Jalan Gaines Challenged to Compete for Seahawks’ Role in 2026

Year two is around the time that most veterans start to find some sort of identity with their teams, or at least, develop some form of familiarity in the league. One of those is certainly the case for second-year edge rusher Jalan Gaines, who is expected to be more of an impact player for the Seattle Seahawks. At the end of this past season, Gaines was among the players who would’ve been considered a long shot to be a contributing player, but new situations unfolding with the team allow for less established players to develop with the team.

Gaines Becoming a Seahawk and Year One

Gaines was among the players who had to grind and develop a career themselves. He started his collegiate career at Dubuque before transferring to Eastern Illinois for the final three years. In the last two seasons at Eastern Illinois, Gaines accumulated 112 total tackles, 70 solo tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks. He was one of the more productive players of a smaller size. While he possessed a good size at 6-4, 245 pounds, while he possessed a good combination of speed and power, he didn't have the explosive attributes to be a draft worthy player.

Gaines spent his undrafted rookie season trying to learn and develop with the Seahawks' defense. He was often up and down the practice roster. Gaines was signed by the Seahawks as a free agent in mid-February, along with a series of players who either need a chance to develop or show where they are in their careers.

Trust Developing in Gaines?

There isn’t a lot of early consensus that Gaines will prove to be one of the players to rise up from the practice squad and become a consistent roster player. He is, however, a small handful of players called by head coach Mike Macdonald to step up and see if he can fill a roster spot. Macdonald said among the reasons the Seahawks didn’t draft an edge rusher in the 2026 NFL Draft is that the Seahawks want to see what they have in their younger, unproven players like Gaines, Jared Ivey, and Jamie Sheriff. The Seahawks have also added a key veteran like Dante Fowler Jr.

Potential Role for Seahawks in 2026

Every Seahawks player is asked to be a contributor in some way. Gaines hasn’t been able to step on the field for Seattle, but the loss of Boye Mafe to free agency means the Seahawks are set to have multiple players become free agents after this upcoming season. Gaines has a battle ahead of him as he needs to beat out talented players with Division I training and coaching. On the plus side, he has a year under his belt to show what he could do. If he has proven his ability to get to the quarterback, he could make a serviceable rotational player.

Goals for Jalan Gaines

The goal for Gaines is simple: he must show he can take the coaches’ challenge and rise to the occasion to secure a roster spot. Gaines doesn’t have the explosive skills or supreme athleticism, but he does have a year of NFL experience and good size and speed. If he is able to show out in front of the coaches, he will continue to beat out players that would be ahead of him on the depth chart and cutting block. Realistically, for Gaines, he should appear in four or five games this season, whether he is a rotational player on the roster or he is coming off the practice squad.

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