The Seahawks are about to open the season in a scene that feels tailor-made for a champion: banners going up, home crowd roaring, and the same opponent on the other sideline that they beat months ago. The celebration is fresh, but the chase has already started.
Seattle is bringing back most of its core and coaching staff under Mike Macdonald, yet the rest of the NFC West has spent the offseason trying to close the gap. That makes the division worth sorting out now, because the race behind the Seahawks looks like it could get messy fast.
At the bottom of the list sits Arizona, and the outlook there is rough. The Cardinals do have a few pieces worth paying attention to - Jeremiyah Love as a potential star, Trey McBride as a true superstar, and promising receivers in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson. But outside of that group, first-year head coach Mike LaFleur is working with a roster that does not look built to contend.
The quarterback situation in Arizona could drag on until 2027, and rookie Carson Beck might get a shot sometime during the season. Even then, it is fair to wonder how much that will really change. The Cardinals also look like a team that could be selling at the trade deadline, or even before, with Josh Sweat, Budda Baker, and one of their veteran quarterbacks mentioned as possible trade chips.
San Francisco comes in third, which says more about the division than it does about the 49ers. In a lot of other places, this would be the top roster without much debate. But the NFC West is not most places.
The problem for the 49ers is the same one that has haunted them for years: health. They have loaded up on older, injury-prone talent, and that leaves a lot of uncertainty hanging over names like George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, and Mike Evans.
On paper, that is a frightening group. On the field, it depends on how often they can actually stay there.
Kyle Shanahan’s team also had a hard time with Seattle last season, healthy or not. If the injuries pile up again, the 49ers could watch their Super Bowl window narrow in a hurry.
Los Angeles lands second, and the Rams are dangerous for exactly the reason you would expect: the top end is loaded. They traded for Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie, brought Aaron Donald back from retirement, and still have Matthew Stafford, the reigning MVP, and Puka Nacua, a true superstar.
That is a nasty starting lineup. Maybe the nastiest in football.
But there is a difference between being stacked at the top and being built to survive a full season. The Rams are not especially deep, and the question hanging over them is the same one that always comes up with older, banged-up teams: what happens when someone goes down?
Stafford also has to hold up through 17 games and another playoff run, which is no small ask. They may have an absurd number of tight ends, but that does not solve every other spot on the field.
And then there is Seattle, still sitting at No. 1.
If the argument is that the defending champions should not be considered the best roster in the division after keeping most of their key contributors, that case is hard to make. The Seahawks lost Riq Woolen, Kenneth Walker III, and Coby Bryant, but they still have the deepest and most complete roster in the NFC West, and maybe the best defense in the league.
There are still some spots to sort out, especially at cornerback and right tackle. Even so, Seattle has two starting-caliber defenses, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, a veteran quarterback, and a first-round running back. The Rams may have made the loudest moves, but the champs are still the team everyone has to catch.
In Other News...
Seahawks Season Opener Just Picked Up An Ugly New Problem
The Seahawks season opener now comes with an extra layer of uncertainty after the NFL placed cornerback Terrion Arnold on the commissioners exempt list as legal proceedings continue. Under that designation, Arnold cannot take part in games or practices, but he remains paid while the league sorts through the matter, adding an awkward new wrinkle for Seattle just as the regular season is set to begin.
Arnold is one of three players the league moved to the exempt list, alongside Denver linebacker Jonathon Cooper and Green Bay running back Josh Jacobs, each facing separate legal issues. For Seattle, the immediate impact is mostly about planning and optics, but the larger problem is harder to ignore: a defensive backfield already trying to settle into game-week routine now has to do it with one of its key names suddenly unavailable and the timeline for resolution still unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Just Raised The Stakes In Their Third Cornerback Battle
The Seahawks added another layer to an already competitive camp race by sending a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Chargers for Avery Smith, a young corner who made his first impression in Los Angeles as an undrafted free agent out of Toledo. Smith did most of his preseason work inside as a nickel cornerback, and that profile fits the kind of versatile, dependable depth Seattle has been trying to build in the defensive backfield.
For John Schneider and Mike Macdonald, the appeal appears to go beyond one role. Smith is seen as a smart, reliable player who can help in the nickel and on special teams, the sort of piece that can push the Seahawks third-cornerback battle into a tougher, more interesting springboard for the rest of the roster. In a competition where every rep matters, adding a player with that kind of versatility only raises the pressure on everyone else trying to stick. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Could Have An Unexpected Receiver Battle Brewing
The Seahawks are taking a closer look at another receiver as they continue to sort through the bottom of the depth chart. Luke Floriea, who was recently released by the Browns, is scheduled to try out in Seattle after a preseason finale in which he caught two touchdowns, a performance that at least put his name into the conversation even though Cleveland did not keep him on its practice squad.
For Seattle, a tryout like this is less about headlines than about finding out whether a player can push for a spot in a crowded room. Floriea arrives with a chance to make a case, and the Seahawks will get a firsthand look at whether his camp momentum can carry over into a roster fight that still has room for another intriguing name. [Read more 🡒]