The Seahawks didn’t make a move before Tuesday’s trade deadline, and in the NFC West that may have been the cleanest outcome of all.
Seattle’s decision to stand pat can be debated, sure. But when you line up the division’s deadline choices, the Seahawks come out looking better than everyone else.
Arizona did nothing to improve a thin roster, and more importantly, it passed on the chance to turn veterans into draft capital. The Cardinals reportedly had a second-round pick on the table from the Buffalo Bills for Budda Baker, a 30-year-old safety entering his contract year in 2027, and still walked away.
They also kept Josh Sweat, who asked for a trade months ago. In a situation like that, leaving value on the table looks like a miss.
The Rams were just as puzzling, only in a different way. They neither sold nor bought.
That middle ground leaves them stuck with a roster that is badly short at wide receiver and defensive tackle, while also looking thin at cornerback. The hope now is that players like Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, and Kobie Turner return and perform, because even when they’ve been moderately healthy, this Rams team has looked pretty ordinary this season.
Brandon Aiyuk or bust is the kind of place they seem headed, and their brutal schedule only adds to the pressure. If they really are backing away from their superteam plan, with limited draft capital coming next year, that opens the door for Seattle.
San Francisco made a couple of moves, but neither one screams game-changer. The 49ers already added DeForest Buckner for a 4th round pick a couple weeks ago, a sensible move that mostly helps them stay afloat at defensive tackle amid the injuries.
Before the deadline closed, they also brought in Keenan Allen for a 6th round pick. On paper, that’s fine.
Allen has been modestly productive this season for the Colts. But with the 49ers in clear need at receiver and plenty of fans hoping for Garrett Wilson, landing Allen feels more like a bargain-bin answer than a real fix.
That seems to be the 49ers’ approach overall: keep the future intact and trust the current group to be good enough. It’s understandable, but it also comes with a hard ceiling.
If Mike Evans can’t bounce back from his achilles injury and De’Zhaun Stribling doesn’t hit the ground running when he returns, that receiver room is hard to trust. No gamble, no future.
So while Seattle stayed quiet, the rest of the division mostly talked itself into trouble. In that sense, the Seahawks may have won the deadline without lifting a finger.
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The latest injury report offered the kind of small but meaningful progress Seahawks fans have been waiting for, with Charles Cross back on the field in a limited capacity after missing time because of an ankle injury. It does not mean a return is imminent, but it does suggest the left tackle is moving in the right direction as Seattle comes out of the bye week and starts sorting out who will be available for the next stretch.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba also returned as a full participant after resting previously, and A.J. Barner was cleared off the report altogether, giving the Seahawks a cleaner look on offense than they had recently. There are still several names on the list in limited or non-participating status for injury or personal reasons, so the picture is far from complete, but the encouraging sign around Cross is the one that matters most for a team that has been waiting on stability up front. [Read more 🡒]
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Seahawks Finally Addressed Their Biggest Problem But A New Concern Emerged
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Nelson made his debut in Week 8, but the early returns have been interrupted by a knee injury that is expected to keep him out for at least two games. So while the Seahawks still view the trade as an upgrade up front, the bigger question now is how long they will have to wait to see the line they envisioned when they made the deal. [Read more 🡒]