Matt Calkins: Why Seahawks GM John Schneider must remain aggressive this offseason

Matt Calkins, The Seattle Times on Mar 12, 2025

Published in Football

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SEATTLE — It’s beginning to materialize, even if there are some gaping holes.

The vision for winning for the division — and maybe more than that — is coming together, but other areas must be addressed.

This has been one of the more tumultuous and/or exciting offseasons for the Seahawks in a while depending on your perspective. Key players left — but that may end up being a blessing.

Wednesday, Seattle signed edge player DeMarcus Lawrence to a three-year, $42 million contract, upgrading a respectable defensive front to a potentially dominant one. Lawrence, who turns 33 next month, played just four games for the Cowboys last year due to a foot injury, but was productive when healthy, as he has been for most of his career.

The Boise State product had three sacks in those four appearances in 2024. He made the Pro Bowl in each of the previous seasons, and was ranked among Pro Football Focus’ top 101 players in the league those years as well. The man sure could play. The question is how well he can play in a Seahawks uniform.

This is actually the case with both of the major offseason splashes the organization has made thus far. Monday, Seattle signed former Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, who played significantly better in 2024 than he had in any of his previous six seasons before flaming out in his last two (and most significant) games. At this point — and those three words are critical — it’s difficult to say whether he can succeed given the Seahawks’ shoddy offensive line and lack of receiver depth.

Lawrence is a little different. His track record mirrors some of the better D-linemen over the past decade. There have been four Pro Bowl appearances. There was a second-team All-Pro nod in 2017, when he notched a career-high 14 1/2 sacks. You could argue he is the most decorated player on the Seahawks right now, but …

Age 33 isn’t age 31. And even if that foot injury wasn’t career-threatening, we still haven’t seen him play a snap since going down. From age 30-32, former Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett went from 1,033 yards, to 894 yards, to 600 yards last season before being cut last week. Edge is a position that relies on explosiveness. It’s fair to wonder whether Lawrence still has it.

These are just questions, of course. If you remember the top of the column, it suggests the Seahawks very well may be using that extra cap space from the Geno Smith and DK Metcalf trades to improve this roster. Darnold had a better year than Smith did last year, and Seattle snagged him at a cheaper rate than what Geno wanted. Over his past two healthy seasons, Lawrence is more accomplished than anyone on the Seahawks’ front seven. Not sure either of those seasons were better than what defensive end Leonard Williams did in 2024 alone, but cumulatively, DeMarcus has done more.

Lawrence doesn’t play offensive line, though, which remains the Seahawks’ most conspicuous flaw. Aside from left tackle Charles Cross, there is virtually no stability upfront on that side of the ball. The Seahawks reportedly tried to acquire former Colts guard Will Fries, but the Vikings swayed him with a five-year, $88 million offer. Seattle signing OL Josh Jones — who has played both guard and tackle — to a one-year, $4.75 million deal simply isn’t enough.

The Seahawks also need another receiver to join Jaxon Smith-Njigba after the departures of Metcalf and Lockett. As of publication, former Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp was still out there following his release from the Rams, but he isn’t in green and blue right now.

In other words, Seahawks general manager John Schneider’s offseason essay still has a grade of incomplete. It has a promising premise with Darnold and Lawrence (assuming they can play like they did in their last healthy seasons)but the roster still is a far cry from contender.

There is still plenty of offseason to go. Maybe Kupp will be on the roster by the time you read this paragraph. Maybe an impactful offensive lineman will be, too. Or maybe the draft capital Seattle has acquired will beget some much-needed help … though the O-line picks have seldom delivered in the Schneider era.

All that said, the Seahawks did need to load up in the trenches, whether it was on offense or defense. Their head coach, Mike Macdonald, indicated that that’s where football games are won in today’s NFL during his news conference at the combine last month, and with Lawrence, Seattle made headway.

But there’s a lot more work to do. The Seahawks moved closer to where they need to be Wednesday. They’re a long way from done.

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