Right now, the Seattle Seahawks are relishing the franchise’s second Super Bowl after defeating the New England Patriots in the latest installment of the big game.

But soon, they’ll have to start figuring out how they’re going to keep some key players as NFL free agency approaches. In all, the Seahawks have 18 guys set to hit the market unless some kind of deal gets done before the new league year begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 11.

Let’s dive in and talk about those players, most notably, Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III.

Editor’s note: All projections are from Over The Cap unless noted otherwise.

Who are the Seahawks’ key unrestricted free agents?

Any player with four or more accrued seasons is an unrestricted free agent once their contract expires. An accrued season is earned when a player is on a 53-man roster, IR, or PUP for at least six games in said season.

The Seahawks currently have nine guys who are slated to test the market unless they’re given a deal beforehand:

• CB Cobe Bryant
• CB Josh Jobe
• G Josh Jones
• EDGE Boye Mafe
• WR Rashid Shaheed
• LB Chazz Surratt
• RB Kenneth Walker III
• CB Tariq Woolen
• WR Dareke Young

As mentioned above, Walker III is the top dog of this list. He had arguably the best regular season of his career and capped it off with an incredible postseason run that saw him rack up a team-leading 161 total yards of offense that resulted in 5.5 yards per touch in the Super Bowl. He broke several big plays that allowed Jason Myers to make his record-setting five field goal attempts that ultimately proved the difference in the game.

To put it in full context: Walker’s yardage ranks seventh-most among running backs in Super Bowl history.

Walker will have plenty of suitors if he’s allowed to hit free agency and one would imagine Zach Charbonnet’s unfortunate injury makes keeping Walker even more important. Can the Seahawks manage to get something done before another team gets a crack at the MVP?

The Seahawks also have to figure things out with some important players in Shaheed, Woolen, and Bryant, as well.

Who are the Seahawks’ restricted free agents?

Seven of the Seahawks’ impending free agents are RFAs, which follow different rules than UFAs.

RFAs are players with three accrued seasons and they are allowed to negotiate with other teams, but their team has the right of first refusal and can set the tone when it comes to negations via tenders. There are five different types of tenders teams can use when it comes to RFAs: right of first refusal, original round, second round, first round, and then the “upgraded” tender. You can read more about the specifics of each, here.

Below are the Seahawks’ RFAs for 2026:

• WR Jake Bobo
• S A.J. Finley
• DL Cody Pili
• TE Brady Russell
• LS Chris Stoll
• LB Drake Thomas
• WR Cody White

Thomas is obviously the biggest name on this list and it’ll be intriguing to see how the Seahawks approach the budding linebacker. He went undrafted, so John Schneider could place as little as the right of first refusal tender on him if he wanted. If he were to place a first- or second-round tender on Thomas then he’d only be able to get a second- or third-round pick in return due to the upgraded tender rule.

After Thomas, it’s simply a matter of how much the Seahawks view each individual player when it comes to their futures in Seattle.

Who are the Seahawks’ exclusive rights free agents?

An ERFA’s rights are simple: You can’t negotiate with other teams if your original team offers you a deal, which can be as low as a one-year, minimum salary deal for a players with two or less accrued seasons.

If you don’t like the deal, too bad. Obviously, a player is free to sign elsewhere if he isn’t offered a contract, but they’ll remain under the ERFA umbrella until they attain a third accrued season.

Below are the Seahawks’ ERFAs heading into 2026:

• CB Ty Okada
• RB George Holani

Both of these guys played a lot of snaps on their respective side of the ball (special teams for Holani) and it wasn’t because the Seahawks were desperate – they wanted them on the field. Therefore, it makes sense to expect them back in 2026 and they won’t be expensive, at all, as you can see above.

How much salary cap space do the Seahawks have?

Seattle is currently sitting pretty with $63,022,564 in effective salary cap space, which is sixth-most. Effective cap space accounts for both the draft class and whatever amount of players needed to bump the Seahawks’ roster to 51. It’s a more accurate way to get an understanding of how much cap room the team actually has.

Now, that number doesn’t account for the futures contracts that will be handed out in the coming days and weeks, but the drop-off won’t be crazy, by any means.

The Seahawks could even open up some more room by restructuring contracts like Leonard Williams’, Cooper Kupp’s and others, but it honestly wouldn’t make much sense considering they have a healthy cap situation that can help keep the impending guys. Restructuring just kicks the can down the road and that isn’t a good idea for the team, right now.

Either way, the Seahawks are in a good spot and will be able to make the necessary moves to keep whomever they want on this list.

Seattle Seahawks News

Seahawks 7-round 2026 NFL mock draft: Seattle restocks Super Bowl roster with prospects that fit Mike Macdonald’s mindset

Seattle adds even more talent to a Super Bowl champion group with latest 2026 mock draft.

Adam Holt