Assessments of special teams inevitably linger on game-changing moments.
When a team misses the playoffs by the thinnest of margins, as the Seahawks did this season, it can be even easier to fixate on the few moments that went wrong, such as the blocked field goal returned for a touchdown that denied the Seahawks a chance to beat the New York Giants, or a missed extra point that proved critical in an overtime home loss to the Rams.
It’s hard to ignore the issues with the return units that came to a head in December when the Seahawks released both of their primary returners following a chaotic game against the Jets.
In the big picture, the Seahawks’ special teams were more than adequate in the first year under head coach Mike Macdonald and special-teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh.
Punter Michael Dickson was named as the best punter in the NFL this year by Pro Football Focus, and kicker Jason Myers had the third-best grade of all kickers, making 9 of 12 field goals from 50 yards or longer, a franchise record (two of the misses were from 60 and 62).
Because of the strength of the kickers, Pro Football Focus rated the Seahawks’ special-teams unit, as a whole, sixth in the NFL.
As we close out our postseason reviews of the Seahawks’ position groups, let’s look at the special teams.
Kicker
Jason Myers
Age: 33.
Contract situation: Myers has two years remaining on his contract, a four-year deal signed in 2023 that could pay him just over $21 million overall. Myers’ $4.95 million base salary for 2025 is not guaranteed — nor is a $5.1 million salary in 2026. That gives the Seahawks some flexibility if they want it.
Punter
Michael Dickson
Age: 29.
Contract situation: Dickson has one season remaining on a four-year deal signed in 2021 worth up to $14.69 million. He is due a non-guaranteed base salary of $2.96 million in 2025.
Long snapper
Chris Stoll
Age: 26.
Contract situation: Stoll has one season remaining on the three-year deal he received in 2023 as an undrafted free agent. He is due to make a non-guaranteed base salary of $1.030 million in 2025.
2024 in review
Despite a hiccup or two, the kickers were solid.
Dickson finished with a 49.4-yard average per punt, third best in team history, and had the fifth-best hang time in the NFL at 4.53 seconds as well as a 43.3-yard net average per punt, sixth in the NFL.
Myers made a field goal to force overtime at New England and another to win it. He also made a 59-yarder in a win at Atlanta, a 50-yarder that was pivotal in the win against the Jets, a 50-yarder that helped avoid embarrassment at Chicago and a 56-yarder that was key in the season-finale win against the Rams.
The return games were often an adventure. The Seahawks picked undrafted rookie free agent Dee Williams to be the primary punt returner as well as one of the main kickoff returners, pairing him with veteran Laviska Shenault Jr.
Fumbles and precarious decision-making were issues from the start, and when the Seahawks almost lost a game against the lowly Jets in New York mostly because of special-teams gaffes, Williams and Shenault were released.
Jaelon Darden was claimed off waivers from the Browns to handle both roles, along with Kenny McIntosh getting more chances on kickoffs.
Darden mostly calmed things down, and his per-return numbers were comparable — 7.5 on punt returns (10-75) compared to Williams’ 7.4 (15-111), and 28.4 on kickoff returns (7-199) compared to 28.0 for the team.
The Seahawks allowed one kickoff return for a TD during the first year of the NFL’s new dynamic return against the Jets, but got one of its own against the 49ers at home (from Shenault). They allowed an average kickoff return of 27.9, 0.1 off what it got in their returns. Punt returns were slightly worse as they allowed 9.2 yards per attempt, 1.8 yards more than they got on returns.
Reserve tight end Brady Russell led the Seahawks with 10 special-teams tackles followed by the nine of Drake Thomas, seven of Dareke Young and six of Jake Bobo.
Macdonald gave this assessment of the special teams after the season: “I thought we grew throughout the season, especially taking care of the ball. I think Jay Harbaugh is a tremendous football coach, got a ton of respect for him. I think our guys played really hard. When you watch our tape and you see how hard our guys play, that’s something that’s proud. That’s Seahawks football.
“Now, I thought our coverage unit started out really strong, especially on kickoff. At the end of the year, we let too many returns get out on us, so we’ll look to improve on that. Our punt coverage unit I thought was pretty good. We need more explosive returns. I think our specialists played dynamite this season. Jason Myers bailed us out of a lot of situations. I can’t imagine anybody else in the world right now better than Michael Dickson, and it’s a shame he didn’t get the Pro Bowl (vote).”
2025 preview
All three members of the kicking battery under contract through at least 2025, so nothing has to happen unless the Seahawks want to extend either Dickson or Stoll as they enter the last year on their deals.
The big question is the return game.
Darden is a restricted free agent and whether he comes back in 2025 would seem only a matter of whether the Seahawks want to keep him.
If he doesn’t return, they will need to explore other punt return options, as no one else other than Williams or Darden returned a punt in 2025.
McIntosh showed promise in the kickoff return game, with six returns for 153 yards, and the Seahawks could look to expand his role there.