Kenneth Walker III, Rashid Shaheed ready to test market | Seahawks free-agency primer
SEATTLE – For months there has been speculation about what might happen with Seahawks free agents like Kenneth Walker III, Rashid Shaheed and Riq Woolen.
Beginning Monday there will finally come some definitive answers to the fates of those three plus the rest of the Seahawks free agents.
The Seahawks have nine players who are set to become unrestricted free agents this week unless Seattle re-signs them first. Another six who are restricted free agents can also become free agents if they are not tendered or re-signed.
The nine set to be UFAs can begin negotiating with other teams and agreeing to contracts beginning at 9 a.m. Monday.
They can sign contracts with other teams when the new league year begins at 1 p.m. Wednesday, when RFAs not tendered or signed can also sign with new teams.
General manager John Schneider said last month the goal is to try to keep as much of a team that just won the Super Bowl together for another season.
“Obviously, want to have everybody back,” Schneider said. “When you get done with something special like that, you’re like, ‘Yeah let’s run it back, let’s run it back.’ ”
But Schneider added the task of getting that done while dealing with the challenges of the salary cap means “it’s going to be an interesting process.”
Indeed, the last week has sent strong signals that the Seahawks may well lose both Super Bowl MVP running back Walker and receiver/returner Shaheed.
But Seattle had roughly $54 million in effective cap space as of Friday, according to OvertheCap.com, so there’s the ability to keep some free agents. Conversely, Schneider has helped build two Super Bowl winners by sticking to some overall philosophies, one of which is to set what they feel are fair valuations for players and then generally sticking to them.
What is the goal in free agency? Schneider said it’s to ask “how can we maximize this guy’s earning power, as well as keeping as many people together as we possibly can? And then still having some available cap room (and) a little bit of cash for (when) you get to the trade deadline, so you can still do things at that time of the year, because then you have a little bit better feel for where you’re going and what your team looks like.”
While all the pending free agents have had or could have key roles with the team, there are six who stand out – each ranked this week among the top 64 free agents available in the NFL by the league’s official website. Any and all could agree to deals either to stay with the Seahawks or with new teams pretty quickly once the legal tampering period begins Monday.
Let’s look at where things stand with those six as free agency heats up:
Running back Kenneth Walker III: Walker is ranked 10th on NFL.com’s list – and even higher by some other outlets – and became assured of hitting free agency when the Seahawks declined to place a franchise tag on him last week. That would have paid him a guaranteed $14.293 million for the 2026 season, all of which would have gone on Seattle’s cap.
That decision led many around the league to conclude Walker is likely on his way out, potentially getting offers that could approach or better $15 million a year as the top running back on the market. Teams rumored to be interested include Denver, Washington and the New York Giants.
Rush end Boye Mafe: Mafe is rated 11th on NFL.com’s list. That might surprise some given that Mafe had just two sacks in 2025 after making a combined 15 the previous two years. But Mafe rated highly in more specialized stats measuring pressure rate and effectiveness stopping the run.
“I think Boye played really good football for us,” coach Mike Macdonald said at the NFL scouting combine two weeks ago. “…I’m sure he wanted more sack production, things like that. But he’s also probably the guy that wins the quickest on our defensive line.”
Pro Football Focus estimated Mafe could garner a three-year deal worth up to $49 million with $30 million guaranteed. That could be too much for the Seahawks, especially with Derick Hall now eligible for an extension as well. Dallas, Las Vegas and New England have all been mentioned as possible suitors.
Receiver/returner Rashid Shaheed: Shaheed is 12th on NFL.com’s list after a season in which he was acquired by the Seahawks on Nov. 4 and then returned one kickoff and one punt for a TD in the regular season as well as a kickoff in the playoffs.
An ESPN report this week stated that Shaheed and the Seahawks are “not close” to an agreement on a new deal and that Shaheed appears certain to hit the open market.
Schneider gave an interesting response to that news during his radio show on Seattle Sports 710 Thursday saying: “I saw the report yesterday and I was like, ‘I think he and his representatives, I think they’ve been testing free agency for over a week now.’ I mean, I’m not sure why that was news yesterday.”
PFF calculates Shaheed as potentially getting a three-year deal worth up to $42 million with $24 million guaranteed. One possible suitor is Las Vegas, where he would be reunited with Klint Kubiak, his offensive coordinator in 2025 with the Seahawks and 2024 with the Saints.
Safety Coby Bryant: Bryant is ranked 38th by NFL.com. A possible template for what Bryant will be asking is the deal that Kamren Curl signed with the Rams on Friday – three years at up to $39 million with $24 million guaranteed, according to ESPN. The Raiders again have been listed as a team that could be interested in Bryant. PFF estimated Bryant getting a three-year deal at up to $30 million with $20 million guaranteed.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Sunday morning that the Seahawks “will attempt” to re-sign Bryant but noted he will have other suitors.
Cornerback Riq Woolen: Woolen, 39th on NFL.com’s list, has for months seemed the most likely of Seattle’s free agents to move on after being demoted to a rotational cornerback role and splitting time with Josh Jobe. A fresh start might be best for Woolen while the Seahawks can re-sign Jobe (more on him in a minute) and then either find a corner in the draft or free agency or groom Nehemiah Pritchett for a larger role in 2026.
PFF estimates his value at three years and up to $45 million with $30 million guaranteed.
Schneider at the combine praised the way Woolen rebounded from what he called “a little shaky” of a first game in 2025.
“I thought he responded. I thought he did a really nice job of, you know, working through everything,” Schneider said. “…thought (he had) a really nice season, really good season.”
Cornerback Josh Jobe: Jobe is 64th on NFL.com’s list and might be the most likely of the players on this list to return. That’s in part because he might also be the least expensive and also because there will be some urgency to get him back if Woolen is not retained. Jobe made just $2 million in 2025 but was valued at $7.886 million by OvertheCap.com. A two-year deal averaging somewhere around that number might get it done.
Seattle has three other unrestricted free agents – receiver Dareke Young, offensive lineman Josh Jones and linebacker Chazz Surratt. All project as more likely to sign in the second or third waves of free agency and not in the first few days.
Seattle’s six restricted free agents who will also be free to sign with any other team Wednesday if not tendered or re-signed are: Receivers Jake Bobo and Cody White, safety A.J. Finley, defensive tackle Brandon Pili, tight end Brady Russell and snapper Chris Stoll.