Mailbag: Stacy Rost answers 3 Seahawks questions

The Seattle Seahawks kick off OTAs at the end of the month, and fans already have burning questions about a team looking to repeat as Super Bowl champs.

Where Seahawks’ strength of schedule ranks for 2026

Here’s the first of a two-part Seattle Sports mailbag, with more answers to your questions coming Friday:

If the Seahawks were to become even better this season, which position group would have to take a further step up? (@scots_seahawk)

There’s not a ton to improve on when you win 14 games in the regular season and take home the Lombardi Trophy, but I’ll say this: by the halfway point of the season, my answer certainly would’ve been the running back room and offensive line, so let’s start there.

Zach Charbonnet had a career-high 12 touchdowns and Ken Walker III went on a tear during the playoffs that earned him millions in free agency, but there was a period of time when the Seahawks’ run game was going nowhere. It didn’t end up costing them because JSN was unstoppable, but by the end of October, the Seahawks had the second-worst EPA per rush in the league (-0.16). While they were facing heavier boxes than any other team, there were also real questions about Walker and the interior line play, and we wondered whether they should trade for a guard at the deadline.

Seattle brought back the entirety of its 2025 offensive line, including backups, which is already a step forward, but both Anthony Bradford and Jalen Sundell will face competition here this offseason.

Why has Devon Witherspoon not been extended yet? (@_jeff_deyoung)

This… is a very good question. I don’t think there’s something overly concerning going on, where you’ll see hostility from both sides, but you’d assume he and his agent are looking to reset the market (more on those numbers at the end), so there could be a holdup based on anything from guaranteed money or disagreements about how much the market should be reset, or something as simple as this conversation being pushed back to a late offseason priority because of the draft.

Two things worth noting here: Witherspoon and the Seahawks have been at a similar crossroads before. He was the final rookie of the 2023 class to sign his deal after a holdout that lasted into the earliest days of training camp. He and his agent, CAA’s Reggie Johnson, aren’t strangers to playing hardball. Secondly, an interesting note here is that Johnson is also one of the agents representing Patriots Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez.

For what it’s worth, you’re not alone in wondering. Even experts are curious.

Last week, we asked FOX Sports NFC West reporter Eric Williams whether he was surprised a deal had not yet been struck.

“I am a little surprised they haven’t got anything done,” Williams said. “Maybe that’s something they deal with in the offseason, and it gets done closer to training camp. But I am a little surprised we haven’t heard anything yet.”

A quick look at the numbers here: The Rams’ Trent McDuffie is the highest-paid corner at 4 years/$124 million, with the Colts’ Sauce Gardner right behind him at 4 years/$120 million (roughly $30-31 million average annual value). Witherspoon is a former No. 5 overall pick and a three-time Pro Bowler, so yes, his agent is certainly looking to reset the market again.

Which rookie is going to make an impact? (@ichiro998)

Is Jadarian Price the way-too-obvious answer here? I’ll say it anyway: Jadarian Price. There’s real intrigue around Bud Clark, who will be competing for starting time as well, but Price is already joining a shallow position group with Walker gone and Charbonnet recovering from ACL surgery this winter.

Price is a fit for Seattle’s outside zone scheme, and a few points from his former head coach, Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, stood out to us during an interview earlier this month.

“I think his speed (is underrated),” Freeman said. “I don’t know what he ran at the combine, but whatever he ran, it’s hard to time it when he’s on the field. I haven’t seen him get caught, maybe very rarely get caught. That’s something people don’t see because he’s a bigger, thicker kid, so when you see him you go, (you’re like), oh, he’s a power back. But no, he’s got elusiveness and he’s got speed.”

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• 2 Takes: Should the Seattle Seahawks extend Derick Hall?
• Kirk Cousins: What makes Seattle Seahawks’ defense so hard to face
• Salk: National media sleeping on Seattle Seahawks is a big mistake

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