The Seattle Seahawks just made a major move that will reshape their offense by releasing wide receiver Tyler Lockett.
One more move like it could put the franchise in line for quarterback Cam Ward of the Miami Hurricanes with the No. 1 pick in next month's NFL draft.
Seahawks wideout DK Metcalf, Lockett's running mate of the last six years and a two-time Pro Bowler, asked for a trade on Wednesday, March 5 -- the same day the franchise cut ties with Lockett. Meanwhile, QB Geno Smith has one year remaining on his $75 million contract and will turn 35 years old early next season.
Seattle can ignore Metcalf's trade request, who is also in the final year of his current contract, and franchise tag him at an overpay in 2026 or watch him walk away for nothing. The team can keep Smith, too, and perhaps find itself in the playoff mix yet again.
But championship contention feels like a stretch if Seattle runs it back with the Smith/Metcalf combo, particularly after Smith threw just 21 touchdowns and 15 interceptions last season on the way to a 10-7 record.
However, reuniting both players with their former head coach Pete Carroll via a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders could open up a pathway to the kind of rebuild Seattle could get excited about -- not to open a Super Bowl window now, but to land the kind of quarterback who may be able to provide that in the relatively near future.
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report on Wednesday published a trade proposal in which the Seahawks send Smith and Metcalf to the Raiders for the No. 6 pick in 2025, a third-rounder next year and a seventh-round pick swap in 2026.
"Las Vegas turbocharges its rebuild," Davenport wrote. "The Seahawks get a pick that could be combined with their own first-rounder to make a play for the first overall pick."
Seattle owns the No. 18 pick in the first-round, while the Tennessee Titans hold the top selection. The Titans are reportedly open to dealing for the right price, and Nos. 6 and 18 might be enough on their own to get it done -- or would at least be a good start.
Ward is considered the best QB prospect in the 2025 class and represents the chance for the Seahawks to make a strong play for the future rather than simply treading water in 2025 with familiar faces who might be gone in a year anyway.
Related: DK Metcalf Makes Surprise Decision on Seattle Seahawks Future
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This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 9:36 PM.