The Seahawks’ season brought plenty of celebration in Seattle, but a few familiar names are still out there looking for one more shot. As Week 1 rolls on, Will Dissly, Tyler Lockett and Bobby Wagner remain unsigned, each still waiting for a team to give them a lifeline.
Will Dissly is the kind of player who has always found a way to matter. Seattle picked him in the fourth round of the 2018 draft out of Washington, and he flashed right away with two touchdowns in his first four games.
Then the injuries hit. A knee injury ended his rookie season after those four games, and an Achilles tear wiped out his 2019 campaign after he had scored four times in six games.
Even after that, Dissly kept grinding. Over the next four seasons, he missed only six games and stayed useful as both a dependable target and a punishing blocker.
Seattle moved on after the 2023 season to save $7 million in cap space, and Dissly landed with the Chargers. Jim Harbaugh used him heavily, and he set a career high with 50 catches before injuries caught up again.
Los Angeles released him in March with a failed physical designation, though he is now listed as healthy.
Lockett’s situation stings even more. He spent years as one of Seattle’s signature playmakers, trailing only Steve Largent in the Seahawks record book across major receiving categories. Catches, yards, touchdowns - Lockett was always near the top, and those toe-tap sideline grabs became part of his identity.
But the price tag finally got too steep, and Seattle let him go after the 2024 season. Tennessee signed him, but the Titans barely used him.
After seven games of sitting behind Chimere Dike and Van Jefferson, Lockett asked for his release. He then joined the Raiders, another of Pete Carroll’s reclamation projects, and showed he still had something left.
He may not be flying like he once did, but if a team needs a receiver who can separate and make the big catch when the sticks are inches away, Lockett still belongs on the field.
Then there’s Bobby Wagner, the biggest name of the group and the one with the cleanest Hall of Fame case. Wagner spent years defining Seattle’s defense, making the Pro Bowl in eight straight seasons with the Seahawks.
When Seattle released him, it cleared $16.6 million in cap space. He signed with the Rams next, where he put up 140 tackles and six sacks in 2022 and earned second-team All-Pro honors even without a Pro Bowl nod.
Seattle brought him back for 2023, and Wagner immediately responded by leading the NFL in tackles for the third time in his career. After that season, he left again in free agency, this time for Washington and a bigger offer.
He backed it up with 162 tackles last year, finishing 63 ahead of the next Commanders defender and ranking fifth in the league overall. Even with that production, he is still waiting for a call this season.
In Other News...
Seahawks Suddenly Have A Week 2 QB Problem Again
A week after the Seahawks opened the season with Sam Darnold in charge of the offense, the quarterback picture is suddenly murkier again. Darnold is dealing with a short-term soft-tissue injury to his glute, and while the issue is not expected to land him on injured reserve, there is still no firm timetable for when hell be back on the field.
Drew Lock and Jalen Milroe both practiced Monday, and Lock now appears to be the likeliest option if Seattle needs a starter for Week 2 against the Cardinals. The quarterback shuffle came amid a few other moving parts on defense, too, with Ernest Jones IV and Ty Okada out of practice and Rodney Thomas II stepping in to start in Okadas place. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Nearly Faced A Wild Super Bowl Twist No One Saw Coming
A strange quarterback subplot surfaced this week around a Broncos season that had already gone sideways, and it carried a ripple effect all the way to the Super Bowl conversation. According to ESPNs Adam Schefter, after Bo Nix went down with a season-ending injury, Denvers offensive staff discussed the possibility of bringing back retired quarterback Drew Brees for the AFC Championship Game, a move that would have been one of the most surreal late-season pivots in recent memory.
Brees reportedly worked out before ultimately deciding not to go through with it because of wrist issues, and the whole idea would have run into legal and roster hurdles anyway. Even so, the mere fact it was under consideration adds another layer to a postseason path that already felt unusual, and it is the kind of what-if that makes you wonder how differently the playoff picture might have looked if the situation had broken another way. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Suddenly Look Like A Real Test For The Seahawks
A trip to Arizona already had the look of an important early-season check for the Seahawks, and the Cardinals only added to that feeling with their Week 1 win over the Chargers. Under first-year head coach Mike LaFleur, Arizona looked organized and sharper on all three phases, with Jacoby Brissett steadying the offense and rookie running back Jeremiyah Love finding the end zone for the first time in his career.
The deeper concern for Seattle is that the Cardinals did not win on offense alone. Simi Fehokos blocked punt, plus the defensive work put together by coordinator Nick Rallis, showed a team that can create problems in more than one way. After an opening-week performance like that, the Seahawks cannot assume this is the same Arizona group they saw last season. [Read more 🡒]