The Seahawks and Rams have turned this offseason into a back-and-forth that feels exactly right for a rivalry with real heat. One side makes a move, the other side answers. That’s the kind of energy that keeps the NFC West interesting, and if 2026 ends up looking anything like 2025, Seattle and Los Angeles will be right back in the center of it.
Los Angeles tried to make its own statement this past offseason by trading for elite edge rusher Myles Garrett after Seattle won the Super Bowl last season. That move didn’t go unnoticed in Seattle. Grey Zabel recently said the Cleveland Browns, Garrett’s former team, had given Zabel’s team a Christmas gift, making clear he saw the trade as something that only raised the stakes with LA.
Garrett then added another layer when he was asked which team he was most looking forward to facing in 2026. His answer was simple: "I want the champs."
That’s hardly a shot at Seattle. If anything, it’s the kind of answer you’d expect from a player of Garrett’s caliber.
The best players want the best test, and the Seahawks are the standard right now. Beating the Browns is one thing.
Beating the Seahawks, the Rams, or even the San Francisco 49ers is something else entirely.
And that’s the reality for Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco again this season. Their division doesn’t hand out easy roads. They have to fight through each other before they can even get to the part of the schedule that matters most: the playoffs.
The Rams may not be finished making noise, either. Future Hall of Fame defensive lineman Aaron Donald is contemplating coming out of retirement to rejoin Los Angeles since the team added Garrett. If that happens, the idea is obvious enough: Donald would be hoping the Rams are positioned to win the Super Bowl, making a return make sense.
A front seven with Donald and Garrett would be a nightmare for opposing offenses, even if it probably wouldn’t last long. Both players are already past 30.
Seattle, though, isn’t going to change its approach just because Los Angeles keeps pushing. The Seahawks will handle their business the way they always do. And with all the offseason movement and talk, Seahawks-Rams has been pushed right back into must-see territory.
In Other News...
Jake Bobo Could Force An Uncomfortable Seahawks Veteran Decision
The Seahawks have spent the summer sorting through a receiver room that suddenly feels deeper and more complicated than it did a year ago. Jake Bobo is part of that conversation again, with the young wideout still trying to carve out a bigger role behind established names while Seattle weighs how the group should look going forward.
Bobos path matters because his camp and preseason work could help determine how much room there is for him in the rotation, especially with Rashid Shaheed expected to handle a larger share of the passing game. Cooper Kupp still brings value and experience, but the emergence of younger options has made every snap at receiver feel a little more consequential for the Seahawks. [Read more 🡒]
Several Seahawks Veterans Enter Camp With No Real Job Security
Training camp always has a way of turning the depth chart into a live document, and this one looks especially unsettled for a handful of Seattle veterans. Uchenna Nwosu, Ty Okada and Christian Haynes are all heading into a stretch where younger players are pushing hard behind them, while the Seahawks are also sorting out the backup quarterback picture as the roster starts to take shape.
For Nwosu, the question is less about what he has done than what the team wants to learn about Derik Hall. Okada has a rookie challenger in Bud Clark as the secondary continues to sort itself out, and Haynes is trying to hold off a wave of younger competition at guard. It is the kind of camp pressure that can sharpen a roster, but it also means a few familiar names are going to spend the next few weeks fighting for the same jobs they thought they had secured. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Open Camp With A Surprise Mike Macdonald Hadn't Seen Yet
The Seahawks opened training camp with a cleaner bill of health than theyve had in a while, and that matters as much for the mood in the building as it does for the roster. Every veteran passed physicals and conditioning tests, leaving Seattle without any players on the nonfootball injury or physically unable to perform lists when camp began, a welcome change for a team trying to build momentum under Mike Macdonald.
It also marked the first time in Macdonalds tenure that the Seahawks got through the opening stretch of camp without anyone failing the conditioning test. Rookie Deven Eastern did land on the PUP list, but with no rookies on NFI and the veterans all cleared, Seattle at least starts camp with a healthier-looking depth chart than it has had at this stage before. [Read more 🡒]