Seahawks’ 2026 right-guard battle takes center stage, while Derick Hall’s extension reshapes the defense’s timeline

Seattle enters the 2026 offseason with two parallel storylines that matter for how the team builds snap-to-snap stability. On one side, a Sunday pre-snap roundup pointed to the Seahawks’ right-guard situation as the most likely interior competition. On the other, the team formally extended outside linebacker Derick Hall, adding years of continuity to an edge group that is now treated as a core piece of Seattle’s defensive identity.

The right-guard question is not abstract on the Seahawks’ own depth chart. The team currently lists Anthony Bradford as the first option at right guard, with Christian Haynes as the next listed interior piece behind him. In the same lineup, Grey Zabel is listed at left guard, and the center spots are also split between Jalen Sundell and Olu Oluwatimi, with Bryce Cabeldue appearing as an additional interior option. The takeaway is that Seattle is not presenting a single, locked-in path across the interior, at least on paper, and that naturally invites competition in camp reps and early offseason practices as the staff sorts out chemistry.

This matters because guard play is where an NFL offense often sets its identity. Right guards are asked to handle everything from base-down run fits to outside-zone angles to quicker pass-protection adjustments when edge rushers stunt or loop. If Bradford and Haynes end up alternating reps early, it also changes how the offense organizes its play-action timing and run-game protections. The Seahawks’ own framing, via that Sunday roundup, suggests the expectation is that right guard will be “hotly contested” rather than simply filled.

Seattle’s week also featured a separate kind of certainty on the defensive side. The Seahawks announced that Derick Hall has signed a three-year contract extension that keeps him under team control through the 2029 season. The league-wide reporting connected to the extension put the deal at three years and $42 million, with $21 million guaranteed, giving the club a long runway to keep a disruptive edge presence in place. Hall also joined the team’s Super Bowl LX celebration, and the extension comes after Seattle’s run of high-end defensive continuity.

Hall’s contract timeline also helps explain why Seattle can afford to let some offensive competition play out. When a roster is prioritizing continuity at key defensive roles, the offense can focus on maximizing the ceiling of its internal options, especially along the interior where small differences can become major ones over an 18-week season. The depth chart structure suggests Seattle’s staff is willing to keep multiple interior players in the mix rather than forcing one name to the top spot too early.

Even the “other” items in that Sunday roundup fit the broader theme of deploying existing personnel in role-specific ways. Rashid Shaheed is already shown on Seattle’s depth chart in multiple offensive and return capacities, and the roundup referenced a renewed suggestion involving Shaheed. In practical terms, that means Seattle can tinker with usage patterns around the core 11 rather than needing a constant roster churn to change games. For now, right guard remains the most visible question mark on Seattle’s current offensive template, while Hall’s extension sets a clear baseline for the kind of defensive presence the team expects to carry into 2027 and beyond.