A week into the new league year, the Seahawks look quite a bit different than they did coming out of the 2024 season. Gone are three of Seattle's top offensive players, quarterback Geno Smith and receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, while added to the mix are quarterback Sam Darnold, receivers Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, among others.

Roster turnover happens every year in the NFL, including some big moves every offseason, but some of these moves, especially the trades of Smith and Metcalf, and the subsequent signings of Darnold and Kupp, were particularly significant. None of those moves change the Seahawks' goals for 2025 and beyond, but they do mean the Seahawks will look significantly different on offense as they pursue those goals.

And with so much happening, now is a great time to open up the mailbag and answer some questions from you, the fans. 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.

@MrEd315 asks, "What has been the buzz throughout the organization regarding recent trades and free-agency efforts?"

A: There is a lot of excitement in the building about the moves the Seahawks have made so far, not just in the addition of players with Pro-Bowl pedigrees like Darnold, Kupp and Lawrence, but also in the re-signing of some key players, most notably Ernest Jones IV and Jarran Reed.

Understandably there is a lot of talk about Seattle's offense, because that's where there has been so much change, but when we're talking about the team's high expectations for 2025 and beyond, it's worth remembering that the Seahawks finished the year playing really well on defense, a huge factor in winning six of the final eight games, and by re-signing Jones and Reed, the Seahawks assured themselves a lot of continuity on that side of the ball.

As for that offensive change, I truly believe, based on what we've heard from John Schneider and Mike Macdonald, both before and after the trades, that they went into the offseason expecting to keep Smith and Metcalf, but when it became apparent that a deal wasn't going to work out to extend Smith, and when Metcalf asked for a trade, the front office pivoted quickly so they could find quality replacements for those players, adding Darnold and Kupp while also clearing up some salary cap space and adding valuable draft picks. Obviously the key to capitalizing on those significant decisions is to make the most of that cap space and of those draft picks, and while there is still a ton of time left before now and the start of the season, giving good-sized, multi-year deals to Darnold, Kupp and Lawrence shows the Seahawks are in no way in rebuild mode, and the past few standout draft classes should give fans confidence the Seahawks can take advantage of having five picks in the top 92 in next month's draft.

@segdeha on Bluesky says, "Disappointed to see Seattle, again, be not so aggressive in free agency. We cleared cap space, get some dudes!" He also laments the lack of spending on the offensive line.

On a similar note, @meatopinion.bsky.social asks, "What's the plan? If we don't want to pay players competitive rates, how do you build a contender? Signing bargain bin players to fill holes and seems like a less-than-ideal team building plan?"

A: I'll echo John Schneider when I say, I get it, fans want the Seahawks to add to the offensive line after that unit struggled at times, and there's still a lot of time to add to that group, and not just bargain bin players, as the question above puts it. But to say the Seahawks don't want to pay players or aren't being aggressive with their newly-created cap space is just plain inaccurate. According to overthecap.com, the Seahawks have spent the fourth most money of any team in free agency, in part by signing the top quarterback on the market, and also by signing Pro-Bowl players like Kupp and Lawrence.

And again, there is still plenty of time to continue to add to the roster—the league year started all of a week ago—and there are still linemen out there the team can sign. Fans shouldn't assume that every time a lineman signs with another team it's because the Seahawks missed out on that signing; teams can view players differently, and a player one offensive staff and front office might view as worthy of a big deal might not be a fit with another team. As for Will Fries, the former Colts guard who signed a huge five-year deal with Minnesota, Schneider all but confirmed the Seahawks were after him.

"We were in on a bigtime guy that we wanted to bring in and get a physical on when you spend that kind of money on a player," Schneider said. "We wanted a visit, another team didn't want a visit and they just went ahead and did the deal."

If one team wants to do a deal without giving a physical to a player, something that could not happen until the start of the new league year last Wednesday—Fries and the Vikings agreed to a deal during the negotiation window before that—that's certainly their prerogative, but it's hardly the sign of the Seahawks being cheap because they don't want to match or surpass a huge, multi-year deal without being able to first give a physical to a player coming off a significant leg injury that ended his 2024 season.

The Seahawks also have a lot of draft capital they can use to beef up the line, or any other position group, and as fun as it is to see teams make splashes in free agency, the best way to win consistently in the NFL is to draft and develop players. And speaking of drafting and developing, I think an important part of this equation that some fans might be overlooking is that the Seahawks are expecting a new scheme and a new coaching staff to help current linemen develop while also putting them in more advantageous positions. The Seahawks have drafted several interior linemen in the past two years, adding center Olu Oluwatimi and guard Anthony Bradford in 2023 and guards Christian Haynes and Sataoa Laumea last year, and they see potential in 2024 undrafted free agent Jalen Sundell. That's not to say they shouldn't or won't keep adding to that group, but it's also way too early to just write off all the players currently on the roster and say the Seahawks can't win with them.

And the last point I'll make on this topic: it's mid-March. The season starts in sixth months, and there are tons of ways, from free agency in the next few weeks to the draft to trades to potential cap casualties before the season, to add good players.

@BloomisKevin asks, "Any trades you see us making? Any trades you'd like to see us make?"

A: I'm not going to predict any specific trades, and the two that always felt like a possibility based on contract issues, Smith and Metcalf, already happened. But based off the Seahawks' history under Schneider, it wouldn't rule out any future moves, either in the form of trade additions or, if Seattle feels like it has a lot of depth at a particular spot, a trade to add some draft capital.

The next logical time to expect trades is right before or during the draft, then after that there's also usually a flurry of moves before roster cuts at the start of the season. Again, there's no way to predict at this point what moves might come, but Schneider and company will always be looking for ways to make the team better. And along those lines, one reason why teams don't want to blow every bit of cap space in the first week of free agency is that they want to have the flexibility should another team suddenly make a quality player available later this offseason.

@pacificnorthwest1 asks, "If the Seahawks get 1-2 guards for the O-line, and with the weapons they have—JSN, Kupp, K9, Charbonnet and Noah Fant—and if Darnold doesn't make many mistakes, this offense can be scary. Thoughts?"

A: I like your optimism, and I agree that if Darnold can look like the player he was last year and make good decisions, there is plenty of talent, both in his arm and around him, for the Seahawks offense to do a lot of good things. A big key will be how offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and his staff can build an offense that matches Darnold's skillset well—that's true of any coordinator-quarterback relationship—and the good news on that front is that the two worked together in San Francisco, and that the scheme Darnold ran in Minnesota will be similar to what Kubiak runs in Seattle.

The Seahawks aren't done adding to their offense, they'll continue to do so in free agency and the draft, but by making early moves to land Darnold, Kupp and Valdes-Scantling after trading Metcalf and Smith, they set themselves up well to head into 2025 with a strong core on offense.

Tyler from Renton: "Do players' draft stock actually change as much as they seem to? That is, do teams really move players up and down their board to the same extent as we see their stock changing in the media, or is the media just slowly adjusting as they get a better idea of how teams are valuing players?"

A: This is a fantastic question from Tyler because it brings up an important point about all the draft rumors and mock drafts we see this time of year. For the most part, the answer is definitely the second part of that question—it's the media catching up to reality rather than teams changing their minds. There can be circumstances that drastically alter a player's draft stock, injuries probably being the biggest one, and it does seem like quarterback is one position where teams really do push players up their draft boards for need as we get closer to the draft, but more often than not, the bulk of the assessment on a player is based on his college tape, and what happens at the combine or in pre-draft visits doesn't tend to drastically change a team's grade on a player.

Cody from Boise, Idaho asks, "Are the Seahawks planning on drafting a mid-round quarterback to develop under Sam Darnold?"

A: Just about every year John Schneider is asked about drafting quarterback, and just about every year, he says he'd like to pick a quarterback every year, citing the example he saw while working in Green Bay when the Packers regularly added quarterbacks even when they had Brett Favre on the roster. That strategy got them several quality backups they were able to trade, including future Seahawk Ring of Honor member Matt Hasselbeck, and also landed them another elite quarterback to replace Favre in Aaron Rodgers.

But the reality is that the Seahawks have rarely drafted quarterbacks under Schneider, not because he doesn't value that position, but because he doesn't want to force a pick when the board doesn't fall right.

So yes, I think the Seahawks very well could draft a quarterback this year as someone who can develop behind Darnold and Sam Howell, but as Schneider has shown in past drafts, he isn't going to force it if it means reaching.

"Well, hopefully the board talks to us, and maybe we draft a quarterback," Schneider said last month at the NFL Scouting Combine. "It just hasn't gone that way."

Todd from Vancouver, Washington asks, "Can we refer to DeMarcus Lawrence as The Lawman or The Enforcer?

A: I like the Lawman, and Enforcer would be a solid nickname if not for the fact that two franchise greats, Kenny Easley and Kam Chancellor, have already gone by that nickname. But we don't need to come up with a new nickname for Lawrence, because he has long gone by Tank, which is a pretty great nickname for a defensive lineman, so why mess with a good thing?

Lawrence explained that Tank dates back to his childhood when a friend did a wrestling move on him, and, well, we'll just let him tell it.

"So my brother's nickname is Mank, and I'm about eight years old at the time, and (a friend) DDT'd me on my head, so he's running around the basketball court picking at my brother like, 'Oh, Mank, I tanked him on his head, I'm going to just start calling him Tank.' When I started playing football, it stuck with me, and I've been Tank ever since."