SEATTLE – General manager John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald are among the Seattle Seahawks contingent headed to the NFL’s annual spring meetings Sunday through Tuesday in Palm Springs, Florida.
The most newsworthy thing that figures to happen there is approving – or not approving – on-field rules changes for the 2025 season.
The meetings marks a demarcation point in the NFL offseason from the frenzy of the free-agent signing period to preparing for the draft, which is April 24-26 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Kickoff, tush push in rules spotlight
Owners are expected to vote on five on-field rules changes.
The ones getting the most notice are a proposal to end the so-called “tush-push” play by making it illegal for an offensive player to push a teammate immediately after the snap. There’s another to make the “dynamic kickoff” introduced last year permanent but with a couple of changes, including moving the spot of touchbacks from the 30 to the 35 – which could increase the number of kickoffs returned – and allowing teams to declare an onside kick at any time when they are trailing and not just the fourth quarter.
Expanding which plays are reviewable, altering regular-season overtime rules to assure each team gets the ball at least once and increasing in-season roster flexibility are also on the docket.
Also up for vote is a proposal to modify the playoff format and seed all teams by record instead of guaranteeing that all four division winners are seeded in the top four and get a home game – in other words, allowing a wild-card team to be seeded second if it finishes with the second-best record.
Expect to hear news on any rules changes and comments by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell by Tuesday.
Macdonald, Schneider will have their say
Both will hold sessions with reporters. Macdonald’s will come Tuesday morning when all of the NFC coaches are scheduled to speak.
Expect each to address how they assess the roster after some monumental and unexpected change as the Seahawks replaced Geno Smith and DK Metcalf with Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
The outside view of the moves has been mixed, at best.
The Athletic this week rated the Seahawks as one of the five biggest losers of the offseason, writing in part: “What did you expect after they traded away their starting quarterback and a Pro Bowl-caliber wide receiver? If it’s any consolation to Seahawks fans, it’s impressive they aren’t last on this list. That’s because they replaced Smith and DK Metcalf with Darnold and Cooper Kupp to help offset those losses while adding (defensive end DeMarcus) Lawrence to their defense. The model is skeptical Darnold can replicate his success from Minnesota, while Kupp and Lawrence are past their primes and have some injury concerns, so it’s no surprise the Seahawks still rank near the bottom.”
Pro Football Focus wrote similarly, putting the Seahawks in their group of teams that have worsened, writing, “Simply by replacing Geno Smith and DK Metcalf with Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp, the Seahawks regressed.”
ESPN’s Ben Solak also rated the Seahawks as having the second-worst offseason so far stating that they have shown an “inexcusable neglect along the offensive line. As the free agency dust settles, the worst unit leaguewide is the Seahawks’ offensive line. … Even if every move (Schneider) made this offseason works, the ceiling of this Seattle squad will be capped by its inability to pass protect.”
The Seahawks’ only addition to the offensive line was the signing of veteran Josh Jones to a one-year deal to replace George Fant (cut) and Stone Forsythe (signed with Giants as free agent) in the swing tackle role.
Expect Schneider and Macdonald to cast a sunnier glow on things while reminding everyone that the Seahawks have yet to use the second- and third-round picks the team received in the Metcalf and Smith trades – as well as over $36 million in cap space to make additions all season – that the work is far from done.
Carroll will speak, too, likely about Smith
Speaking of Smith, the Raiders have yet to hold a news conference officially introducing him, even though the trade was made on March 7.
One thought is the Raiders are waiting until Smith signs a contract extension – he had one year left on the deal he signed with the Seahawks in March 2023 – before doing the typical “meet the new quarterback” presser. The only substantive comments the Raiders have made on the trade came this week from general manager John Spytek on an official team podcast.
“The compensation from a draft capital standpoint wasn’t so costly,” Spytek said. “I mean, I love my picks more than anybody and I gotta remind coach Carroll how much I love picks. But listen, we used a late third-round pick to hopefully have our starting quarterback here for years to come. And it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.
“Obviously, there’s a familiarity with coach and with Geno from Seattle, and really Geno played his best football for coach there. And, when you’ve watched Geno through the years, he can throw the football with the best of any of them, honestly.”
Free-agency signings are tailing off, but not done
Free-agent signings have slowed to a crawl and most teams may make only a few more before the draft.
As of Friday afternoon, the Seahawks have 68 players under contract. They also have 10 draft picks. If they stick with all of those picks, that would leave 12 openings to fill out the 90-man roster that is the maximum allowed in the offseason – spots the Seahawks may want to reserve for undrafted free agents.
That means the Seahawks may sign only another player or two before the draft.
One target is Jacksonville offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen, whom Schneider said on Seattle Sports 710 this week the Seahawks recently had in for a visit.
Van Lanen is a restricted free agent who was given an original round tender by the Jaguars. That means he is due a salary of $3.26 million and that if another team signs him to an offer sheet Jacksonville can either match it or get a sixth-round pick as compensation.
Teams can continue to negotiate with RFAs until April 18.
The Seahawks don’t have a sixth-round pick, but could work out a trade with the Jaguars for Van Lanen if they work out a contract with him or acquire a sixth-round pick to send to the Jags. They could be doing due diligence in case the Jags rescind their tender and Van Lanen becomes a free agent.
Van Lanen, 26, has played mostly tackle in his four-year NFL career. He saw his most playing time last season with three starts and 252 snaps – 187 at left tackle, 60 at right and five as a sixth offensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus.