{"id":811436,"date":"2026-03-14T06:48:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T06:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/811436\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T06:48:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T06:48:20","slug":"next-move-seahawks-must-make-after-re-signing-rashid-shaheed-in-2026-nfl-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/811436\/","title":{"rendered":"Next move Seahawks must make after re-signing Rashid Shaheed in 2026 NFL free agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Next move Seahawks must make after re-signing Rashid Shaheed in 2026 NFL free agency<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The confetti has barely settled on the pavement of Fourth Avenue, yet the Lombardi Trophy\u2019s glow already casts a long shadow over the future. Winning a Super Bowl<\/a> is a Herculean feat, of course. Repeating as champs? Now that is a dance with destiny that requires cold-blooded roster management. The Seattle Seahawks<\/a> are fresh off a dominant 2025 campaign that re-established \u201cThe Dark Side\u201d defense as the gold standard of the NFL. They have no plans of resting on their laurels.<\/p>\n

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General manager John Schneider has already fired his first major salvo of the 2026 offseason by securing wideout and return ace Rashid Shaheed to a three-year, $51 million extension<\/a>. It was a necessary move to keep the vertical threat alive for Sam Darnold. Let\u2019s be real, though \u2014 the job is far from finished. Mike Macdonald cannot afford to look at his current roster through rose-colored glasses. The next move should be about survival in a league designed to tear champions apart.<\/p>\n

Emerald city\u2019s golden run\"Mark<\/p>\n

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

To understand where the Seahawks must go, we have to appreciate the heights they just scaled. The 2025 season was nothing short of a masterpiece. Seattle claimed the NFC West and the conference\u2019s top seed for the first time in a decade. Under Macdonald\u2019s guidance along with offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, the team transformed into a balanced juggernaut. Jaxon Smith-Njigba redefined the wideout position. He hauled in a franchise-record 1,793 yards and earned Offensive Player of the Year honors.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, the defense was anchored by Devon Witherspoon and Leonard Williams. It led the league in scoring defense. The journey culminated in a surgical 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX. The Seahawks just proved they were the most complete team in football. It was a season of broken records and shattered expectations, leaving the 12s with a hunger for more.<\/p>\n

Early waves of free agency<\/p>\n

Success, however, comes with a steep price tag. The 2026 free agency period has already forced the Seahawks to make some agonizing choices. The biggest blow was undoubtedly the departure of Kenneth Walker III<\/a>. He was the engine of the 2025 ground game who chased a massive payday with the Kansas City Chiefs. Losing a 135-yard Super Bowl MVP is a bitter pill to swallow, especially with Zach Charbonnet still working his way back from a late-February ACL surgery.<\/p>\n

On the defensive side, the secondary took a hit with Tariq Woolen heading to Philadelphia and Coby Bryant signing with the Bears. Schneider has countered by prioritizing continuity where possible. He re-signed cornerback Josh Jobe and special teams stalwarts like Brady Russell. However, the crown jewel of the early window remains the Shaheed deal. By keeping the league\u2019s premier return specialist and a proven deep threat, Seattle has ensured that JSN won\u2019t have to face double-teams on every snap. Yet, even with Shaheed locked in, the roster feels top-heavy and dangerously thin at a few critical junctions.<\/p>\n

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Backfield hammer<\/p>\n

The next move the Seahawks must make is to sign a veteran, bell-cow running back to replace the void left by Walker. Sure, keeping Shaheed helps the passing game. Still, this offense is predicated on physical dominance and the threat of the run. With Charbonnet\u2019s availability for the start of the 2026 season in serious doubt, the Seahawks are currently looking at a backfield that lacks a proven primary option.<\/p>\n

Relying solely on Darnold\u2019s arm, even after his resurgent championship year, is a recipe for disaster if there is no ground game to keep defenses honest. As of this writing, the market still features high-upside veterans like Joe Mixon or Brian Robinson Jr. These players can handle 20 carries a game and provide the pass-blocking reliability that a championship-defense-first team requires. Bringing in a veteran back isn\u2019t just a luxury but a mandate. Without a reliable hammer in the backfield, the play-action shots to Shaheed and Smith-Njigba will lose their bite. With that, the Seahawks\u2019 ball-control identity will vanish.<\/p>\n

Solidifying the dark side\"Mark<\/p>\n

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Beyond the backfield, Seattle must act aggressively to secure one more veteran cornerback to start opposite Witherspoon. The departures of Woolen and Bryant have left the cupboards remarkably bare in a division that features high-octane passing attacks in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Yes, Jobe proved he can handle a starting role during the playoff run. That said, the lack of depth<\/a> behind him is terrifying. In the modern NFL, you don\u2019t just need two good corners; you need four.<\/p>\n

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The Seahawks have the cap space to lure a relatively high-end starter who can bridge the gap until the draft. If the Seahawks enter the 2026 season with a \u201cwait and see\u201d approach at cornerback, they are asking for \u201cThe Dark Side\u201d to be exploited by every offensive coordinator with a clipboard.<\/p>\n

Securing a veteran corner allows Witherspoon the freedom to roam and create chaos. That is exactly how this defense became the league\u2019s best. The Shaheed signing was a great start, but the Seahawks need to balance the books by fortifying the positions that actually win championships in January: the running game and the secondary.<\/p>\n

Related: Riq Woolen posts \u2018prideful\u2019 message to Seahawks fans amid Eagles move<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Next move Seahawks must make after re-signing Rashid Shaheed in 2026 NFL free agency appeared first on ClutchPoints.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2081],"tags":[374,2872,9763,2873,2865,7,2869,3608,2861,8488,110,9295,8357,21543,1014,2860,249,6,242,3698,1878,1161,238,237,261,2635,23119,113075,12062],"class_list":["post-811436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-seattle-seahawks","tag-bears","tag-brady-russell","tag-brian-robinson-jr","tag-coby-bryant","tag-devon-witherspoon","tag-football","tag-jaxon-smith-njigba","tag-joe-mixon","tag-john-schneider","tag-josh-jobe","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-kenneth-walker-iii","tag-klint-kubiak","tag-leonard-williams","tag-los-angeles","tag-mike-macdonald","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-philadelphia","tag-rashid-shaheed","tag-sam-darnold","tag-san-francisco","tag-seahawks","tag-seattle","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-seattleseahawks","tag-tariq-woolen","tag-the-dark-side","tag-zach-charbonnet"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811436","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=811436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}