The Seahawks have activated LB Jerome Baker and LB Tyrel Dodson from the physically unable to perform list. That should give both players plenty of time to get ready for their anticipated starting roles in a reworked defense.
The Seahawks have agreed to a three-year extension with S Julian Love that could be worth up to $36 million, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. The deal marks a significant increase on Love's average annual salary from the two-year, $12 million pact he signed with Seattle last offseason.
The Seahawks placed LB Jerome Baker on the active/physically unable to perform list to begin training camp. Baker is still working back from the Week 18 right wrist injury that required surgery. He didn't do much in spring workouts with his new team either.
Former Seahawks QB Brock Huard expects TE Noah Fant to play a bigger pass-catching role this season than he has the past two years in Seattle. The Seahawks re-signed Fant to a two-year, $21 million contract this offseason and let TEs Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson walk in free agency.
Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba is coming off a disappointing 2023 rookie season, in terms of both usage and fantasy production. He ranked 41st among WRs in targets and 48th in PPR points. But he'll be operating in a new offense this year and is a candidate to take a big leap forward in his second season. It makes him a potential post-hype value in 2024 fantasy drafts.
The Seahawks used a fourth-round pick on TE A.J. Barner from Michigan. Barner spent his first three college seasons at Indiana, finishing third on the 2022 squad with 28 catches and second with 3 TDs. He transferred to Michigan this past year and posted a career-best 249 yards on 22 grabs. Barner helped himself by earning an 8.70 Relative Athletic Score at the Combine. He’s a long 6’6, 251-pounder with an 88th-percentile wingspan, making him an inviting target. Barner is certainly a developmental prospect unlikely to make a 2024 fantasy impact, but there’s some longer-term pass-catching upside here. Check our rookie rankings at TE to see where Barner lands.
Texas DT Byron Murphy landed with the Seahawks at the 16th spot in Round 1 of the NFL Draft. Murphy presents uncommon explosiveness and size for the position. He’s small, at 6’0.5 and 297 pounds. But Murphy also delivered 82nd-percentile or better results in the 10-yard split, 40-yard dash, vertical, and broad jump. He posted modest numbers in college, with highs of 8.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks in his third and final college season. But the athleticism gives him upside beyond that in the pros.
The Seahawks shipped 2024 third- and fifth-round picks to the Commanders for QB Sam Howell. GM John Schneider said shortly after making the trade that QB Geno Smith remains the starter. "Geno's the guy and Sam will be backing him up," Schneider said. We're buying that considering Smith still played quality football last year, ranking 12th among 30 qualifiers in Pro Football Focus passing grades. Smith, of course, is 33 now and carries a big $38.5 million cap hit in 2025. So there's a chance that Howell replaces him then. "We were just really excited to be able to acquire him," Schneider said of Howell. "We know he's a serious dude. He's into it, he works his tail off. We got great reviews on him and we loved him coming out of college. So yeah, we're happy to get him in the mix." Howell is worth keeping stashed in most dynasty leagues.
The Seahawks are re-signing TE Noah Fant for $21 million over two years, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Your initial reaction might be disappointment for the 26-year-old former first-round pick. But this Seattle team sports a new coaching staff. The Seahawks have also already let TEs Colby Parkinson (to the Rams) and Will Dissly (Chargers) leave in free agency. There's clearly more opportunity available to Fant than he found the past two years. And new OC Ryan Grubb comes from a pass-friendly University of Washington offense. Most importantly for Fant's fantasy outlook: He's extremely cheap in both dynasty value and best ball ADP. So you don't have to risk much to take a shot on a guy with elite athleticism for the position. Fant is certainly worth a dynasty pickup where on the waiver wire and might be available for a low rookie-draft pick in trades. Check our dynasty trade value charts for the values of Fant and others.
The Seahawks and WR Tyler Lockett have agreed to a restructured deal that will pay $30 million over the next two years, with $13 million guaranteed and a max value of $34 million. That locks in the veteran wideout with Seattle in 2024. The biggest impact here might be on second-year WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He ranked a clear third among Seahawks in targets last season, drawing 5.5 per game to Lockett's 7.4 and D.K. Metcalf's 7.2. JSN will need to pass one of those guys to become truly fantasy relevant. A new coaching staff presents opportunity for offensive design to change. But the new regime clearly believes Lockett remains good. And Metcalf just turned 26 in December. Lockett's Underdog Fantasy ADP sits WR56 to date, compared with Smith-Njigba's WR38. That sure looks imbalanced in the veteran's favor from here. Keeping the WR trio together helps QB Geno Smith's outlook -- assuming he keeps the job, of course.
Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald stopped short of committing to QB Geno Smith as the 2024 starter in a Friday radio appearance. "We're always looking, always trying to figure out what’s best for the team all the time," Macdonald said. "I'm excited for Geno to come in here and start playing and start working. ... I don't want you to feel like I'm dodging this answer, but that's what I'm excited about, for him to come in here and start to build this team the way we envision building it." It's a rather cookie-cutter, coachspeak answer for early March -- but worth noting nonetheless. Smith is under contract for 2024 at a $26.4 million cap hit, and the Seahawks don't currently pick until 16th overall in this spring's draft. They'd likely need to trade up to land one of the top four QBs in the class. It's still more likely than not that Smith is under center for Seattle come Week 1, but don't consider him locked in at this point.
The Seahawks are expected to hire Ryan Grubb as their new OC under HC Mike Macdonald, according to multiple reports. This will be Grubb's first NFL coaching job. He's been in the college ranks since 2005, most recently serving as Washington's OC for the last two seasons. Both of those Huskies teams finished top 13 in the nation in both total yards and points per game. They were especially lethal through the air, ranking first and then second in passing yards per game. Grubb joins a Seahawks squad with plenty of passing-game firepower in WRs D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. QB Geno Smith will very likely be back under center in 2024. We'll see if Seattle reunites Grubb with QB Michael Penix, who was at the helm for Washington the last two years.
The Seahawks are hiring former Ravens DC Mike Macdonald as the new head coach, according to multiple reports. The 36-year-old becomes the league's youngest HC. He spent the past two years as DC for the Ravens after a year as DC under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan and seven prior seasons on the Baltimore staff. The Ravens led the league in scoring defense, sacks, and takeaways in 2023. They ranked among the top 9 in yards allowed and top 3 in points allowed in each season under Macdonald. We'll likely have to wait at least until he chooses an OC to find out more about Macdonald's offensive philosophy. He, of course, inherits a Seahawks team with plenty of passing-game upside but also a pair of second-round RBs. This will be an interesting offense to track through the offseason. For now, we're not altering fantasy outlooks for any Seattle players on this coaching news.
According to multiple reports, Pete Carroll is ending his 14-year run as HC of the Seahawks. That tenure also found Carroll serving as VP of football operations, giving him dual authority over personnel decisions with GM John Schneider. Seahawks owner Jody Allen announced that Carroll's "role will evolve" to that of advisor, so he'll likely still have a say in roster building. We'll see who succeeds Carroll as HC and whether his assistants stick around before projecting the potential impact on Seattle's fantasy assets.
The Commanders will start QB Sam Howell in Week 18. While he’s faced a tough stretch of defenses – Cowboys, Dolphins, Rams, Jets, 49ers – Howell’s play has fallen off over the second half of the season. Week 18 turns up a rematch with a Dallas team that defeated Washington 45-10 on Thanksgiving. Howell posted 300 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT in that one. The 23-year-old will remain a superflex-only option.
Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf (back) is active for today’s game vs. the Steelers. He missed the final two practices of the week, but we never sensed any concern about his availability for this one. Metcalf seems safe to keep in Week 17 fantasy lineups.
Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker (shoulder) is active for today’s game vs. the Steelers. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported this morning that the team is concerned about Walker’s shoulder after he reinjured it last week. He comes with elevated risk in Week 17 fantasy lineups.
Seahawks RB Ken Walker (shoulder, illness) is expected to play vs. the Steelers today, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. "But the team also has some concerns about a shoulder injury that was aggravated last Sunday at Tennessee," Schefter adds. It sounds like there's some risk that Walker's touches are scaled back today, or that the shoulder issue knocks him out of this game. We're moving Walker down the Week 17 RB Rankings a bit.
Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf (back) is expected to play vs. the Steelers today, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Metcalf missed the final two practices of the week, but HC Pete Carroll didn't express any concern about his availability for this one on Friday. Metcalf seems safe to keep in Week 17 fantasy lineups.
Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker (shoulder) only got in a limited practice on Friday this week and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Steelers. He was in the same boat last week, but HC Pete Carroll said then that Walker would play vs. Tennessee. This Friday, he labeled Walker a game-time decision. We'll hopefully get an update on his status on Sunday morning. Seattle's inactives won't come out until a little after 2:30 pm ET. Walker's absence would turn RB Zach Charbonnet into a solid fantasy starter.
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