Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe is signing with the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency, according to an announcement from agent Mike McCartney of VaynerSports on Monday afternoon.
Mafe’s deal is for three years and $60 million, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Seattle Seahawks Offseason Tracker: Free agents, draft picks, more
Mafe is the third key player from the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks to depart on the opening day of the NFL’s free agent negotiating period. Earlier in the day, news broke that Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III is signing with the Kansas City Chiefs and safety Coby Bryant is headed to the Chicago Bears.
The Seahawks did retain starting cornerback Josh Jobe, who reportedly is re-signing with Seattle on a three-year, $24 million deal. Seattle also agreed last week to a two-year deal with breakout starting linebacker Drake Thomas, who was set to become a restricted free agent.
Mafe, a 2022 second-round draft pick, totaled 20.0 sacks over four seasons with the Seahawks. He had a career-high 9.0 sacks in 2023, which included a franchise-record stretch of seven consecutive games with at least one sack. However, his production dipped with 6.0 sacks in 2024 and just 2.0 sacks in 2025.
The inflection point came after Mafe suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for Weeks 4 and 5 of 2024. Since then, he’s totaled just 5.0 sacks over his past 32 regular-season and postseason games.
Yet despite his declining sack numbers, Mafe’s underlying metrics were still strong this past season. He finished eighth among all edge rushers in ESPN’s pass rush win rate and ranked 38th out of 119 qualified edge rushers in Pro Football Focus run defense grading.
Mafe was one of four primary edge rushers for Seattle’s top-ranked scoring defense, along with five-time Pro Bowler DeMarcus Lawrence, veteran Uchenna Nwosu and 2023 second-round pick Derick Hall.
Lawrence still has two years left on his contract, but he’s heading into his age-34 season and reportedly was considering retirement, according to ESPN’s Brady Henderson.
Nwosu looms as a potential salary cap casualty, as he’s set to carry Seattle’s third-largest cap hit for 2026 at $19.99 million, according to Over the Cap.
Hall, who had two sacks in the Super Bowl, is entering the final year of his rookie contract and thus is now eligible for a long-term deal.
Connor O’Toole and Jared Ivey, who both played sparingly as undrafted rookies this past season, could be candidates to take on larger roles in 2026.
Seattle Seahawks offseason coverage
• Report: Seattle Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III signing with Chiefs
• Brock and Salk react to Seattle Seahawks losing RB Kenneth Walker III
• Report: Seattle Seahawks safety Coby Bryant signing with Bears
• CB Josh Jobe reportedly returns to Seattle Seahawks on 3-year deal
• Report: Seattle Seahawks re-signing LB Drake Thomas on 2-year deal