With free agency slowing down and the draft still a little over a month away, it's a great time to take a quick break to dive into the mailbag and answer some questions from you, the fans. New this week, we branched out from Twitter/X and also got questions on Instagram stories, and the response was great, so thanks to everyone knew who submitted questions that way.

As always, thanks to everyone who asked questions this week, and apologies if I wasn't able to get to yours this time around. And remember, the mailbag is always open for submissions at Seahawks.com/mailbag.

@tompage asks, "Considering the free agent losses, who are players on the roster that are poised to take advantage of additional opportunities?"

A: Let's start with the starters who are leaving, because that creates the most obvious opportunities for someone to step into a bigger role. On defense, the Seahawks lost only one every-down player, safety Coby Bryant, but they also lost two other key contributors in Riq Woolen, who split time with Josh Jobe, and Boye Mafe, who was part of a deep outside linebacker rotation.

When it comes to safety, the most obvious candidate to step up is Ty Okada, who played well in 11 starts last season, filling in for an injured Julian Love for nine games, and for Bryant for two more. Okada wasn't just a capable fill-in option, he proved himself to be a real playmaker, so while the Seahawks certainly can still add to that group, Okada's play last year shows they still have two starting-caliber safeties in Love and Okada, even with Bryant gone. And that doesn't even include Nick Emmanwori, who had a standout rookie season playing primarily as a nickel defensive back. The Seahawks may very well just keep him in that role given how well he played, but Emmanwori played as more of a true safety in college, so the Seahawks could find more ways to use him in that role as well. The Seahawks also added Rodney Thomas II in free agency, so he too could be in the mix.

With Josh Jobe re-signing, the Seahawks still have their two starters from last season in Jobe and Devon Witherspoon, but Woolen also played a lot of snaps and at the very least the Seahawks will need to add more depth behind Witherspoon and Jobe. For starters, injuries are always an unfortunate reality of the sport, and they'll also need another player to step up in dime packages (six defensive backs) which the Seahawks used quite frequently last year with Witherspoon, Jobe and Woolen all on the field at the same time. Newcomer Noah Igbinoghene, a free-agent signing and former first-round pick, will definitely factor into the competition, as will Nehemiah Pritchett, who didn't play a lot of defense, but had a big role on special teams.

With Mafe leaving, the Seahawks still have a strong trio in DeMarcus Lawrence, Uchenna Nwosu and Derick Hall, so they're hardly desperate there, but they will want to add to that group, be it through free agency, the draft or a trade. The Seahawks have a couple of young edge players who could step up into a bigger role in Jared Ivey and Connor O'Toole, who both made the team as undrafted rookies, but with the versatility a lot of Seahawks linemen have, some of those snaps could also go to non-edge players. For example, if Rylie Mills, who capped an injury-shortened rookie year with a really impressive sack in the Super Bowl, is ready for a bigger role as an interior lineman, that could allow Leonard Williams, who has had a lot of success rushing off the edge in addition to being a menace as in interior lineman, to line up out wide more often.

Then there's running back, which we'll get more into in questions below, but the obvious answer to replace Kenneth Walker III, who signed with Kansas City, is Zach Charbonnet, who split time pretty evenly with Walker for most of the season. The complication there, of course, is Charbonnet's knee injury, which happened in the divisional round of the playoffs, and could very well affect his availability for the start of the season. The Seahawks really liked what they saw out of George Holani in the No. 2 role during the postseason, and Kenny McIntosh showed promise late in the 2024 season, then again in camp last year before suffering a season-ending injury, so he could also be a factor. The Seahawks also recently signed Emanuel Wilson, who showed plenty of flashes during his time with the Packers, including a couple of big games as a starter last year, so in that trio, the Seahawks have some very capable options. That being said, I think running back is a spot at which the Seahawks are not done adding in some form.

@MrEd315 asks, "Good or bad, what has surprised you about the Seahawks' offseason so far?"

A: Honestly this offseason has been pretty unsurprising for the Seahawks. I always kind of expect John Schneider to surprise us at some point, so maybe that's still coming, but it seemed all along that the main priority would be retaining as many of their players as they could while also finding some good value additions, and that's mostly what the Seahawks have done. There was always a strong chance some of Seattle's free agents would leave—NFL teams tend to like players on championship rosters—so none of those departures were shocking, even if those players will be missed by fans and their teammates. In terms of a pleasant mild surprise, it seemed like it might be hard to keep Rashid Shaheed, so being able to re-sign him is a big win for Schneider and company.

@ffsemenalo asks, "What is the plan to improve the team after winning the Super Bowl?"

A: As mentioned above, the goal was more to, as Schneider put it, "run it back" than to make a bunch of splashy additions. This is, after all, a team coming off a Super Bowl winning season in which they won 17 of 20 games, including 10 in a row to close it out, and lost three games by a total of nine points.

So from that standpoint, the Seahawks have done a pretty good job, losing only two starters from the Super Bowl, Walker and Bryant, as well as two players who had significant roles on defense in Woolen and Mafe. That's not a bad attrition rate for a Super-Bowl winning team, so even if the Seahawks didn't actually get better, the 2025 version, minus a couple players, would be pretty darn good in 2026. That being said, Schneider of all people knows that teams always need to be finding ways to adjust and improve, so the Seahawks have and will continue to make additions with that goal in mind. No, the Seahawks didn't make big splashes in free agency like last year when they signed Sam Darnold, Cooper Kupp and DeMarcus Lawrence, but they added players already who very well could have big roles this season, and they're not done. There's obviously still the draft, and the Seahawks have been pretty darn good at that over the past four years, and plenty of good players still unsigned who could be added later this offseason. And yes, there's always the chance of a trade or two, something Schneider has never been shy to do.

@hustle-chillson.bsky.social asks, "Do you think the team views George Holani as a starting running back?"

A: As mentioned earlier, the Seahawks really liked what Holani showed them, so if he opened the season as the starter, presumably meaning he had a strong camp and preseason to earn that over the likes of McIntosh and Wilson (and if Charbonnet isn't back Week 1), then I think the Seahawks would be good with that outcome. But again, there are multiple options on the team and plenty of other ways to add another impact back before camp starts, so in all likelihood, there will be a good competition at that spot heading into the season.

On to the Instagram submissions

@Thirdcoasthooper asks, "If the 2025 season was a Pearl Jam song, which one would it be?"

OK, full discloser, this is a co-worker, Edwin Hooper (he, along with Rod Mar, takes all the great photos you see on Seahawks.com and our social media channels), so he knows about my love for Pearl Jam, but it's a great question, nonetheless. If we're being honest, a lot of Pearl Jam songs cover some pretty dark ground, so they may not be the band you think of when you're trying to describe an all-time great season, but the first one that comes to mind is "Given To Fly" off of their 1998 album, Yield (an underrated album, but that's a topic for another mailbag). The lyrics themselves have some pretty uplifting moments, but Mike McCready's guitar playing combined with Eddie Vedder's vocals really make the song soar, and would make it a great song to have playing while you watch some Super Bowl season highlights.

@garrett_page12 asks, "What's the biggest reason John Schneider hasn't used most of the cap space that we have?"

A: Schneider talks about this topic at some point every offseason, and one of the biggest reasons is that he wants the Seahawks to have the flexibility to make things happen throughout the offseason and into the season. Yes, the Seahawks have money to spend and very well may do so in the next couple of months, but they also are looking ahead to paying big extensions to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon, and Schneider is never afraid to make a splashy trade, which could mean adding a player with a big salary and/or in need of a new contract.

The Seahawks have spent big in free agency when the situation is right—just look at last year—but in general terms, Schneider and company like to take a more patient approach rather than get into bidding wars in the early stages of free agency, and that's because, more often than not, players don't let their very best players ever get to free agency.

@Jwthecheetah asks, "How come you haven't re-signed JSN yet?" And a.lix997 asks, "What's up with the contracts for Spoon and JSN?"

A: While the Seahawks hope to get their two 2023 first-round picks signed to extensions at some point, there's less urgency because they are under contract in 2026 and because the Seahawks also have the fifth-year option available to them. Even without the fifth-year option, the Seahawks usually like to focus on free agency and the draft before turning to extensions for players with a year left on their deals, which means those talks could heat up this summer. But again, the fifth-year option also adds a wrinkle to that equation. If the two sides can't agree on something in, say, July, maybe talks can be more productive later in the season. We saw that type of situation play out with 2022 first-round pick Charles Cross. The Seahawks exercise the fifth-year option on Cross last spring, then were able to get a long-term extension done late in the regular season.

@Chrishdez22 asks, "Back to back?" @Danny_zkz asks, "Do you believe the Seahawks can go back to back?" and a whole lot of other people asked similar questions.

A: Can they? Of course. They're returning 20 of 22 starters from a Super Bowl they won convincingly, and are one of the youngest teams in the league. They'll rightly go into the year as one of the favorites, but saying the Seahawks can repeat is hardly the same as predicting they will. Winning consecutive Super Bowls is really, really hard—only two teams have repeated this century, New England and Kansas City—and the Seahawks also play in a loaded division. I'd be shocked if the Seahawks weren't really good and a playoff team in 2026, but a lot has to go right for even the best teams to actually win a title.

@Jacogain asks, "Why haven't we re-signed Jake Bobo yet?"

A: The Seahawks did tender Bobo, who is a restricted free agent, but he has not signed that tender yet, because as a restricted free agent, he is allowed to also negotiate with other teams for the next month, at which point, if he were to agree to an offer sheet, the Seahawks would get a chance to match that deal. Bobo and his agent would be doing themselves a disservice to not at least see what's out there before signing a restricted free agent tender, but by putting that on Bobo to start free agency, the Seahawks took a big step in bringing him back.

@Migcam92 asks, "What's your favorite 2Pac song?"

A: For a serious message, "Changes." For just a fun listen, "I get around."

@Robinett.avery_ asks, "Is shaheed expected to play a larger role in the offense while still returning kicks?"

A: I do think it's safe to assume that, given a full offseason and training camp with the Seahawks, Shaheed will have a bigger role in the offense. I will add, however, that Shaheed's impact on the offense last season was bigger than his numbers might indicate. There were some big plays, to be sure, but the mere threat of his speed also helped opened things up for other pass catchers, and maybe even more importantly, it led to fewer stacked boxes, which helped the running game improve in the second half of the season. As for the return game, presumably Shaheed will still be heavily involved in that phase of the game given how good he is at it, but there's also a possibility that, if he were to continue to be more important as a pass catcher, the Seahawks could look to take one of the return roles off his plate. For now though, it's hard to imagine not wanting a returner as dynamic as Shaheed to get as many touches as he can on special teams.

@Zaydeniessary asks, "Are you ever going to bring a Seahawks practice to Hawaii?"

A: I love where your head is at. I have zero say in such matters, but if anyone asks my opinion, I will wholeheartedly support a minicamp or training camp trip to Hawaii.

@davis_nb asks, "Does the milk or the cereal go first?"

A: Just the other day I was talking to some co-workers about food takes, and my "hot take" is that I don't really care what people want to do with their food. You want pineapple on a pizza, great. You want ketchup on that hotdog? Who cares what the mustard-only purists say. But then I read this question, and realized maybe we do sometimes need to judge what/how people eat. It's cereal first, then milk, and if you do it the other way, well, I'm not sure we can be friends.