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Owners Meetings
Macdonald Speaks Today in Phoenix. Every Unanswered Question Follows Him to the Desert.
Mike Macdonald addresses the media Monday morning at the NFL’s annual meetings in Phoenix, and it will be the first time the public hears from Seattle’s head coach since the offseason reshaped his roster around him. Kenneth Walker, Boye Mafe, Coby Bryant, Riq Woolen: all gone. JSN’s $168.6 million extension: done. The running back room: a construction zone. The edge rusher situation: a prayer circle.
The Seahawks are threaded through nearly every agenda item at the Arizona Biltmore this week. The team sale is on the docket, with owners expected to receive updates on potential bids for the franchise. The competition committee is proposing a one-year emergency rule to let the replay command center correct obvious mistakes by replacement officials if the referee CBA isn’t resolved before May 31. Seattle fans who remember the Fail Mary don’t need the history lesson. Cleveland’s proposal to expand draft pick trading from three years to five years is also up for a vote. Onside kick tweaks. International scheduling. The Seahawks are involved in all of it.
$30M+
Seattle’s approximate remaining effective cap space after the JSN and Bobo deals, per OverTheCap.
But the questions for Macdonald will be more personal. What’s the plan at running back after Najee Harris visited but hasn’t signed? Is DeMarcus Lawrence coming back or riding into the sunset with his ring? How does an edge room of Nwosu and Hall survive a 17-game season? And is there a trade cooking on any of these hotel pool decks?
Schneider spoke to SI on Seahawks last week and made his philosophy plain: “Draft and retain. This is a great example of drafting and developing, and keeping it in-house.” He called the roster a “cool mix” of first-time free agents and seasoned veterans. He also noted that Jody Allen’s message to him has not changed despite the sale: “Let’s go win another one.”
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Nobody at the Biltmore is going to let him just sip his coffee in peace.
The desert is full of handshakes and hallway conversations that turn into trades three weeks later. Macdonald is the defending Super Bowl champion coach. Nobody at the Biltmore is going to let him just sip his coffee in peace.
SOURCES →
Draft Intel
Four Picks. Thirty Needs. The Seahawks’ Draft Math Doesn’t Add Up on Purpose.
Keep Reading ↓
4
Total draft picks for Seattle — fewest of any NFL team entering the 2026 draft.
Seattle Sports’ Michael Bumpus said Friday he doesn’t see the Seahawks leaving this draft with only four picks. His prediction: Schneider flips the 32nd pick into multiple selections. “I think he’s going to flip 32 into two,” Bumpus said. Fans agree. An SBNation Reacts survey found 96 percent of respondents expect Seattle to either keep the pick or trade back for more capital.
The math matters because the departures are real. Walker, Mafe, Bryant, and Woolen were all originally Schneider draft picks. The most natural way to replace them is the same way he found them. Four picks doesn’t get that done. Expect this to be a recurring conversation until April 23.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Najee Harris visited the VMAC last week but no signing followed. Harris then visited the Raiders. He’s still recovering from a September Achilles tear and carries a career 3.9 YPC average. The running back room remains Emanuel Wilson, George Holani, and vibes. Spokesman-Review
The NFL’s competition committee proposed a one-year emergency rule letting the replay center override replacement officials on obvious blown calls. Current ref CBA expires May 31. Seattle: the franchise that made replacement refs famous. Detroit Lions
Cleveland’s proposal to expand draft pick trading to five years goes to a vote this week. The Browns swear this has nothing to do with Myles Garrett. Sure it doesn’t. WUSA9
DeMarcus Lawrence still hasn’t told anyone whether he’s coming back. He’s turning 34 in April, has six children, a ring, and $5M in guaranteed money that already vested. The edge room holds its breath. Pro Football Rumors
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
John Lynch says the 49ers are “on the precipice of something good happening” with Trent Williams’ contract. Wait, wrong rival. No — the Rams’ drama is Nacua’s. The accuser withdrew her restraining order petition, but the civil lawsuit proceeds. Nacua’s attorney plans a defamation countersuit. The extension that was supposed to be the Rams’ “big-time priority”? Still nowhere close. Nacua enters the final year of his rookie deal making $4.1 million while lawyers from both sides charge more per hour than he makes per game.
NINERS
John Lynch hit the podium Sunday and delivered his most optimistic update yet on the Trent Williams standoff, saying talks have “intensified” and the team is “on the precipice of something good happening.” He then immediately hedged it with “these things have felt like that before.” Williams’ cap hit is $46.3 million. He has zero guaranteed dollars. The 49ers’ negotiating strategy appears to be “wait until everyone else has spent their money, then present the offer.” Annual tradition in Santa Clara.
CARDINALS
Arizona holds seven draft picks and the No. 3 overall selection, and the mock draft tracker now reads like a Mad Libs page: Bailey, Mauigoa, Reese, Styles, Simpson, Love, or a trade down. PFF says they should draft a right tackle and start losing toward Arch Manning in 2027. The Cardinals fired Jonathan Gannon, hired Mike LaFleur, released Kyler Murray, and are now starting Jacoby Brissett. The rebuild has a rebuild.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
The Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII by defeating the Denver Broncos 43-8, the largest margin of victory in a Super Bowl at that time. Seattle’s defense forced four turnovers in that game and scored a safety on the very first play from scrimmage when center Manny Ramirez snapped the ball over Peyton Manning’s head just 12 seconds into the game. Which Broncos player recovered the ball in the end zone to prevent a Seahawks touchdown, resulting in the safety instead?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Knowshon Moreno. Running back Knowshon Moreno fell on the loose ball in the end zone, conceding the safety but preventing a Seahawks defensive touchdown on the opening play of Super Bowl XLVIII.
THIS DAY IN SEAHAWKS HISTORY
1976
March 30, 1976
The Seattle Seahawks Select Their First Players — 50 Years Ago Today
On this date in 1976, the NFL held its expansion draft at league offices, and the Seattle Seahawks selected 39 players from the other 26 NFL teams over two days. Among the selections was cornerback Dave Brown from the Pittsburgh Steelers, who would go on to intercept a franchise-record 50 passes over 11 seasons in Seattle and earn induction into the Seahawks Ring of Honor. Exactly 50 years later, the franchise has two Super Bowl trophies and is being sold to a new owner. The more things change.
THE GOLDEN EGG
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This week’s Golden Egg goes to the single busiest agenda in NFL Owners Meetings history, or at least the one with the most Seattle Seahawks fingerprints on it.
The team sale is on the docket. The replacement referee contingency plan is up for a vote. The international schedule that’s forcing a Wednesday season opener is being finalized. Cleveland’s five-year draft pick trading proposal goes to the floor. Onside kick rules. Disqualification procedures. And the defending Super Bowl champion coach speaks Monday morning, carrying more unanswered questions about his roster than any champion coach should reasonably have to address in March.
Most teams go to Phoenix with one or two agenda items. The Seahawks are on all of them. John Schneider is meeting with agents. Mike Macdonald is fielding questions about the running back room, the edge group, and whether DeMarcus Lawrence is coming back. Somewhere in a hallway, a conversation about the 32nd pick is happening that won’t be reported for three weeks.
The Owners Meetings are never the main event. They’re the cocktail hour before the draft. But for Seattle this year, the cocktail hour has a full open bar.
Rule Proposals
Seahawks Agenda Items
Days Until Draft
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The coach speaks at sunrise. The desert has ears. Twenty-four days to Pittsburgh. Go Hawks. — The Rooster