{"id":772187,"date":"2026-02-24T01:07:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T01:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/772187\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T01:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T01:07:15","slug":"an-edge-rusher-seattle-seahawks-could-pursue-if-mafe-leaves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/772187\/","title":{"rendered":"An edge rusher Seattle Seahawks could pursue if Mafe leaves"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The start of NFL free agency is drawing nearer, as are a number of important decisions the Seattle Seahawks will have to make.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.mynorthwest.com\/nfl\/seattle-seahawks\/mock-draft-roundup-who-will-seahawks-pick-in-1st-round\/1840110\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mock Draft Roundup: Who will Seattle Seahawks pick in 1st round?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Among the number of key players set to hit free agency for the Seahawks is edge rusher Boye Mafe, a second-round pick in the 2022 draft.<\/p>\n<p>In his four seasons in Seattle, Mafe has totaled 24 tackles for loss, 20.0 sacks, 14 passes defended and three forced fumbles. That included a breakout campaign in which the Minnesota product produced a career-high 9.0 sacks and set a franchise record with at least one sack in seven consecutive games in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Mafe\u2019s production dipped this year with just four tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, the latter being a career low. That doesn\u2019t quite tell the full story, though. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/46138675\/2025-nfl-win-rates-top-teams-players-rankings-pass-run-block\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">ranked eighth<\/a> in ESPN\u2019s pass-block win rate among edge rushers and had 40 quarterback pressures, only one fewer than teammate Derick Hall.<\/p>\n<p>However, Mafe still seems unlikely to be re-signed by the Seahawks. If he leaves in free agency, who could the they target to bring in as a new edge player? Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wide receiver <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/michaelbumpus5?lang=en\" rel=\"nofollow\">Michael Bumpus<\/a> weighed in during his Four Down Territory segment Monday on Seattle Sports\u2019 Bump and Stacy.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Bumpus also factored in the potential of edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence not being back in 2026. Lawrence still has two years left on the three-year deal he signed last offseason, but there is an out in his contract before next season, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/nfl\/player\/_\/id\/14443\/demarcus-lawrence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">according to Spotrac<\/a>. There\u2019s also the possibility Lawrence, who will be 34 next season, decides to go out on top after winning his first Lombardi Trophy. After all, <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.mynorthwest.com\/nfl\/seattle-seahawks\/demarcus-lawrence-called-his-shot-now-dez-bryant-owes-him-a-rolex\/1838734\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">he came to Seattle to win a Super Bowl<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll say Boye Mafe does not come back and D-Law does not come back, you got some money to spend even though you do have to pay (Jaxon Smith-Njigba),\u201d said Bumpus, referencing an expected contract extension for star wide receiver Smith-Njigba. \u201cThe top of the wish list would be Jaelan Phillips out of out of Philly. \u2026 Then after that, man, you\u2019re going bargain shopping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Phillips, 26, was a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2021 and spent four-plus seasons with the team before being traded to the Eagles in November. He had seven tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, four passes defended, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble in 17 games with the Dolphins and Eagles last season. His 73 quarterback pressures were ninth among edge rushers, <a href=\"https:\/\/premium.pff.com\/nfl\/positions\/2025\/REG\/defense-pass-rush?position=ED\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">per Pro Football Focus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jaelan Phillips breaks through for the sack!<\/p>\n<p>DETvsPHI on NBC<br \/>Stream on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NFLPlus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">@NFLPlus<\/a> + Peacock <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/f7jDLYG550\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/f7jDLYG550<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NFL (@NFL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NFL\/status\/1990233965492375979?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">November 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In 63 career games over five seasons, he\u2019s amassed 32 tackles for loss, 28.0 sacks, 11 passes defended, five fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and an interception.<\/p>\n<p>Spotrac lists Phillips as being worth roughly $17.3 million per year. Mafe\u2019s value comes in at $12.2 million. Both are projected for three-year deals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m looking at Jaelan Phillips. Man is gonna be expensive, but I think you get a lot out of him,\u201d Bumpus said. \u201c(In a) perfect world, Boye Mafe and D-Law both come back, though.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hear the full conversation at <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.mynorthwest.com\/podcast_player?a=3bb45319-f114-44dd-a6b3-edeb1cb8a1d7&amp;n=Bump+and+Stacy&amp;i=1725\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">this link<\/a> or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Seattle Seahawks offseason coverage<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.mynorthwest.com\/nfl\/seattle-seahawks\/seattle-seahawks-d-line-could-be-even-better-2026\/1840000\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Why Seattle Seahawks\u2019 D-line could be even better in 2026<\/a><br \/>\u2022\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports.mynorthwest.com\/nfl\/seattle-seahawks\/jaxon-smith-njigba-believes-he-deserves-to-be-top-paid-wr\/1840028\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jaxon Smith-Njigba believes he deserves to be top-paid WR<\/a><br \/>\u2022\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports.mynorthwest.com\/nfl\/seattle-seahawks\/report-rams-propose-rule-change-seattle-seahawks-2-point-conversion\/1839977\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Report: Rams to propose rule change aimed at Seattle Seahawks\u2019 2-point play<\/a><br \/>\u2022\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports.mynorthwest.com\/nfl\/seattle-seahawks\/coby-bryant-priority-seattle-seahawks-re-sign\/1839861\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bump: Bryant should be a priority for Seattle Seahawks to re-sign<\/a><br \/>\u2022\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports.mynorthwest.com\/nfl\/seattle-seahawks\/seattle-seahawks-kenneth-walker-iii-contract-situation\/1839811\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Ken Walker contract situation: What you need to know<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"twitter-follow-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZacHereth\" data-show-count=\"false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Follow @ZacHereth<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.mynorthwest.com\/newsletters\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SeattleSportsEmail-830x100-1.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0 auto;\" class=\"mobile-signup\"\/>\t&#13;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SeattleSportsEmail-830x100-1.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0 auto;\" class=\"desktop-signup\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>                    <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The start of NFL free agency is drawing nearer, as are a number of important decisions the Seattle&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":772188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2081],"tags":[7,6,238,237,261,2635],"class_list":{"0":"post-772187","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-seattle-seahawks","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-seahawks","11":"tag-seattle","12":"tag-seattle-seahawks","13":"tag-seattleseahawks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116122933625667402","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=772187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/772188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}