If there was ever any doubt regarding the Seattle Seahawks’ sparse use of the franchise or transition tag, let 2026 be another example of John Schneider’s philosophy regarding his top free agents.
None of Seattle’s unrestricted free agents—most notably Kenneth Walker III, Riq Woolen, Rashid Shaheed, Josh Jobe, and Coby Bryant—received the franchise tag as Tuesday’s 1 pm PT deadline passed. In fact, as was the case last offseason, the NFL at large seems to be veering away from using the tag for any
free agents.
Franchise tagged players around the NFL
- RB Breece Hall, New York Jets
- WR George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys
- TE Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones also received a transition tag.
Only six players have been tagged over the past two offseasons combined. From 2010 through 2023, just once did fewer than six players receive a franchise or transition tag in a single offseason. Is this a long-term pattern? We’ll need a little more of a sample size.
The most relevant franchise tag to the Seahawks is Breece Hall, who is slated to make $14.3 million on a non-exclusive tag pending any new deal hammered out. Had Hall not been tagged, perhaps things would’ve been more interesting for gauging the RB market. Just the value of the tag in itself should be enough to estimate what it’ll cost for Walker’s services.
It is a near certainty that there will be a healthy market for Walker’s services after his Super Bowl MVP winning close to his best season since he was a rookie. Prepare for a completely revamped Seahawks backfield with Walker gone and Zach Charbonnet (and Kenny McIntosh, for that matter) recovering from ACL injuries.
