFL history. Melbourne in Week 1, Mexico City in Week 11, plus trips to Dallas and New York. CBS Sports asked whether this dooms San Francisco, then argued no. I’m less generous. They scored six points against Seattle in January and their big offseason additions are Christian Kirk and the ghost of Mike Evans. Niners Nation already identified the Seahawks as “the obvious candidate to regress,” which is the kind of energy you project when you’ve been outscored 57-6 in your last two games against a team.
CARDINALS
Arizona went 0-6 in NFC West games last season and drew the hardest schedule in the NFL for 2026. Jeremiyah Love signed his $53.9 million rookie deal and said he’s “fitting right in” at minicamp, which is encouraging for a franchise that spent the third overall pick on a running back when their QB1 won’t show up for voluntary workouts. Bleacher Report noted the Cardinals can’t afford to go 0-6 in the division again. Bold analysis. The over/under is still 4.5 wins. That’s not a projection, it’s a ceiling.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Bobby Engram set the Seahawks’ single-season receptions record in 2007, a mark that stood until Tyler Lockett broke it in 2020. How many catches did Engram haul in during that career-best campaign?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
94 receptions. Engram also posted a career-high 1,147 receiving yards and six touchdowns that season, all while starting in only 67 of his 109 career games in Seattle.
Got a Question for The Rooster?
Drop your best Seahawks question in our mailbag and I’ll answer it in a future issue. Cap math, draft takes, irrational hope — all accepted. Spelling optional.
OTAs in ten days. The trophy is in Renton. The price tag on everything keeps going up. That's what happens when you win. Go Hawks. — The Rooster