Seahawks Threaten to Cut Potential Steelers WR Target
The Seattle Seahawks could release veteran wide receiver Tyler Lockett this week if he doesn’t agree to a re-worked contract with a reduced salary cap hit for the 2025 season.
According to a report by Corbin Smith of Emerald Spectrum on Monday, the Seahawks gave Lockett’s agent an ultimatum late last week that the team either needs him to agree to a reduced contract or he will be released.
“I don’t know,” general manager John Schneider said last week when asked if Lockett will be on the team next season. “We’ll see how that conversation goes.”
Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald was also noncommittal when asked about Lockett’s status earlier this offseason.
Lockett, 32, is entering the second year of a two-year contract he signed with the Seahawks last offseason, and is set to earn $17 million in 2025. None of that money is guaranteed, but he is due a $5.3 million roster bonus on March 16.
Lockett is coming off his worst season in recent memory. In 17 games, he caught 49 passes for 600 yards and two touchdowns, all the lowest marks he’s had since at least 2017.
Lockett’s role in the Seattle offense has declined with the emergence of younger stars DK Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, leaving him with just 74 targets in 2024 after being thrown to at least 100 times in the previous six consecutive seasons.
The Seahawks could look to trade Lockett, or just outright release him to save the $17 million in salary cap space. The Seahawks need it. According to Over the Cap, they are approaching the new league year $13.5 million over the salary cap.
Lockett spent his first seven seasons playing with Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, and should Wilson return to Pittsburgh, Lockett would seem to be a no-brainer acquisition to pair with his former passer.
But it seems more likely that the Steelers will turn things over to Justin Fields in 2025. At 5-foot-10, 182 pounds, Lockett is almost the same size as Steelers 2024 third-round pick Roman Wilson, who is scheduled to return from ankle and hamstring injuries that caused him to miss almost the entire 2024 season.
Seattle could also clear some salary cap space and make room in the receivers room by trading Metcalf, though they appear to have a high asking price in such conversations.