Field Gulls
More changes on offense than defense, as expected.
It’s been a very busy and eventful offseason for the Seattle Seahawks, who’ve parted ways with several key starters and been a bit more aggressive with their free agent acquisitions than in most seasons under John Schneider.
OverTheCap.com’s Jason Fitzgerald broke down league-wide roster turnover based on percentage of players from the 2024 regular season finale who remain on their respective 2025 teams, as well as a snap count threshold to weed out depth players who hardly got on the field.
The Seahawks ranked 18th in overall roster turnover at 70.3%. On defense they were 19th (71%)) and on offense they’re tied with the San Francisco 49ers at 21st (66.7%). Perhaps the defensive stat may be surprising given the headlines attached to the Seahawks offense, but here are some defensive players (again, defined as “every player who was under contract to the team as of the final regular season game of 2024”) who are no longer on the roster:
Considering a few of these men hardly played, let’s adjust the parameters a bit. When limiting the scope to players who had at least 30% of team snaps the previous season, there’s a significant difference on defense:
Offense: 26th (66.7%)
Defense: T-10th (81.3%)
Seattle’s offensive turnover rate is unchanged but the ranking drops quite a bit. It’s clear that the top-end of the defense had one of the highest retention rates in the league. Only Jones, Robertson-Harris, Brown, and Jenkins meet the 30% standard, and Jenkins and Brown eventually lost their starting jobs before the season ended.
There was far greater turnover on offense, as you would expect when you trade Geno Smith and DK Metcalf, release Tyler Lockett and George Fant, and not re-sign Laken Tomlinson or Stone Forsythe.
When focusing just on the top of the roster, the numbers are not that surprising. The Seahawks have substantially revamped their offense (coaching staff included) while keeping almost all of their defensive starters. Seattle’s playoff prospects may very well depend on how quickly and efficiently the new-look offense performs.
