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Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks reportedly allow Rayshawn Jenkins to seek a trade

Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins appears to be on his way out of Seattle as the team works to get under the salary cap. (Jennifer Buchanan/Seattle Times)
By Bob Condotta Seattle Times

SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks, who have work to do to get compliant with the salary cap before the new league year begins March 12, have given veteran safety Rayshawn Jenkins permission to seek a trade, according to a report Thursday from Fox Sports.

Jenkins has one season remaining on the two-year deal he signed as a free agent with the Seahawks last spring.

That contract includes a nonguaranteed base salary of $4.89 million for 2025, according to OvertheCap.com, and the Seahawks can save $5.28 million against the cap if Jenkins is cut or traded. His $7.78 million cap number for 2025 is projected as the ninth highest on the team.

NFL teams learned Thursday that the salary cap for 2025 has been officially set at $279.2 million.

While that’s more than anticipated, the Seahawks are still listed as $6.8 million over the cap by OvertheCap.com, and by $10.1 million in effective cap space, which takes into account money that will be needed to pay draft picks.

The Seahawks’ cap challenges led to speculation that Jenkins could be released by the time the new league year begins.

Giving him the option to pursue a trade shows the Seahawks are hoping to get a draft pick or some compensation for him instead of just releasing him.

Pursuing a trade means Jenkins could talk to teams about redoing his contract, which might be necessary for a trade to happen. Such trades are often difficult to pull off since other teams realize the player may soon become a free agent.

Jenkins, who turned 31 in January, started the first six games of the 2024 season after signing to help replace the departed Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams.

Jenkins generally played strong safety with Julian Love at free. Jenkins missed four games because of a hand injury. Coby Bryant took his place in the starting lineup and played so well that Jenkins was relegated to a reserve/situational role when he returned.

Jenkins officially started three other games when the Seahawks opened in three-safety sets. After playing 100% of the snaps in the first six games, he did not play more than 50% in any of the last seven.

Bryant, entering the final year of his rookie deal, and Love remain under contract for the 2025 and appear set as the starting safety duo entering the season.

The Seahawks have three other players listed as safeties who are under contract – Ty Okada, A.J. Finley and Jerrick Reed II. K’Von Wallace, who spent last season as a reserve safety, can become an unrestricted free agent March 12.

The Seahawks recently signed J.T. Woods to a futures deal. Woods, a third-round pick of the Chargers in 2022 who has played in 13 NFL games, is listed as a cornerback. He began his career as a safety – where he started 28 games for Baylor – before moving to corner last year with the Chargers. He ended the season on the Bears’ practice squad.