How Have The Seahawks Done Replacing Departed Free Agents?

Kenneth Walker. Coby Bryant. Boye Mafe. Riq Woolen. Dareke Young. I wouldn’t call them the core of the Seattle Seahawks that just won Super Bowl LX, but their departure is not nothing either. The first guy on the list was only Super Bowl MVP. The second was second on the team in interceptions. Even Mafe and Woolen played significant snaps on the league’s top defense.

But sitting here in mid-May, we can safely say the Seahawks have spent money and draft capital on replacing all of these players. The question is, have they adequately replaced their production and ability on the field? And if the answer is no, a second question would be, have they at least made a cost-efficient and savvy downgrade? Let’s see.

Kenneth Walker III OUT. Jadarian Price + Emmanuel Wilson IN.

Some people seem to believe that Price is going to hit the ground as a better back than Walker from day one. This despite the fact that Walker is coming off the best season of his career, which included 1,309 scrimmage yards, 5.2 yards per touch, and 9.1 yards per catch, all career highs. And don’t forget, he saved his best for last with a strong postseason run.

So I’m skeptical. Even if we accept that Price is better in some areas and worse in others, I anticipate the learning curve of the NFL will hold him back for at least some of his rookie season. And while I find Wilson intriguing, as he has looked fairly good in limited action in Green Bay, I think assuming these two can be equal to Walker is dismissive of Walker’s 2025 season.

One benefit here is that replacing one player with two players helps insulate you against injuries, and injuries were certainly a concern with Walker even if they never cropped up in 2025. The other is cost, as Walker (3 Years, $45 Million) costs nearly three times what Price (4 Years, $16.8 Million) and Wilson (1 Year, $1.6 Million) cost combined.

Even if you use Walker’s relatively small first year cap hit of $5.7 million, that’s still more than a million dollars over the combined cost of Price and Wilson. And once you get into the second year, the difference is massive. I won’t say it’s an upgrade, because I don’t believe it is (yet), but we’re probably getting more bang for our buck here.

Coby Bryant OUT. Bud Clark IN.

Well, kind of. I still suspect that Coby Bryant’s actual replacement in 2026 will be Ty Okada, who was on the team and played a lot of snaps for the 2025 squad. But here’s the thing. Okada was so effective in his snaps in 2025, many believed he should keep the starting job even when Julian Love and Coby Bryant were both healthy.

I’m not sure I agree with that sentiment, but I will say it was close enough to be arguable. Realistically, Bryant was better in some areas and Okada was better in others. Even if Bryant is slightly better overall, the price on Coby (3 Years, $40 Million) compared to Okada (1 Year, $1.1 Million) make it a no-brainer. Then add Clark (4 Years, $7.9 Million) and it’s still easy.

So you replace Coby for one-twelfth the cost with a player who was nearly as good, and throw on a promising rookie with significant upside for less than one-ninth of that cost. That’s a big win, and not just in cost-effectiveness, but in the actual level of play on the roster. Everyone give a big thanks to the Exclusive Rights Free Agent contracts that made this possible.

Boye Mafe OUT. Dante Fowler Jr IN.

Stay tuned here, as the Seahawks may add another veteran edge rusher at some point to assist. But even without that, I feel fairly good about calling this one an easy win for the Seahawks. I don’t think Mafe was bad last season, but there was certainly a lack of impact compared to expectations, and even his play in previous seasons.

He provided minimal pressure despite getting significant chances, and while his run defense was mostly fine, it wasn’t especially outstanding, either. Fowler produced more quarterback pressure on a much-worse team with a historically-bad defense, and also better fits the archetype for a Macdonald edge rusher. I say this one is a fairly clear upgrade.

The one caveat would be the fact that Mafe has been better in previous seasons and is turning 28 later this year, so he’s in his prime, whereas Fowler is turning 32 before the season starts. It’s possible that Fowler’s age diminishes him significantly. But even then, the cost (Mafe’s on a 3 Year, $60 Million contract, Fowler’s on a 1 Year deal that’s $5 million at most) makes it easy.

Riq Woolen OUT. Julian Neal + Andre Fuller IN

Again, I’m not sure this is the right way to be looking at it. In 2025, the Seahawks rotated Woolen and Jobe, and I suspect the team will probably just give Jobe the full-time role in 2026 and let Neal and Fuller take backup roles until injuries force them onto the field. But that’s something that will be decided in the coming months by the coaching staff.

Woolen’s case is complicated. His coverage numbers are the envy of almost every other cornerback in football, and in a vacuum would make him one of the top players in the game. His tackling and run defense, while weak, was improved in 2025. However, his play was lacking in the postseason (in multiple ways) and there’s concern about committing big money to him.

Jobe isn’t the coverage player that Woolen is at all and lacks the upside, but is also capable in secondary categories in a way that Woolen isn’t. Jobe’s contract (3 Years, $24 Million) is bigger overall than Woolen’s (1 Year, $12-15 Million) but has a lower average annual value. Adding Neal (4 Years, $6.7 Million) to the equation makes it a long-term win, but right now?

I’ll call it a downgrade, but a necessary one. I don’t think this team was interested in bringing Woolen back for any real amount of money, he just doesn’t fit their defense or their mentality. Jobe is (from a certain point of view) cheaper, and Neal re-enforces the depth in a way that makes it competitive. That being said, Jobe was here last year, so…it’s complicated.

Dareke Young OUT. Emmanuel Henderson Jr IN.

Young didn’t really play offensively for the Seahawks last year (53 snaps, 2 catches), but he was a significant presence on special teams. His fumble recovery in the NFC Championship game was a massive part of that victory as well. While Henderson was drafted mostly for special teams, I doubt he’ll be able to slide in (if he makes the team) and be as good as Young.

However, Young missed half the season last year with an injury, so it’s not as if Dareke had some massive consistent impact on the squad either. Henderson could, by some definition, outdo him by just making the team and staying healthy. The money (1 Year $1.8 Million for Young, 4 Years $4.7 Million for Henderson) is also a notable factor here.

So even if Henderson is ‘worse’ in a vacuum, there are non-trivial savings involved here that make it worth it for something that shouldn’t be overly impactful. It’s a downgrade, but it’s also not, and either way, we’re talking about one player on a special teams unit that was considered by many to be the best in the league.

So, however each person may feel about these player swaps, I think that the overall picture is fairly neutral. Which is an achievement, given that the combined 2026 cap hits for the five departed players is $42,397,333 (if you include Woolen’s void year hits), and the same number for the seven new players is $14,169,592. A third the cost for similar outputs. That’s a winner.

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