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Najee Harris Visited The Seahawks. The Running Back Search Just Got Real.
The Seahawks’ running back room has looked like a group project where your best contributor transferred to another school, and now you’re seeing who else is available at 11 p.m. the night before it’s due. On Wednesday, that search got a name attached to it: Najee Harris.
Per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and confirmed by Adam Schefter, Harris visited the Seahawks at the VMAC on Wednesday. The visit was described as exploratory, in part to evaluate where Harris stands in his recovery from the torn Achilles that ended his 2025 season with the Chargers in Week 3. He’s also set to visit the Raiders next, per Ian Rapoport. Nobody’s signing anything yet.
But the context matters. Kenneth Walker left for Kansas City as a free agent. Zach Charbonnet tore his ACL in the divisional round and isn’t expected back until late November at the earliest. The current depth chart features Emanuel Wilson, George Holani, Cam Akers, Kenny McIntosh, and Jacardia Wright. If that list fills you with unshakable confidence, you might want to consult a doctor.
Harris brings a real resume. Four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons in Pittsburgh. A Pro Bowl nod as a rookie in 2021. He was the 24th overall pick out of Alabama in the 2021 draft. But he’s 28 now, coming off a major injury, and his career yards-per-carry average of 3.9 was never going to set the analytics crowd on fire even when both Achilles tendons were intact. His agent recently posted video of Harris sprinting on a treadmill, which is the free-agent equivalent of changing your LinkedIn status to “open to opportunities.”
3.9
Harris’s career yards-per-carry average — a number that never dazzled the analytics crowd even before the torn Achilles.
SI on Seahawks noted that the likeliest outcome is still that Seattle addresses running back in the draft. But the uncertainty of draft weekend forces the front office to keep veteran options warm. Harris on a cheap deal as insurance? That math checks out. Harris as the featured back in a Super Bowl defense? That’s a different conversation, and it’s one this team hasn’t decided to have yet.
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Facilities
The Seahawks Are Nearly Doubling The VMAC. Construction Starts This Summer.
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80,000
Square feet of new space being added to the VMAC — a 40% expansion of the current 200,000-square-foot facility.
The project, designed by architectural firm HOK (the same firm that designed Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta), will extend the east and west sides of the existing three-story building. The team also plans to add 160 new parking stalls, bringing the total to 435. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer with a target completion date of fall 2028.
The timing is fascinating for two reasons. One: the Paul Allen Trust is actively selling the franchise, and here they are breaking ground on a construction project that won’t finish for two more years. That’s either a sign that the sale won’t affect operations, or someone is adding curb appeal before the open house. Two: the VMAC already earned high marks from players in the NFLPA’s annual report card. Ownership apparently looked at a good grade and said “we can do better.” The rest of us stopped trying after a B+ in eighth grade.
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Ownership apparently looked at a good grade and said ‘we can do better.’ The rest of us stopped trying after a B+ in eighth grade.
For fans who attend training camp, the VMAC expansion signals that Renton will remain the Seahawks’ home base for the foreseeable future. The new addition will feature a glass curtain wall design along the eastern facade, which HOK says will “express the identity of the Seahawks while managing visual privacy.” Translation: you can look, but you can’t see the draft board.
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Schedule
It’s Official: The Seahawks Open The 2026 Season On A Wednesday Night. Yes, A Wednesday.
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Why Wednesday? Because the 49ers and Rams are playing the first-ever NFL regular season game in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday, September 10. The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 prevents the NFL from airing games on Friday nights when high school football is in session, and with Labor Day falling late this year, the opening Friday lands squarely in that window. So Wednesday it is.
5th
This will be just the fifth NFL game played on a Wednesday since 1950, per NFL research.
This will be just the fifth NFL game played on a Wednesday since 1950, per NFL research. The Seahawks will also become the ninth team in league history to have played a game on every day of the week, joining Chicago, Dallas, the Rams, Philadelphia, Arizona, Pittsburgh, the Giants, and Washington. The opponent hasn’t been announced yet and won’t be until the full schedule drops in May, but speculation has centered on New England (Super Bowl rematch), Dallas (TV ratings), and Chicago (contender).
One logistical wrinkle: the Sounders are scheduled to host Sporting Kansas City at Lumen Field that same night, and the Mariners have a 6:40 p.m. home game. Someone in the Seattle sports scheduling office is going to have a very long April.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
The Sonics are one step closer. The NBA Board of Governors unanimously voted to explore expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas. Commissioner Adam Silver called both cities “two markets with a long history of support for NBA basketball.” Bids are expected in the $7–10 billion range, with a potential final vote later this year and a 2028-29 start date. Climate Pledge Arena is ready. The city is ready. The only question left is whether the new team will be called the SuperSonics, and if anyone answers anything other than “obviously, yes,” we riot. ESPN
JSN held his extension press conference today at the VMAC. He was joined by Schneider and Macdonald. Schneider recalled being an intern in 1992 when Green Bay signed Reggie White: “They had $24 million in the bank and gave him 14. I’ve got to get with the times a little bit now.” JSN’s deal pays him $42.15 million a year. Times have indeed been gotten with. Field Gulls
The Seahawks are hosting cornerback Daylen Everette for a pre-draft visit. Per SI on Seahawks, Everette is one of the fastest players in the 2026 draft class. He joins Jonah Coleman, Andre Fuller, Chris Johnson, Jalon Kilgore, and A.J. Haulcy on Seattle’s growing visitor list. The pattern remains impossible to ignore: DBs, a safety, a running back, and more DBs. This front office is drafting a secondary. SI on Seahawks
The Seahawks re-signed linebacker Chazz Surratt. Surratt played 11 games and recorded 11 special teams tackles, second-most on the team. He told Seahawks.com the brotherhood here made the decision easy. Low-profile move, high-value retention. Special teams depth matters when you’re defending a title. Spokesman-Review
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Where to even begin with the Rams this week. Puka Nacua, whose extension was already dragging into the summer before JSN’s deal reset the market, is now being sued for assault and battery. A woman filed a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles on Wednesday alleging Nacua made an antisemitic remark and bit her on the shoulder during a New Year’s Eve outing, per ESPN. The lawsuit cites gender violence, assault and battery, and negligence. Nacua’s attorney described the bite as “horseplay” and called the allegations “blackmail,” announcing plans for a defamation countersuit. Nacua also previously apologized in December for performing an antisemitic gesture on an internet livestream. The Rams have not commented publicly.Meanwhile, the extension that was supposed to be L.A.’s “big-time priority” this offseason now has a lawsuit, a ticking clock, and JSN’s $42.15 million per year as the floor. Nacua’s attorney specifically noted that the lawsuit’s timing, days after JSN’s record deal, “further underscores the complete lack of credibility.” Regardless of where the legal situation lands, the Rams’ offseason vibes have cratered from “pay the man” to “consult the lawyers.”
NINERS
The Trent Williams contract standoff has upgraded from “uncomfortable” to “entrenched.” Per Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom, there remains a “huge divide” between the two sides, and one source said the 49ers won’t make a move until they’re “absolutely forced” to decide. Williams, who turns 38 this summer, has zero guaranteed money left on his deal and no particular incentive to take a pay cut from his $33 million in scheduled 2026 cash earnings. The 49ers declined his $10 million option bonus, ballooning his cap hit to roughly $47 million, and now they’re stuck. Their backup plan at left tackle is Vederian Lowe and a guy named Austen Pleasants who started two games. Kyle Shanahan said he “stays pretty much out of” contract talks, which is the coaching equivalent of turning up the car radio when a weird noise starts.
CARDINALS
Arizona is 19-49 over the last four seasons and actively embracing yet another rebuild. They hold the No. 3 overall pick and nobody, including Arizona, seems to know what to do with it. The mock draft universe is split between OT Francis Mauigoa, edge rusher David Bailey, Ohio State LB Arvell Reese, and a trade-down scenario. ESPN’s Field Yates has them taking Reese at No. 3. SI has Mauigoa. Multiple outlets project a trade down to accumulate picks. Their needs include quarterback, tackle, defensive interior, and linebacker, which is less of a shopping list and more of a full warehouse order. GM Monti Ossenfort is reportedly eyeing pass rush with the pick after a free agency that did, per NFL.com, “absolutely zero” at edge rusher. The franchise that released Kyler Murray so he could sign with the Vikings for the veteran minimum is now trying to draft its way out of a hole that gets deeper every March.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
The Kingdome was imploded on this date in 2000, but the Seahawks’ final game in the building was actually a playoff loss two months earlier. The Seahawks lost 20-17 to the Miami Dolphins in the wild-card round on January 9, 2000. That game was the final NFL victory for a legendary Dolphins quarterback who was also playing his last postseason game. Who was that quarterback?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Dan Marino. The Dolphins’ 20-17 wild-card win over the Seahawks on January 9, 2000, was the last NFL victory and final postseason game for Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino, who retired after the season.
THIS DAY IN SEAHAWKS HISTORY
2000
March 26, 2000
The Kingdome Is Imploded — 26 Years Ago Today
On the morning of March 26, 2000, at 8:32 a.m., Seattle’s Kingdome was demolished by controlled implosion. The 660-foot concrete dome, the world’s largest at the time, collapsed in under 20 seconds as thousands of spectators watched from hillsides and office towers across the city. The implosion set a Guinness World Record for the largest building by volume ever demolished. The Kingdome had been home to the Seahawks since their inaugural season in 1976 and hosted NFL, MLB, NBA, and NCAA events over its 24-year life. King County still owed $206 million on the building when it came down, a debt that wasn’t fully retired until 2015. The Seahawks spent two seasons at Husky Stadium before moving into their new home, now known as Lumen Field, in 2002.
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Go Hawks. Sleep on it. — The Rooster