The Seahawks may have moved on from Boye Mafe and Riq Woolen, but the two former Seattle defenders are having very different autumns with their new teams.
Mafe, now with the Cincinnati Bengals on a three-year deal, has settled in as a real problem off the edge. Woolen, who signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, has watched his season veer the other way as the Eagles’ defense has slipped hard.
Cincinnati’s win over the Baltimore Ravens put Mafe squarely in the spotlight. In a game framed as a “Trey Hendrickson Revenge” matchup, it was Mafe who kept showing up in the backfield.
Jason Garrison of Cincy Jungle wrote that the Bengals did a solid job of steering help toward Hendrickson, but the Ravens couldn’t keep Mafe away from the quarterback. Mafe finished with two sacks and kept chasing Tyler Huntley throughout the game.
Through eight games, Mafe has stacked up 4.5 sacks, six quarterback hits, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a career-best 17.6% pressure rate, according to NextGenStats. His 14 quick QB pressures, defined as pressures inside of 2.5 seconds, match his 2025 total, and he’s done it in almost half the snaps he played in his final season with Seattle. The Bengals are 4-2, their defense has started looking like something other than a punchline, and Mafe has been a big piece of that shift.
Woolen’s situation is a lot less upbeat. Philadelphia’s defense, once one of the league’s best, has fallen off sharply, and Monday night’s 38-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys was another rough snapshot of how far the unit has slid.
Joseph Santoliquito of Bleeding Green Nation described a rough night for Woolen, noting that he lost CeeDee Lamb late in the first half on a 30-yard completion that set up a field goal. Santoliquito also wrote that Woolen declined to speak after the game.
The second half didn’t get any kinder. Woolen was called for holding on a third-and-nine early in the third quarter, then gave up a 16-yard completion to Ryan Flournoy later in that drive. He was then beaten by Lamb for a 16-yard touchdown that helped put Dallas back ahead 28-21 late in the third quarter.
By the end of the game, Woolen was “credited” with 111 yards allowed when targeted, one of the worst outings of his career. His early-season numbers are a tale of two stretches: in Weeks 1-3, he allowed just five catches for 45 yards.
Over his last four games, though, he’s given up 17 catches on 27 targets for 296 yards and two touchdowns. He’s also been flagged six times for pass interference, illegal contact, or defensive holding, which leads the Eagles.
Seattle’s former edge group is feeling Mafe’s absence more than the secondary is feeling Woolen’s departure. The pass-rushing rotation has had a heavier load with Derick Hall, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Uchenna Nwosu carrying more of the work, while the cornerback room has not dropped off in the same way. Still, at $20 million per year, Mafe was never likely to stay put.
For now, Mafe is chasing a playoff push in Cincinnati. Woolen, meanwhile, is stuck in the middle of a Philadelphia season that keeps looking worse, and at this point he could wind up as a trade piece if the Eagles decide to start clearing things out.
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