One deadline passed for the Seahawks on Tuesday when they did not place a franchise or transition tag on running back Kenneth Walker III.
That means he can be a free agent next Wednesday.
That isn’t the only deadline the Seahawks are facing over the next week that will determine if a player will be locked in with the team for the 2026 season or may hit free agency next week.
The Seahawks have seven players who are restricted free agents — receivers Jake Bobo and Cody White, linebacker Drake Thomas, tight end Brady Russell, defensive tackle Brandon Pili, safety A.J. Finley and snapper Chris Stoll.
If teams do not give so-called RFAs tenders by the deadline of next Wednesday at 1 p.m. — or sign them to a conventional contract — they become unrestricted free agents.
Restricted free agents are players who have three accrued seasons and are on an expiring contract.
Teams can give qualifying offers — or what are officially called tenders — to restricted free agents that if signed, assign them a salary for the upcoming season at a level of compensation based on the tender the team gives them.
Players who are tendered can still negotiate with other teams, but their original team can either match the offer or potentially get compensation in the form of a draft pick based on the tender that is used.
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Types of tenders include:
— A first-round tender worth $8.046 million means the player’s original team can get a first-round pick in return if it does not match an offer sheet the player signs with another team.
— A second-round tender, worth $5.767 million and allows the player’s original team to get a second-round pick if an offer sheet is not matched.
— A right-of-first-refusal tender, which gives the player $3.520 million and the team the right to match any offer sheet but without compensation if the player signs elsewhere.
Tenders are not used often, because they are often not the best course for the player or team.
The salaries are not guaranteed and there is no provision for a bonus to put money into a player’s pocket immediately, leaving the player at risk of getting nothing if he doesn’t make the team.
All of that money goes on the salary cap and the formula used to determine the cap means it may not match the value that the team would assign to the player.
But they can be useful in select circumstances to keep a young player with rising value in the fold. Teams can sign tendered players to conventional contracts at any time.
The Seahawks last used an RFA tender on cornerback Michael Jackson in 2024 to prevent him from becoming a free agent. But after taking two cornerbacks in the draft, the Seahawks signed Jackson to a revised deal that dropped his salary for that season from $3.116 million to $1.055 million but did give him an immediate signing bonus of $167,000.
Had Jackson not agreed to the deal, he likely would have been released. As it was, he was traded to Carolina later in training camp.
What each side would prefer is to work out a conventional contract before the RFA deadline, as the Seahawks did last year with cornerback Josh Jobe.
That would seem the course the Seahawks might take with a few of the players this year.
Others may become free agents and could re-sign down the road after the Seahawks handle some of the more expensive items on their to-do list.
Here’s a quick look at each RFA:
LB Drake Thomas: The Seahawks undoubtedly want to keep Thomas, who ranked second on the team in tackles in the regular season and postseason. OvertheCap.com estimated Thomas’ value in 2025 at $8.148 million. So if there’s a player whom the Seahawks might need to use a tender on, he appears the most likely one. Thomas looks poised for a significant raise after making $1.030 million last season.
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Snapper Chris Stoll: Another player the Seahawks unquestionably want back. The highest-paid snapper in the league on a per-year average basis is Kansas City’s James Winchester at $1.65 million, so a tender here doesn’t really make sense. Stoll was the fourth-lowest paid snapper in 2025 at $900,500, so a raise of some sort seems in order.
Tight end Brady Russell: Russell was the de facto captain of the special teams this year — and the official one for the Super Bowl — making him another player the Seahawks surely want to retain. Russell made $1.030 million in 2025 and had a valuation of $2.7 million for this season by OvertheCap.com. While he might not get a tender, a raise seems in the offing.
Receiver Jake Bobo: A report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Tuesday included Bobo as an RFA who will not get a tender. That shouldn’t be a surprise and doesn’t indicate he won’t be back. Bobo, who made $1.030 million in 2025, had an OTC valuation of $924,000 after a year in which he battled some injuries and played just 11 games, making two catches, while also making two catches for 33 yards and a TD in the postseason. At this stage of his career, Bobo might prefer somewhere he’d have a better shot of getting into the regular receiving rotation. He seems a player the Seahawks want back — just not at any of the tender numbers.
Receiver Cody White: White ended the season on injured reserve with a groin issue after playing in 10 regular-season games and making three catches, including his first career TD in the blowout win at Washington. Another player you figure the Seahawks want back, just at a lower price.
Defensive tackle Brandon Pili: He played 152 snaps in 13 games this season as a reserve in the interior defensive line rotation; he was not active for the Super Bowl.
Safety A.J. Finley: Finley spent the season on injured reserve after suffering a serious knee injury in the team’s mock game at Lumen Field on Aug. 2. He had seemed a legit contender for a roster spot after playing in four games in 2024 after being claimed off waivers from the Chargers.
Bob Condotta: bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Bob Condotta is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times who primarily covers the Seahawks but also dabbles in other sports. He has worked at The Times since 2002, reporting on University of Washington Husky football and basketball for his first 10 years at the paper before switching to the Seahawks in 2013.