
The Seattle Seahawks have one more game left to play this season. If they win, they're Super Bowl champions. If they don't, they're still one of the youngest, toughest teams in the NFL with a championship window as long and as wide as they come.
Seattle may look unbeatable right now, but competing over the long run requires making sharp moves every single offseason to keep your roster as competitive as possible.
With that in mind, let's take a look at a few high-end free agents that the Seahawks could target in 2026 with a projected $72 million in salary cap room to work with.
Over the course of the season, we have admittely flip-flopped on Riq Woolen more than once. That's because Seattle's star corner is both uniquely talented and maddeningly unfocused.
Last night's game was a reminder of why the Seahawks considered trading Woolen at the deadline to begin with. If they do let Woolen move on, they'll need another starter at cornerback - and one who's older, wiser and more experienced isn't a bad ideal.
Jamel Dean has proved he's still an elite cover corner this year, posting three interceptions, nine pass breakups, a 49.2% completion rate and a 63.1 passer rating in coverage. Dean won't come cheap, but he will be more cost-effective than Woolen will.
One key element that Klint Kubiak's offense is missing is a consistent YAC threat outside of superstar wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. That means adding a real after-catch threat should be on this team's radar going into the offseason.
The Seahawks are unlikely to do better than former 49ers rival Deebo Samuel, who was traded to the Commanders this past offseason. Samuel has totaled 72 catches, 727 yards and five touchdowns despite Jayden Daniels missing 10 games due injury.
Seattle should be more than familiar with Deebo's game, which should be just as dangerous in Kubiak's offense as it was under Kyle Shanahan.
While there's a good case to upgrade or find replacements at a few key skill positions, the reason the Seahawks are in the Super Bowl is because of their performance at the line of scrimmage. Defensively, they dominated most games and offensively they improved a great deal.
There's still a couple of spots that could use improvement up front, though - and center should probably be at the top of the list. Tyler Linderbaum has previous experience working with head coach Mike Macdonald during their time with the Baltimore Ravens, and he's going to be the best-available interior upgrade this offseason.
For the year, Linderbaum graded out at 63.4 in pass blocking and 83.7 in run blocking, coming out to an 80.2 overall grade, ranking fifth among 40 qualifiers at center according to Pro Football Focus.
Signing Linderbaum would not only turn a major offensive weakness into a roster strength, he would give Seattle's interior offensive line the veteran leader it needs to patch up a major hole going into a potential dynasty run.
If the Seahawks are going to splurge for an edge rusher this offseason, they should try to trade for Las Vegas Raiders superstar Maxx Crosby.
If the pursuit of Crosby falls short, Seattle should look to find a plan-B kind of option. On that front, the best they're likely to get is Cincinnati Bengals star Trey Hendrickson, who led the league in sacks with 17.5 in 2024, matching his mark from 2023.
Hendrickson may be on the wrong side of 30, but when healthy he's as good of an edge rusher as anyone in the NFL outside of Myles Garrett. Adding Hendricksonto the team may put Mike Macdonalds defense over the top into unbeatable territory, even for a Super Bowl contender like the Rams.
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