Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks traded for wide receiver/returner Rashid Shaheed at the trade deadline. He proved to be a key acquisition.

Shaheed returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in the regular season and had a 95-yard kickoff return in the postseason.

Shaheed, though, is scheduled for free agency. So, the 12 games he played, including the postseason, might be the extent of his time in Seattle.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Shaheed and the Seahawks are not close to an extension, and the expectation is that the two-time Pro Bowler will hit free agency.

Shaheed has 153 receptions for 2,243 yards and 12 touchdowns in his four-year career to go along with three punt return touchdowns and a kickoff return touchdown.

He ranks 13th on PFT’s top-100 free agents.

The Rams have proposed multiple rule changes in the aftermath of the wacky two-point play in the Week 16 game at Seattle. Meeting with reporters on Tuesday, coach Sean McVay was asked what the Rams hope to accomplish.

“It’s a very rare play,” McVay said, via a transcript circulated by the team. “I’ve never been a part of a play like that, but it was accurately officiated. Basically what our proposal is trying to be able to do was get a tipped ball — when it’s a backward pass that’s actually tipped by the defense that goes past the line of scrimmage to fall under the same parameters of a fumble at the end of the half, under two minutes at the end of the game . . . on fourth downs or on PAT attempts or two-point attempts. It was basically trying to write it in a way that allowed it to fall under the same parameters of not being able to advance a fumble favorably like the Holy Roller play that the [Raiders] had years ago.

“That was basically the gist of it because I think everybody would agree. It’s not a huge deal. It doesn’t come up often, but it did affect us in that game. Now, did it affect us winning and losing? I’ll never make an excuse like that, but it was a play that I think most people would agree, when you tip a perimeter screen pass and it goes forward past the line of scrimmage, that shouldn’t be necessarily rewarded for a team falling on it.

“If it doesn’t go through, I’m not losing any sleep over it. It was just because it was an impactful play in the season. I think my feeling is even if I was on the other side, those are things that I think we would probably agree should fall under the same bucket as that. You have to write it in a way that makes it a little bit more complicated. Long story short, we were trying to get that play to be falling under the same parameters of not being able to advance a fumble in those types of situations even though it wasn’t considered a fumble because it was a backwards pass.”

The Rams have proposed a 40-second limit on the initiation of booth reviews, given the lengthy delay that preceded the announcement that the failed two-point conversion by the Seahawks was getting a second look. The Rams also have made a pair of proposals as to the substance of the play.

Under the first, the reversal of an on-field ruling of an incomplete pass to a backward pass that touched the ground with recovery beyond the spot of the backward pass by the team that threw the backward pass would result in the ball being placed at the spot of the backward pass.

Under the second, a backward pass that is deflected by either team and touches the ground would be treated like a fumble, when the play happens on fourth down, after the two-minute warning, or during a conversion attempt.

Either proposal would have wiped out running back Zach Charbonnet’s nonchalant recovery of the backward pass from Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold that was tipped and then bounced into the end zone.

Any of the proposals will require 24 votes from the NFL’s 32 teams to pass. Our guess? Even though it makes plenty of sense, it will be very difficult to get 75 percent of all teams to support it.

Maybe Stephen Ross really could get $15 billion for the Dolphins.

Per multiple reports, Ross will sell one percent of the Dolphins at a record valuation of $12.5 billion. It means that he’ll get $125 million for the wafer-thin slice of equity in the team.

Ross previously sold 13 percent of the team at deals based on an $8.1 billion valuation.

The latest piece will go to tech billionaire Lin Bin.

Ross, 85, intends to keep the team, with his family eventually inheriting the controlling interest.

The transaction will only help the Seahawks, which are currently for sale, land in the range reported last month by PFT: $9 billion to $11 billion. It could possibly put the final number north of that.

Two weeks ago, on the day the franchise-tag window opened, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported that the Seahawks were “unlikely” to apply the franchise tag to Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III. On the day the window will close, Schefter reports that the Seahawks are “not expected” to tag Walker.

Whether the latest report counts as a new report (or whether the collective response should be, “Yeah, I know, I heard you the first time”), the Seahawks currently are “not expected” to tag Walker. Which technically leaves the door open for something unexpected.

If the unexpected doesn’t occur, Walker will become a free agent next week — unless he re-signs with the Seahawks. He’ll then be able to sign with any other team.

If he goes, he’ll join the small club of Super Bowl MVPs who parlayed their achievement into a new deal with a new team. The current list consists of Larry Brown after Super Bowl XXX, Desmond Howard after Super Bowl XXXI, and Dexter Jackson after Super Bowl XXXVII.

Walker rushed for 1,027 yards during the regular season. He finished with a flourish in the playoffs, with 376 rushing yards in three games and 135 in the Super Bowl.

If Walker goes, the Seahawks will need help at the position. Zach Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL during the divisional-round win over the 49ers. He underwent surgery 11 days ago.

The Seahawks tendered exclusive rights free agents Ty Okada and George Holani on Monday, the team announced.

They are the first moves as the Seahawks try to “run it back,” as General Manager John Schneider said at the Scouting Combine last week.

Holani and Okada are the Seahawks’ only two exclusive rights free agents, a designation for a player with two or fewer accrued seasons whose contract is set to expire. Once tendered a one-year offer, which is based on that player’s credited seasons, an exclusive rights free agent cannot negotiate with other teams.

Okada, who first joined the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent out of Montana State in 2023, appeared in only nine games with no starts over his first two seasons. He played all 17 games in 2025, including 11 starts, and recorded 65 tackles, three tackles for loss, one interception, six passes defensed, one fumble recovery and 1.5 sacks.

Holani, who signed as an undrafted free agent out of Boise State in 2024, appeared in 11 games during the 2025 season. He rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown on 22 regular-season carries before landing on injured reserve. He also scored a touchdown on special teams, recovering a kickoff in the end zone in a Week 2 win in Pittsburgh.

Holani returned from injured reserve in the postseason and stepped into the No. 2 running back role after Zach Charbonnet injured his knee in the divisional round. Holani played 47 offensive snaps in wins over the Rams and Patriots, while rushing for 10 yards on five carries and catching four passes for 34 yards.

We recently mentioned the two proposals the Rams have made in the aftermath of the wacky two-point conversion that helped decide a game that helped determine the outcome of the entire season.

As to the proposal aimed at the protracted delay in the replay review that turned a ruling on the field of an incomplete pass into two points for the Seahawks, the Rams have suggested a hard time limit for the initiation of a booth review as to all calls that fall within the exclusive purview of the replay assistant and/or the league office (i.e., plays during the final two minutes of the half and overtime, turnovers, scoring plays, and conversions).

Here’s the full language of the Rams’ proposal regarding the initiation of a replay review, which PFT has obtained: “To amend Rule 15, Section 1, Article 2, to require a replay official to initiate a review of a play with booth review jurisdiction within 40 seconds after the play is ruled dead or before the next legal snap or kick, whichever occurs first. However, if a game administration matter reasonably delays the replay official’s ability to evaluate the play, then he/she may initiate the review after 40 seconds but before the next legal snap or kick.”

The first part of the proposal looks fine, and the exception seems to be fair on its face. However, the exception possibly creates a safe-harbor excuse that could be used to initiate any replay review beyond the 40-second limit. To be as consistent and effective as possible, there needs to be a clear, bright line — enforced by a clock in the replay booth and in the league office that can only be delayed or paused if/when there’s a legitimate and genuine “game administration matter.”

The mere presence of the exception demonstrates the practical difficulty of having a clear and unmistakable 40-second limit. Which will likely make it hard to get 24 votes in favor of an arguably arbitrary impediment to getting the call right.

In this specific case, the delayed initiation of replay review (which, as PFT has reported, was sparked by a call from Prime Video rules analyst Terry McAulay to NFL rules analyst Walt Anderson) led to the objectively correct outcome, based on the current rules. It would be unfortunate, to say the least, if a clear and obvious error were not rectified simply because it wasn’t noticed within 40 seconds.

The better approach could be to establish a firewall between the internal replay mechanism and the rest of the world. No outside calls or texts or other communications until the replay review has ended, or until the next play has started. That’s the proposal we would make, since it would force the NFL to have the best possible in-house methods for noticing any potential mistakes, without someone not employed by the league flagging the issue or otherwise weighing in.

The league should be expected to get these things right, with the resources the NFL has at its disposal. If those resources aren’t good enough, the league needs to pay for better resources.

Teams making decisions about picking up the fifth-year options on the contracts of their 2023 first-round picks now know how much that will cost.

The NFL revealed the values on Friday afternoon. There are four levels of compensation at each position. Players who have made multiple Pro Bowls as an original selection are at the top followed by players with one Pro Bowl selection and players who have hit playing time milestones before reaching the lowest level.

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud were the first two picks of that draft and both of them reached the playing time level of compensation. That will leave them with fully guaranteed salaries of $25.904 million if the teams decide to exercise the options, but longer-term extensions are also a possibility now that they have finished their third seasons.

The full list of 2023 first-rounders — there were 31 that year because the Dolphins were stripped of their pick — and their fifth-year option salaries appears below:

1. Panthers QB Bryce Young — $25.904 million (playing time).
2. Texans QB C.J. Stroud — $25.904 million (playing time).
3. Texans DE Will Anderson — $21.512 (Pro Bowl).
4. Colts QB Anthony Richardson — $22.483 million (base).
5. Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon — $21.161 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
6. Cardinals OT Paris Johnson — $19.072 million (playing time).
7. Raiders DE Tyree Wilson — $14.475 million (base).
8. Falcons RB Bijan Robinson — $11.323 million (Pro Bowl).
9. Eagles DT Jalen Carter — $27.127 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
10. Bears OT Darnell Wright — $19.072 million (playing time).
11. Titans OG Peter Skoronski — $19.072 million (playing time).
12. Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs — $14.293 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
13. Packers DE Lukas Van Ness — $14.475 million (base).
14. Steelers OT Broderick Jones — $19.072 million (playing time).
15. Jets DE Will McDonald — $14.475 million (base).
16. Rams CB Emmanuel Forbes — $12.633 million (base).
17. Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez — $18.119 million (Pro Bowl).
18. Lions LB Jack Campbell — $21.925 million (Pro Bowl).
19. Buccaneers DT Calijah Kancey — $15.451 (playing time).
20. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba — $23.852 million (Pro Bowl).
21. Chargers WR Quentin Johnston — $18 million (playing time).
22. Ravens WR Zay Flowers — $27.298 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
23. Vikings WR Jordan Addison — $18 million (playing time).
24. Giants CB Deonte Banks — $12.633 million (base).
25. Bills TE Dalton Kincaid — $8.162 million (base).
26. Jets DT Mazi Smith — $13.391 million (base) Smith was traded to the Jets by the Cowboys.
27. Jaguars OT Anton Harrison — $19.072 million (playing time).
28. Bengals DE Myles Murphy — $14.475 million (base).
29. Saints DT Bryan Bresee — $13.391 million (base).
30. Eagles LB Nolan Smith — $13.752 million (base).
31. Chiefs Felix Anudike-Uzomah — $14.475 million (base).

Last week, speculation emerged that the Seahawks possibly won’t make the annual visit by the Super Bowl champion to the White House. At the time, the team said nothing had been offered or decided yet.

Coach Mike Macdonald was asked about the issue during a Wednesday appearance at the Scouting Combine.

“We haven’t gotten an invite yet, and then we’ll address it after that,” Macdonald said from the podium, via Greg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune.

Macdonald elaborated in comments to reporters after the press conference ended.

“I would hope so,” Macdonald said, per Bell, regarding the possibility of getting an inviation. “I mean, yeah. . . . I don’t know. We’re going to get an invite, right? That’s how it works? Not really sure how it works.”

Bell reports that, if an invitation is extended, the Seahawks “will most likely accept.”

That’s a critical wrinkle. If the White House believes the invitation may be rejected, it may not be extended. And it’s possible that, even if it’s extended and accepted, some players will choose not to make the trip.

Seahawks General Manager John Schneider is tasked with trying to keep a Super Bowl champion together this offseason and that difficult process comes with an added twist.

The Seahawks are up for sale, so their bid for a second straight title will unfold amid uncertainty about who the owner might be the next time they take the field. On Tuesday, Schneider addressed that during both a press conference at the Scouting Combine and a visit to PFT Live.

At the press conference, Schneider said he anticipates “business as usual” and shared a conversation he had with team owner Jody Allen during his time on the show.

“I had a great talk with Jody last week,” Schneider said. “It’s all about, like, ‘Hey, let’s go for it. Let’s go win another one.’”

Schneider also told Mike Florio that he plans to talk to Broncos GM George Paton about working through a sale since he did that earlier in his Denver tenure and that he expects to tell an incoming owner or ownership group how things have been “humming” in Seattle because they have been doing “a lot of winning for a long time.”

Drake Maye needed a pain-killing injection in his right shoulder before Super Bowl LX.

The Patriots quarterback didn’t play as he had in the regular season, going 27-of-43 for 295 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and a lost fumble. How much did the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense in the Seahawks have to do with that, and how much, if any, had to do with his injured shoulder?

General Manager Eliot Wolf dismissed Maye’s shoulder as an excuse for the team’s offensive struggles.

“I think that’s probably a question better asked to him,” Wolf said. “I didn’t feel that way. I just felt like we just couldn’t get into rhythm offensively.”

Maye’s second season has the Patriots excited about the future.

He completed an NFL-best 72 percent of his passes for 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions in finishing second in MVP voting.

“Satisfied is a tremendous understatement,” Wolf said. “Drake made a ton of progress in a lot of areas, not only at the start of the season, but throughout the season. I think people forget that he’s 23 years old and there’s a been a lot on his shoulders, and there will continue to be with the expectation that it has being the quarterback of the New England Patriots. But I’m just really excited about him, his toughness, his competitiveness. He’s always the same guy. Obviously, there are areas on the field that he’s going to improve, and he’s going to work with coach [Josh] McDaniels and [quarterbacks] coach [Ashton] Grant and get those things taken care of.”