ClutchPoints
The Seattle Seahawks went through a lot in Mike Macdonald’s first year as head coach. They missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year but managed to win their most games since 2020. With the promise they showed in 2024, the Seahawks have a new game plan for the 2025 NFL offseason, beginning with compiling a list of cut candidates.
Despite building his team around a core of young players, general manager John Schneider will deal with one of the worst cap space situations of the offseason. The Seahawks are projected to be roughly $27 million over the limit in 2025, giving the front office minimal space to work with. The circumstances force Seattle to make at least one internal roster move before initiating any significant changes over the summer.
Since the end of their season, the Seahawks have already made several key moves to improve their coaching staff. After one season, Macdonald fired offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and replaced him with Klint Kubiak, the son of longtime head coach Gary Kubiak. Grubb subsequently returned to college football, where he reunited with Kalen DeBoer to be the offensive coordinator of Alabama.
With the addition of Kubiak, Macdonald — a former defensive coordinator — has put a clear emphasis on the offense moving forward. While Seattle’s defense showed clear improvements under Macdonald, its offense was up and down in 2024. The Seahawks’ passing game ranked among the best in the league but faltered down the stretch while running back Kenneth Walker III took another step back to decrease the team’s rushing production.
Yet, ahead of the 2025 NFL offseason, most of the Seahawks’ large contracts come from the defensive side. The $75 million extension Geno Smith signed in 2022 still makes him the team’s highest-paid player, but Leonard Williams, Dre’Mont Jones, Uchenna Nwosu and Julian Love are all atop Seattle’s payroll. If the front office wishes to build on the foundation Macdonald set in 2024, the Seahawks need to identify several cut candidates.
One of the most prominent bright spots of the Seahawks’ 2024 campaign was the breakout of second-year wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba. After a letdown rookie season, the former first-round pick led the team with 1,130 receiving yards and six touchdowns. With his outburst, Smith-Njigba firmly established himself as Geno Smith’s No. 1 option late in the year over veteran teammates DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
Due to Smith’s waning on-field chemistry with Metcalf, many fans assumed Smith-Njigba’s breakout sparked the end of the former Ole Miss Rebel’s run with the team. Perhaps Schneider moves Metcalf and his $72 million contract in the offseason, but Lockett might be even more of a liability.
While Metcalf took a step back in 2024, Lockett’s role decreased even further. The longtime slot receiver notched just 600 receiving yards in his 10th season, the fewest of his career since 2017. Much of the reduced production had to do with Smith-Njigba’s emergence, but at 32, Lockett’s speed and athleticism have been...
