The 2016 season was the Seattle Seahawks' 41st in the National Football League (NFL) and their seventh under head coach Pete Carroll. On October 23, the team played the Arizona Cardinals in a game that ended in a 6–6 tie, the Seahawks' first tie in franchise history. With their win against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15, the Seahawks claimed their third NFC West title in the last four years. The Seahawks defeated the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Round but lost 36–20 to the eventual NFC champion Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional Round.
For the first time since trading for him in 2010, Marshawn Lynch did not play for the Seahawks as he retired in the offseason. Lynch would later come out of retirement to play for his hometown team Oakland Raiders before their relocation to Las Vegas. He ultimately rejoined the Seahawks in December 2019.
Roster changes
Free agents Position Player Tag 2016 team Notes G/T Alvin Bailey Cleveland Browns Signed with the Browns on March 11 RB Bryce Brown CB Marcus Burley Seattle Seahawks Signed tender on April 19 TE Chase Coffman UFA Indianapolis Colts Signed with the Colts on July 26 FB Derrick Coleman RFA TBD DE Demarcus Dobbs UFA TBD DT A. J. Francis ERFA Seattle Seahawks Signed tender on April 18 TE Cooper Helfet RFA Seattle Seahawks Signed tender on April 18 LB Bruce Irvin UFA Oakland Raiders Signed with the Raiders on March 9 RB Fred Jackson UFA TBD QB Tarvaris Jackson UFA TBD C Lemuel Jeanpierre UFA Detroit Lions Signed with the Lions on August 17 WR Jermaine Kearse UFA Seattle Seahawks Re-signed on March 10 CB Jeremy Lane UFA Seattle Seahawks Re-signed on March 9 C Patrick Lewis RFA Seattle Seahawks Signed tender on April 18 WR Ricardo Lockette UFA Retired Retired on May 12 TE Anthony McCoy UFA TBD DT Brandon Mebane UFA San Diego Chargers Signed with the Chargers on March 9 RB Christine Michael RFA Seattle Seahawks Re-signed on March 17 LB Nick Moody RFA TBD LB Mike Morgan UFA Seattle Seahawks Re-signed on March 19 T Russell Okung UFA Denver Broncos Signed with the Broncos on March 17 LB Eric Pinkins ERFA Seattle Seahawks Re-signed on March 16 DT Ahtyba Rubin UFA Seattle Seahawks Re-signed on March 7 P Jon Ryan UFA Seattle Seahawks Re-signed on March 11 CB Mohammed Seisay ERFA Seattle Seahawks Signed tender on April 18 CB DeShawn Shead ERFA Seattle Seahawks Signed tender on April 14 G J. R. Sweezy UFA Tampa Bay Buccaneers Signed with the Buccaneers on March 9 S Steven Terrell ERFA Seattle Seahawks Signed tender on April 18 FB Will Tukuafu UFA Seattle Seahawks Re-signed on August 20
Signings Position Player 2015 Team Notes WR Jeff Fuller Calgary Stampeders (CFL) Signed February 11, waived June 28 RB Cameron Marshall Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) Signed February 11, waived May 4, signed August 4, waived August 15 DT Sealver Siliga New England Patriots Signed March 14, placed on injured reserve August 29, released on September 3 OT Bradley Sowell Arizona Cardinals Signed March 14 OT J'Marcus Webb Oakland Raiders Signed March 15 LS Drew Ferris None Signed March 23, waived August 4 DE Chris Clemons Jacksonville Jaguars Signed April 1, retired July 28 CB Brandon Browner New Orleans Saints Signed April 17, released August 29 DE Tavaris Barnes New Orleans Saints Signed April 28 TE Brandon Williams Miami Dolphins Signed April 28 QB Jake Heaps None Signed May 2, waived on September 3 LB Khairi Fortt None Signed May 16, released June 28 SS Keenan Lambert Oakland Raiders Signed August 4, waived on September 3 RB Jonathan Amosa None Signed August 6, waived August 20 WR Uzoma Nwachukwu BC Lions (CFL) Signed August 6, waived on September 3 G Jahri Evans New Orleans Saints Signed August 6, released on September 3 LB Quayshawn Nealy Tampa Bay Buccaneers Signed August 15, waived August 30 DT Tony McDaniel Tampa Bay Buccaneers Signed August 16 DT Garrison Smith San Francisco 49ers Signed off waivers September 4 Indicates that the player was a free agent at the end of his respective team's season.
Departures Position Player Notes LS Clint Gresham Released March 16 DT Jesse Williams Waived March 8 LS Andrew East Waived March 24 QB Phillip Sims Waived April 28 C Drew Nowak Waived May 4 TE Ronnie Shields Waived May 4 DE Josh Shirley Waived May 4, signed August 9, placed on injured reserve August 30, waived on September 5 WR Tyler Slavin Waived May 4 OT Kona Schwenke Waived August 6 WR Deshon Foxx Placed on injured reserve August 30, waived on September 6 DE DeAngelo Tyson Waived August 29 RB Zac Brooks Waived August 30 RB George Farmer Placed on injured reserve August 30, waived on September 3 C Patrick Lewis Waived August 30 CB Trovon Reed Placed on injured reserve August 30, waived on September 3 G Kristjan Sokoli Waived August 30 WR Kevin Smith Placed on injured reserve August 30, waived on September 3 CB Marcus Burley Waived on September 3 WR Antwan Goodley Waived on September 3 WR Kenny Lawler Waived on September 3 WR Douglas McNeil Waived on September 3 C Will Pericak Waived on September 3 DE Ryan Robinson Waived on September 3 CB Tye Smith Waived on September 3 FB Will Tukuafu Released on September 3 WR Kasen Williams Waived on September 3 DT Justin Hamilton Waived on September 4
Trades September 3: The Seahawks acquired strong safety Dewey McDonald in a trade that sent a conditional 7th-round draft pick to the Oakland Raiders.
Draft
2016 Seattle Seahawks draft Round Selection Player Position College Trades 1 31 Germain Ifedi G Texas A&M 2 49 Jarran Reed DT Alabama 3 90 C. J. Prosise RB Notre Dame 94 Nick Vannett TE Ohio State 97 * Rees Odhiambo G Boise State 4 None 5 147 Quinton Jefferson DT Maryland 171 * Alex Collins RB Arkansas 6 215 * Joey Hunt C TCU 7 243 Kenny Lawler WR California 247 Zac Brooks RB Clemson * Compensatory selection Draft trades
Undrafted free agents All undrafted free agents were signed after the 2016 NFL draft concluded on April 30, unless noted otherwise. Position Player College Notes QB Trevone Boykin TCU FB/DT Brandin Bryant Florida Atlantic waived September 3 LB Kyle Coleman Arkansas–Pine Bluff signed June 2, waived August 29 TE Clayton Echard Missouri signed July 31, waived September 3 CB DeAndre Elliott Colorado State TE George Fant Western Kentucky LB Christian French Oregon placed on injured reserve May 18, waived August 11 LS Nolan Frese Houston signed June 28 DE Tylor Harris Wake Forest signed August 11, waived September 3 WR Montario Hunter Elizabeth City State signed July 29, waived August 29 DT Lars Koht Florida International waived May 9 LB Steve Longa Rutgers waived September 3 RB Tre Madden USC placed on injured reserve August 7 OT Lene Maiava Arizona waived July 29 CB Jamal Marshall North Texas signed May 9, waived June 1 WR Tanner McEvoy Wisconsin DE Montese Overton East Carolina waived August 11 LB Kache Palacio Washington State signed August 6, waived September 3 DE David Perkins Illinois State placed on injured reserve August 7, waived September 5 RB Troymaine Pope Jacksonville State signed August 6, waived September 3 S Tyvis Powell Ohio State LB Pete Robertson Texas Tech signed May 9, waived August 30 TE Joe Sommers Wisconsin–Oshkosh signed August 6 FB Taniela Tupou Washington signed May 9, waived September 3, signed September 5
Personnel Staff / Coaches
Final roster
Starters in bold. (*) denotes players that were selected to the 2017 Pro Bowl.
Preseason The Seahawks' preliminary preseason schedule was announced on April 7. Exact dates and times were finalized on April 14, when the regular season schedule was announced.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Kansas City Chiefs W 17–16 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 2 Minnesota Vikings L 11–18 1–1 CenturyLink Field Recap 3 Dallas Cowboys W 27–17 2–1 CenturyLink Field Recap 4 at Oakland Raiders W 23–21 3–1 Oakland Alameda Coliseum Recap
Regular season Schedule Divisional matchups: the NFC West played the NFC South and the AFC East.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 11 Miami Dolphins W 12–10 1–0 CenturyLink Field Recap 2 September 18 at Los Angeles Rams L 3–9 1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap 3 September 25 San Francisco 49ers W 37–18 2–1 CenturyLink Field Recap 4 October 2 at New York Jets W 27–17 3–1 MetLife Stadium Recap 5Bye 6 October 16 Atlanta Falcons W 26–24 4–1 CenturyLink Field Recap 7 October 23 at Arizona Cardinals T 6–6 4–1–1 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap 8 October 30 at New Orleans Saints L 20–25 4–2–1 Mercedes-Benz Superdome Recap 9 Buffalo Bills W 31–25 5–2–1 CenturyLink Field Recap 10 November 13 at New England Patriots W 31–24 6–2–1 Gillette Stadium Recap 11 November 20 Philadelphia Eagles W 26–15 7–2–1 CenturyLink Field Recap 12 November 27 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 5–14 7–3–1 Raymond James Stadium Recap 13 December 4 Carolina Panthers W 40–7 8–3–1 CenturyLink Field Recap 14 December 11 at Green Bay Packers L 10–38 8–4–1 Lambeau Field Recap 15 Los Angeles Rams W 24–3 9–4–1 CenturyLink Field Recap 16 Arizona Cardinals L 31–34 9–5–1 CenturyLink Field Recap 17 January 1, 2017 at San Francisco 49ers W 25–23 10–5–1 Levi's Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. Miami Dolphins
Week 2: at Los Angeles Rams
Week 3: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 4: at New York Jets
Week 6: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week 7: at Arizona Cardinals
Chandler Catanzaro and Steven Hauschka both missed chip-shot field goals in overtime as the Seahawks and Cardinals played to a 6–6 draw, the first tie in Seattle Seahawks history.
Week 8: at New Orleans Saints
Week 9: vs. Buffalo Bills
With the win, the Seahawks have now recorded at least one victory at CenturyLink Field against each of the 31 other franchises.
Week 10: at New England Patriots
Over one and half year after Super Bowl XLIX, the Seahawks were trying to get their revenge against the Patriots after the heartbreaking interception. They successfully got their revenge by stopping the Patriots from getting into the end zone, and won the game 31-24. The Seahawks were the only team to defeat the Patriots under Tom Brady during this season (their one other loss, against the Buffalo Bills in Week 4, happened during Brady's suspension for the Deflategate scandal). This also marked Pete Carroll's first game in New England in 17 years after he got fired from the Patriots organization. It was also Seattle's first game in New England since 2004.
Week 11: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week 12: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 13: vs. Carolina Panthers
Sunday Night Football featured a Divisional Playoff rematch from 2015 as the Seattle Seahawks faced the Carolina Panthers in CenturyLink field. Russell Wilson threw for 277 yards with one touchdown and one interception while Cam Newton was held to 182 yards and one touchdown. This was the first time that Seattle had scored 40 points in a regular season game since the 2013 season. Seattle improved their record to 8-3-1 of season. The win was not without cost, however, as star safety Earl Thomas broke his leg early in the second quarter, knocking him out for the rest of the season.
Week 14: at Green Bay Packers
Russell Wilson had his worst game of his career, throwing only one touchdown and a career-high five picks against a red-hot Packers team, causing the Seahawks to fall to their worst loss in the last six years. Seattle's defense was without safety Earl Thomas, who was out for the year with a broken leg. They only managed one sack on the final play in the third quarter, ending a streak of 10 consecutive quarters without a sack. Aaron Rodgers, with a 3:0 TD-INT ratio, posted a 150.8 passer rating in this game, the highest allowed by the Seattle defense since Pete Carroll became head coach in 2010.
Week 15: vs. Los Angeles Rams
With their 24–3 victory over the Rams, the Seahawks moved to 9–4–1 and clinched the NFC West title.
Week 16: vs. Arizona Cardinals
Week 17: at San Francisco 49ers
Postseason Schedule