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Run It Back
Free Agency Is Winding Down. The Seahawks Got What They Came For. Mostly.
The Seahawks’ offseason had one mission, and John Schneider said it out loud at the combine: run it back. Five weeks into free agency, the defending Super Bowl champions have largely done that. JSN is locked in through 2031 on the richest WR deal in history. Bobo is matched. Surratt, Bell, Holani, Pili, Stoll, Jean-Charles: all re-signed. The coaching staff got retooled without a single coordinator getting poached. The bones of the championship roster remain intact.
The holes, though, are real. The running back room is Emanuel Wilson, George Holani, and a prayer candle for Zach Charbonnet’s ACL timeline. Najee Harris visited the VMAC on Wednesday before heading to Las Vegas, and the visit was described as exploratory. Spotrac pegs Harris’s market value at just $2.9 million after a torn Achilles limited him to three games in 2025. A cheap depth piece, not a savior.
The edge rusher room is where this gets uncomfortable. Mafe signed with Cincinnati. Hendrickson went to Baltimore. Khalil Mack chose the Chargers. The Greenard trade trail went cold. DeMarcus Lawrence still hasn’t told anyone whether he’s coming back. That leaves Uchenna Nwosu and Derick Hall as the starters, with Rylie Mills as the wild card who only got five Super Bowl snaps before the final whistle blew. This is fine if you believe in the draft. It’s less fine if you watched the Seahawks try to generate pressure last January without Lawrence on the field.
The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar doesn’t expect Seattle to make a splash trade for an edge rusher, instead projecting the team to address the position in Pittsburgh on April 23. The Seahawks have only four draft picks. Four. Schneider needs to hit on every single one.
4
Draft picks the Seahawks currently hold entering April. That’s it.
So yes: run it back. Just understand what that means. It means trusting the players who got you here, hoping the injured ones heal, and betting the farm on a draft class you can count on one hand.
SOURCES →
League
Nacua’s Lawyer Says the JSN Deal Proves This Lawsuit Is a Cash Grab. That’s… a Choice.
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The accuser’s attorney fired back, claiming police are investigating threatening messages his client has received since the filing went public. A hearing is scheduled for April 14. Nacua strongly denies all allegations through his counsel.
The football angle here is quietly devastating for the Rams. NBC Sports noted that the Rams could delay Nacua’s extension until any potential league scrutiny is resolved, and if the situation lingers, they may seek contract protections against a possible suspension. The deal that was already going to “take until summer” per Mike Garafolo now has a legal complication on top of the financial one. JSN’s $42.15 million per year sits there like a dare.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Field Gulls launched an official pre-draft visitor tracker for the Seahawks’ top-30 visits. Three DBs, a safety, and a local running back are confirmed so far. The pattern is screaming secondary. Field Gulls
The Houston Press ranked all seven potential Week 1 opponents for the Seahawks’ Wednesday night opener. Super Bowl rematch against New England tops the list. Dallas and Chicago rank high. I want the Bears, personally. Coby Bryant coming back for the banner game? The drama writes itself. Houston Press
The UFL kicked off its third season and Field Gulls tracked down every ex-Seahawk on a roster. A Super Bowl champion Seahawk is now an assistant coach. Spring football: where four-point field goals from 60 yards are a thing. Field Gulls
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
The Nacua extension timeline has gone from “takes until summer” to “takes until the legal system says so.” His attorney is citing JSN’s record deal in his defense strategy, arguing the lawsuit’s timing proves it’s a shakedown. The accuser’s attorney says police are now investigating threats. A hearing is set for April 14. Meanwhile, the Rams still owe Nacua $4.1 million for 2026 and have Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Steve Avila, and Jared Verse all waiting for raises. The line to the ATM wraps around SoFi twice.
NINERS
The Trent Williams standoff has entered the “both sides are just staring at each other” phase. Jason La Canfora reported there remains a “huge divide” between Williams and San Francisco, and one source said it would be “misleading” to assume Williams finishes his career as a 49er. Mike Florio accused the team of deliberately stalling to dry up his outside market. Williams’ cap hit is $47 million. He has zero guaranteed dollars. The 49ers have no replacement. This is less a negotiation and more a hostage situation where neither side is sure who’s the hostage.
CARDINALS
NFL.com’s Charles Davis mocked Alabama QB Ty Simpson to the Cardinals at No. 3, which Arizona Sports described as tossing “the proverbial grenade and walking away.” The mock draft tracker now shows at least seven different projections for the pick: Bailey, Mauigoa, Reese, Styles, Simpson, Jeremiyah Love, and a trade-down. The Cardinals have managed to turn the No. 3 pick into a multiple-choice exam where every answer feels wrong. Arizona: where draft certainty goes to die.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
The Seahawks’ first-ever starting quarterback was not a high draft pick or a heralded prospect. He was an undrafted free agent out of Cal Poly Pomona who was cut by the Dallas Cowboys before the 1975 season, spent a year out of football, and then signed with the expansion Seahawks in 1976. He started 100 games in Seattle, threw for 20,122 yards and 107 touchdowns, won AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year, and was inducted into the Seahawks Ring of Honor in 1991. Who was he?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Jim Zorn. Zorn was signed as a free agent by the Seahawks in 1976 after being cut by the Cowboys, and he became the franchise’s original starting quarterback. He was inducted into the Seahawks Ring of Honor in 1991, the second player honored after Steve Largent.
THIS DAY IN SEAHAWKS HISTORY
1976
March 27, 1976
The Kingdome Opens Its Doors
On this day 50 years ago, the King County Multipurpose Domed Stadium opened to a crowd of 54,000 in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood. The opening ceremony, coinciding with the nation’s bicentennial year, featured square dancing, barbershop singing, and log rolling. The concrete dome would become the first home of the Seattle Seahawks, who played their inaugural preseason game there on August 1, 1976, losing to the 49ers 27-20 before 60,825 fans. The Kingdome also hosted the Mariners, SuperSonics, three NCAA Final Fours, and a Pro Bowl before it was imploded on March 26, 2000, one day short of its 24th birthday, to make way for what is now Lumen Field.
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Fifty years since the dome opened. Twenty-six since it came down. Six weeks since the trophy. The buildings change. The feeling doesn't. Happy Friday, Seattle. — The Rooster