The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks have six starting-caliber players who are pending free agents.
Why Seahawks could release Uchenna Nwosu this offseason
Who will Seattle re-sign? And who seems likely to end up elsewhere when the NFL’s official free agency negotiating window begins on Monday?
NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal provided his thoughts on a few of the Seahawks’ pending free agents during an appearance Friday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.
Jobe, Bryant seem most likely to be re-signed
Of the Seahawks’ six most notable pending free agents, the general consensus is that cornerback Josh Jobe and safety Coby Bryant are the most likely to be re-signed.
They likely would be the cheapest to retain, with both projected by The Athletic to cost $10 million per year in average annual value. And both provided great value this past season for head coach Mike Macdonald’s top-ranked scoring defense.
Jobe, a former practice squad player, recorded the 12th-lowest opposing completion percentage (49.5%), the 16th-fewest yards allowed per target (5.7) and the 25th-lowest opposing passer rating (77.0) among qualified NFL cornerbacks in 2025, according to Stathead.
Bryant, who began his career at cornerback before moving to safety, was a playmaker in the secondary with four interceptions, seven pass breakups, four tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
“One thing I heard at the (NFL scouting) combine was Josh Jobe is a really important free agent for them, which sounds crazy, but I think they really loved him,” Rosenthal said. “… I kind of think Coby Bryant and Josh Jobe will both be back, and that provides some continuity and some stability in Mike Macdonald’s secondary, which really lets him do what he wants.”
Shaheed is probably too expensive
Rosenthal thinks speedy wide receiver/return specialist Rashid Shaheed’s price tag will ultimately be greater than the Seahawks will pay.
That echoes a report Wednesday from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who reported that Shaheed isn’t close to a contract extension with the Seahawks and is expected to test the open market. Projections from various sites predict Shaheed’s value to be roughly $13-14 million per year.
The 27-year-old Shaheed, who Seattle acquired from the New Orleans Saints at the Nov. 4 trade deadline, was a game-changer on special teams. He had two punt return touchdowns and a kick return touchdown for the Seahawks, including a pivotal 58-yard punt return TD that sparked their dramatic Week 16 comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Shaheed didn’t put up big stats as a receiver, totaling just 18 catches for 266 yards across 12 regular-season and postseason games with Seattle. However, he caught a 51-yard pass that keyed a game-opening TD drive in the Seahawks’ NFC title game victory over the Rams. And as a field-stretching vertical threat, he contributed to Seattle’s rushing attack facing lighter boxes down the stretch.
“It’s interesting, because I think people like myself are holding it against him a little bit that he never really integrated consistently into the Seahawks’ system,” Rosenthal said. “Now, with that said, he flipped a couple games. Do you get home-field advantage and win the Super Bowl without the Shaheed return that he had against the Rams in that Thursday night game? He obviously had a couple other monster plays (too).
“And when I watched him in New Orleans, there’s just no one like him in terms of the big-play ability that he’s had. So, worst-case scenario, he’s kind of similar to Alec Pierce, who’s out there in free agency as one of the best pure deep threats in the league, one of the most explosive receivers in the league. And even if he’s your third receiver, that provides a lot of value for just how he can change an offense.
“So, I think he’ll get paid out there. I just don’t think it’ll be by the Seahawks.”
What about Mafe?
Many have also assumed that edge rusher Boye Mafe’s open-market value will surpass what the Seahawks are willing to pay, especially given his declining production over the past two seasons.
Rosenthal, though, has a slightly different perspective. With veteran Uchenna Nwosu being a potential salary-cap casualty, Rosenthal thinks there’s a chance the Seahawks could pay “a little bit of a premium” for Mafe.
“I’m really curious if Seattle ends up being the team that pays him,” Rosenthal said. “I think they like him a lot. I know the sack production wasn’t there this year, but he’s someone that really pops on tape as a player that’s probably better than his production. And he’s had better years in terms of sacks.
“It wouldn’t totally shock me if they cut Nwosu and pay a little bit of a premium for Mafe.”
Mafe, a 2022 second-round draft pick, showed big-time potential during a breakout 9.0-sack season in 2023, followed by 3.0 sacks through the first three games of 2024. But after a knee injury sidelined him for the next two games, Mafe totaled just 3.0 sacks over the final 12 games of 2024, and just 2.0 sacks over 20 combined regular-season and postseason games in 2025.
However, as Rosenthal mentioned, sacks don’t always tell the full story. Mafe finished eighth among all edge rushers in ESPN’s pass rush win rate this past season and ranked 38th out of 119 qualified edge rushers in Pro Football Focus run defense grading.
“He might be making $15-plus million a year, because I think teams look at what Seattle did last year and they want to have four or five edge rushers – not just two or three,” Rosenthal said. “So even if Mafe isn’t a prototype (No. 1 edge rusher), you’re excited to give him 500, 600, 700 snaps in a rotation for him to really help your overall group.
“And I think the Seahawks honestly would pay Mafe pretty good money. It’s just a matter of, will another team pay him more?”
Listen to the full conversation with NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal at this link or in the audio player in the middle of this story. Tune into Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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