John Schneider, Seattle Seahawks
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(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks have had to say goodbye to several key players who helped them win Super Bowl LX this past 2025 NFL season. Nonetheless, the Seahawks needed to make these tough decisions because they need to pay Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon.
Moreover, the Seahawks took a major step on March 20 to lock up Smith-Njigba and Witherspoon to long-term contracts.NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported that Seattle is exercising the fifth-year options for their two superstar players.
Meanwhile,CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reported that the expectation is that Smith-Njigba and Witherspoon will get extensions ahead of the start of the season.
Smith‑Njigba finished the 2025 regular season with 119 receptions on 163 targets for 1,793 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns (15.1 yards per catch) in 17 games,per ESPN. In the postseason, he added 17 receptions on 26 targets for 199 yards and two touchdowns across three games as the Seahawks won the Super Bowl.
As for Witherspoon, he finished the 2025 regular season with 72 total tackles (48 solo), 0.5 sacks, one interception, seven passes defended, and one fumble recovery in 12 games played for Seattle,per ESPN.
In the postseason, he recorded seven tackles against the San Francisco 49ers, six tackles against the Los Angeles Rams, and in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, Witherspoon had one sack, four tackles, and one pass defended.
Seahawks Were Able to Re-Sign Rashid Shaheed
Another player that the team was able to keep was wide receiverRashid Shaheed. On March 9,ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Seahawks and Shaheed had agreed to a three-year, $51 million deal with $34.7 million guaranteed.
Former Seahawks cornerbackRichard Sherman was surprised the team was able to keep Shaheed, given that he expected the wideout to get a better deal since he was allowed to test the open market as a free agent.
“I love this move,”Sherman said in a March 13 video from “The Richard Sherman Podcast.” “I wasn’t sure this move would happen because of the guys that they have on the horizon to pay [and]I thought Shaheed’s market would be right where they paid him, about $17 million a year.
“But I wasn’t sure the Seahawks would be willing to make that move with everything they already have invested in that offense. They throw the money where the money is.”
Rashid Shaheed Could Be In Line for Major Role
Moreover, while Shaheed was a star for the Seahawks on special teams, Sherman now expects the player to be a key contributor on offense.The 27-year-old onlyhad15 catches for 188 yards, but the former defender sees Seattle looking to get the most out ofthe player,considering what they are paying him.
“When you’re paying a guy $17 million, you don’t just use him on special teams, “ Sherman added. “He’s not just a returner who’s changing the game in that way. I would expect his targets to look more like they did when he was in New Orleans. I would expect him to get at least two deep shots a game, just keeping the defense honest. That’s what I thought would happen when he first got to Seattle.
“I thought, ‘OK, they’re going to keep defenses honest.‘They’re going to put one up just about every game. You saw it late in the season and in the NFC Championship and the Super Bowl. They did just that. If he’s used correctly, this offense becomes even more difficult to stop, especially in the run game.”