ESPN highlights major Seahawks free agency concern that could quickly sabotage their Super Bowl hopes
The Seahawks’ Super Bowl defense is officially underway, but there’s one noticeable issue that could quickly derail their hopes for another championship.
The Seattle Seahawks have plenty of reasons to feel good right now, but ESPN’s Ben Solak just pointed out something worth worrying about.
And it’s the kind of issue that can quickly derail the franchise’s shot at back-to-back Super Bowls.
“I didn’t love how much talent left the building. The Seahawks had five major rising free agents in my eyes. The only one they were able to retain was [Rashid] Shaheed. A couple of them, [Boye] Mafe and [Tariq] Woolen, were always going to leave for more playing time on other rosters. But Kenneth Walker III’s 2025 breakout was real, and Seattle will miss his explosiveness. [Coby] Bryant was a key cog in that secondary, and his contract in Chicago is very reasonable.
“Seattle prioritized smaller deals for [Drake] Thomas and [Josh] Jobe, and general manager John Schneider’s freedom to dip into future cap years is likely dramatically limited by the potential sale of the team in months to come. It’s just hard to watch that much talent end up elsewhere.” – Ben Solak, ESPN
Seahawks’ depth also takes a hit with departing players
Losing this chunk of talent isn’t ideal, whatsoever, and it stings even more when zooming out and realizing how it affects the Seahawks’ depth, as well.
For instance, Walker III’s departure creates a giant hole in the Seahawks’ running back room and there’s no guarantee Zach Charbonnet, George Holani, or Emanuel Wilson can help make up for his loss. Obviously Charbonnet is recovering from his torn ACL, but what if he gets hurt again or Holani or Wilson go down? In this hypothetical, it’s an even worse situation.
It’s the same situation at cornerback. Before, Jobe could step in for Woolen if the latter went down (or got benched). Now, Jobe is the primary guy and it’s Shemar Jean-Charles or Nehemiah Pritchett leading the way opposite Devon Witherspoon.
No one is saying the Seahawks are cooked or anything even close to the matter, but this is certainly a major obstacle that will stand in their way of getting back to the Super Bowl. At the same time, however, Mike Macdonald and his staff have proven they are more than capable of getting the best out of whomever is on the roster.
The Seahawks have the coaching to help mitigate the loss of talent
Macdonald is arguably the best defensive coach in all of football and Arden Durde, the Seahawks defensive coordinator, is completely wired in and knows the pulse of the roster on that side of the ball. Both of those guys have shown time and time again that they can come up with different game plans that not only put their players in the best position possible, but also wreak havoc on opposing offenses.
Brian Fleury, the new offensive coordinator taking over for Klint Kubiak, is a Kyle Shanahan disciple that had been with the San Francisco 49ers since 2019. He’ll bring over a very familiar system, including the wide zone principles that Kubiak instilled last year, and that’ll help the offense in terms of continuity, to an extent.
Fleury’s effectiveness regarding his play calling remains to be seen and it’s a valid question to ponder. In totality, that’s the only unknown surrounding the Seahawks’ coaching staff.
In the long-term, the Seahawks are going to be fine. They have a smart GM and the right foundation to build around. But in the short-term, they’re really going to have to make some magic happen in order to win a consecutive championship.
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