The Seattle Seahawks are a team in the midst of transition. Seattle is entering its second offseason under head coach Mike Macdonald and they have plenty of work still to do. The Seahawks finished the 2024 season with a record of 10-7. Unfortunately, that was not good enough to make the playoffs in a competitive NFC.
Seattle has already made some big moves to try and improve the team. The Seahawks hired Klint Kubiak as their next offensive coordinator after firing first-year coordinator Ryan Grubb after one season.
The Seahawks also created roughly $28 million in additional cap space ahead of NFL free agency by cutting multiple players, including Rayshawn Jenkins and Dre’Mont Jones.
Now Seattle must carry that momentum into NFL free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft. The Seahawks only have roughly $16.5 million to spend in free agency, so they need to make it count.
Seattle has several positions that need attention in the long-term, but some of those can wait until next year. The Seahawks are currently set to have $182 million in cap space during the 2026 offseason, which suggests that’s when the team could start looking a lot different under MacDonald.
As a result, the Seahawks may end up simply plugging obvious holes in free agency and investing in long-term starters via the draft.
But who should the Seahawks go after during NFL free agency?
Below we will explore one crucial free agent the Seahawks need to sign this offseason to address their biggest roster need.
Seahawks should swing for the fences, add Ronnie Stanley at left tackle
Most NFL analysts would agree that the Seahawks need to upgrade their offensive line. In fact, the o-line has been a major problem in Seattle for the past several seasons.
The interior of the offensive line is in particularly rough shape. That makes it easy to connect the dots between the Seahawks and several free agents at guard and center. However, I believe that Seattle should target an established tackle in free agency instead of a guard.
I have the Seahawks going after former Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley.
Stanley is a former first-round pick, selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft by Baltimore. Stanley has been a franchise left tackle ever since entering the league. He’s averaged only 17 pressures allowed per season and has allowed a grand total of 15 sacks during his professional career.
Stanley is an elite blindside protector who would be a huge upgrade for the Seahawks.
Seattle does already have Charles Cross at left tackle, though they may be persuaded to move him to right tackle if it means adding Stanley.
There is a huge difference between investing in a guard compared to a tackle. Left tackle is a premium position in the modern NFL, whereas guard is one of the least valuable positions from a positional value standpoint.
The 2025 NFL Draft class should also play a factor in these decisions. This year’s class features several talented tackle prospects, though scouts agree that many of them may be better NFL guards than tackles. If this is true, the Seahawks should target a guard in the draft and try to fill a tackle spot in free agency.
There will be a strong market for Stanley in free agency, which could be a problem for Seattle. In fact, Spotrac projects that Stanley should command over $20 million per season on a new deal.
The Seahawks may need to add multiple void years to Ronnie Stanley’s contract to spread out his contract in order to afford him. Seattle could also simply sign him to a multi-year contract.
