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Extensions
The Seahawks Exercised Both Fifth-Year Options. This Is The Easy Part.
On Friday, the Seahawks did the most predictable thing they’ve done all offseason: they exercised the fifth-year options on Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon. Both players are now under contract through the 2027 season. Water is wet. The sun sets in the west. JSN and Spoon aren’t going anywhere.
The options themselves are almost comically cheap relative to what’s coming. JSN’s fifth-year option is valued at roughly $23.85 million for 2027. Witherspoon’s comes in around $21.2 million. Those numbers are fully guaranteed at exercise, which matters for the Seahawks’ cash-spending obligations under the CBA. But compared to the extensions both players will eventually sign? This is the appetizer menu.
JSN just had 1,793 receiving yards, won Offensive Player of the Year, and publicly said he believes he deserves to be the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. Ja’Marr Chase’s record sits at $40.25 million per year. JSN isn’t just in that neighborhood. He’s measuring for curtains. Adam Schefter called Friday’s moves “a precursor to bigger deals,” which is the NFL insider equivalent of saying the sky is blue with more gravitas.
$40.25M
Ja’Marr Chase’s record-setting $40.25 million per year is the benchmark JSN is openly targeting after his 1,793-yard Offensive Player of the Year season.
Witherspoon, meanwhile, has made the Pro Bowl in all three of his NFL seasons. Three for three. In 43 career regular-season games, he’s racked up 249 tackles, 32 passes defended, and 4.5 sacks. The CB market was just reset by Trent McDuffie’s four-year, $124 million extension with the Rams ($31 million per year). That’s Witherspoon’s floor.
As Field Gulls detailed, extending both players actually helps the Seahawks satisfy their 2026 CBA cash-spending minimums via large signing bonuses. The front office exercised Cross’s fifth-year option last year before signing him to a four-year, $104.4 million extension. The playbook is clear. The fifth-year option is the formality. The extension negotiation is the real game.
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The fifth-year option is the formality. The extension negotiation is the real game.
The interesting part isn’t whether extensions happen. It’s the order. If Puka Nacua signs first in L.A. and breaks $40 million per year, JSN’s floor rises immediately. If JSN signs first, Nacua’s agent gets a new data point. It’s a game of contractual chicken (pun very much intended) where nobody wants to blink first. For now, both players are locked in, both are extension-eligible, and both are going to cost the kind of money that makes you check Zillow just to feel something.
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Roster Move
The Jaguars Want Jake Bobo. The Seahawks Have Five Days To Decide If They Do Too.
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Here’s the thing about Bobo: his statistical case for being worth $4.5 million in guarantees is, charitably, thin. He had two catches for 20 yards during the 2025 regular season. His playing time decreased significantly, and he was a healthy scratch for three games. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story, and they never have with Bobo.
He caught a 17-yard touchdown in the third quarter of the NFC Championship Game against the Rams. He broke his hand in that game, flew to L.A. for surgery the next morning, came back, and played the Super Bowl with a metal pin in his right hand. That’s not a guy you evaluate on a stat sheet. That’s a teammate.
The connection to Jacksonville makes sense: Shane Waldron, Seattle’s former offensive coordinator, is now the Jaguars’ passing game coordinator. Bobo played his best season under Waldron in 2023, catching 19 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. But with JSN, Kupp, Shaheed ($51 million), Tory Horton, and Cody White already in the receiver room, Seattle might decide the money is better spent elsewhere. The deadline to match is March 25.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Five different mock drafters now have the Seahawks taking Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price at No. 32. NBC Sports’ Connor Rogers, NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, and three others all see Price as the pick. At this rate, Schneider will take a punter at 32 just to prove a point. SI on Seahawks
The 49ers declined Trent Williams’ $10 million option bonus on Friday, per Adam Schefter. They say they still want an extension. Williams, who is 37 and has held out before, probably has some thoughts about that sequence of events. SI on 49ers
ESPN’s Mina Kimes, a self-proclaimed Seahawks fan with a Super Bowl XLVIII tattoo, called the 49ers’ offseason “terrifying” on her podcast. She specifically praised the Osa Odighizuwa trade alongside Nick Bosa’s return. Mina, respectfully, we love you, but we’re going to need you to use your inside voice when complimenting NFC West rivals. NBC Sports Bay Area
Albert Breer reported on The MMQB podcast that the Rams’ interest in an A.J. Brown trade may have been a negotiating tactic to remind Puka Nacua he doesn’t have them over a barrel. Breer said “things haven’t been perfect with Puka” off the field. The Rams are out here playing 4D chess with their own receiver’s contract talks. The Seahawks, by contrast, have JSN, who said he’d play for free but would also like $40 million per year. Much simpler dynamic. Newsweek
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
The Rams’ Nacua extension saga is turning into a soap opera. Albert Breer reported that L.A.’s pursuit of A.J. Brown may have been a calculated move to send a message to Nacua’s camp during extension talks. “Things haven’t been perfect with Puka,” Breer said. “Let’s make sure that he knows he doesn’t have us over a barrel here.” Meanwhile, Spotrac projects Nacua’s market value at $38.5 million per year, and LAFB Network projects a deal in the four-year, $150 to $165 million range. The Rams are trying to leverage a player who led the NFL with 129 receptions. That’s like trying to negotiate down the price of a house that’s already on fire with competing offers. Good luck, Les.
NINERS
The 49ers declined Trent Williams’ $10 million option bonus on Friday, which is the financial equivalent of texting “we need to talk” and then not responding for three hours. Williams is 37, has held out before, and is the best left tackle in football when he feels like showing up. San Francisco says they still want an extension. But telling a future Hall of Famer you’re not going to pay him what he’s owed while simultaneously asking him to restructure is the kind of move that gets your left tackle skiing in Tahoe when OTAs start. ESPN’s Mina Kimes called the 49ers offseason “terrifying,” which, sure. Adding Osa Odighizuwa, Mike Evans, and Dre Greenlaw to a team that got beaten 41-6 by Seattle in the divisional round is certainly something. Whether it’s terrifying or just loud remains to be seen.
CARDINALS
Arizona has the No. 3 overall pick, seven total selections, and has done “absolutely zero” at edge rusher this offseason, per NFL.com’s Eric Edholm. The supporting cast behind Josh Sweat combined for 5.5 sacks last season. The Cardinals’ approach seems to be: why sign edge rushers in free agency when you can just not have any? Mock drafts are split between taking an offensive tackle (Francis Mauigoa) and a pass rusher (David Bailey from Texas Tech). ESPN’s Jordan Reid even has them trading back into the first round for Alabama QB Ty Simpson, who has 15 career starts. Fifteen. The Cardinals are treating the third pick in the draft like a scratch-off lottery ticket where every option somehow leads to more questions.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
When Steve Largent retired after the 1989 season, he held the NFL’s all-time record for career receiving touchdowns with 100, making him the first player in league history to reach that milestone. Which wide receiver later broke Largent’s career touchdown receptions record?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Jerry Rice. Rice surpassed Largent’s record of 100 career receiving touchdowns in 1992 and went on to finish his career with 197.
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The curtains are being measured. Go Hawks. — The Rooster