RENTON — Like the rest of the team’s new free agent additions, Marquez Valdes-Scantling officially became a Seahawk on Thursday by signing his contract and being introduced to the media.
And while he shares characteristics to a man he was brought in to replace — DK Metcalf — Valdes-Scantling says he’s hoping to forge his own identity with his fifth NFL team since 2021.
“You don’t try to fill those shoes,” he said of being signed in the wake of Metcalf’s trade the Steelers and the release of Tyler Lockett. “I had the same question when I went to Kansas City (from Green Bay in 2022) and trying to fill the shoes of Tyreek Hill. Like, you just can’t do that. You go out and you be the best version of yourself, and whatever that looks like is what it looks like..”
Still, it is the similarities he shares with Metcalf — Valdes-Scantling is listed at 6-foot-4, 206 pounds and ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL scouting combine — that helped lead to him standing in front of reporters at the VMAC on Thursday.
“MVS was big for us to be able to (find a player) to take the top off (the defense) after losing DK,” Seahawks president of football operations and general manager John Schneider said. “So that became a priority for us.”
Valdes-Scantling was also enticed by his relationship with Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Valdes-Scantling spent the last eight games of the 2024 season playing under Kubiak with the Saints after having been released by Buffalo.
After playing sparingly with the Bills — just two catches for 26 yards in six games — he revived his career in New Orleans with 17 receptions for 385 yards, four TDs and an average of 22.6 yards per reception.
“I think that was all Klint,” he said of how he landed in Seattle. “We were together in New Orleans and he took the job here. I think it was a great fit. Obviously they lost some really good receivers, so it kind of opened up the door for me to come in and step in.”
Valdes-Scantling may not be the only veteran addition to Seattle’s offense as the Seahawks try to replace Metcalf and Lockett.
Speculation continued Thursday that Seattle remains in the hunt for free agent receiver Cooper Kupp, who was released by the Rams on Wednesday.
It had been thought that Kupp could make a quick decision on his future, and some theorized it would wrap up by Wednesday afternoon.
Instead, Kupp was still mulling things over early Thursday evening.
A report from FoxSports.com stated that five teams were “in the mix” for Kupp.
The only team mentioned by name was Denver.
But Seattle was thought to be one of the others, with sources confirming the team was interested in bringing the Yakima native and former Eastern Washington standout back to his home state.
Likely delaying a decision is what Kupp thinks his market is compared to what teams want to pay.
Kupp’s most recent contract with the Rams was a three-year deal worth up to $80.1 million.
Speculation is that he’ll have to accept a deal paying half of that on a per-year average, if not a little less, given his age (32 in June) and recent injury history.
Schneider confirms Seattle wanted physical with Fries
Seattle has signed just one free agent addition to its offensive line so far, six-year veteran Josh Jones, who projects as a backup at both tackle spots.
Seattle, though, had hoped to do more by this point.
Schneider confirmed the team was in talks with Colts guard Will Fries — regarded as the top free agent guard available — before he agreed to a five-year deal with the Vikings reported to be worth up to $88 million.
Schneider further confirmed that the Seahawks wanted to bring Fries — who suffered a broken tibia last year and missed the final 12 games of the season — to the VMAC for a physical before finalizing a contract.
The Vikings, however, were willing to do the deal without one, which Schneider said knocked Seattle out of negotiations.
“We were in on a big-time guy that we wanted to bring in and get a physical on,” he said. “When you spend that kind of money on a player, we wanted to visit. The other team didn’t want to visit and they just went ahead and did the deal.”
Some may have wondered why the Seahawks didn’t quickly pivot to other interior offensive lineman available other than the signing of Jones, whose contract is reported to be worth up to $4.75 million.
Schneider, though, said the team didn’t want to pay big just to say it had signed a lineman.
“So what does that mean (when they lost out on Fries)?” he asked. “Does that mean you just go ahead and start panicking and throwing money at other guys that aren’t quite as good? No. You make the smart decisions, the patient decisions. … We’ve made decisions in the past that haven’t been the best decisions for the organization because we weren’t patient and we panicked. You pay for that.”
Schneider said he understood why there was such a spotlight on the team’s efforts to improve the offensive line.
“I get it,” he said. “We all want things right now. But sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t.”
But Schneider said one priority is also to assure the team has enough cap space to continue making moves throughout the season.
“We want to be a team that’s acquiring all through the year so you can compensate for your deficiencies, whether it’s injuries or underperformance at a certain position,” he said. “… I think people would rather us (be able) to acquire people at the appropriate times throughout the season and being able to respond to the cap casualty guys in the summer or the trade deadline or whatever.”
Draft picks set
The Geno Smith and Metcalf trades becoming official also meant that Seattle’s full listing of 10 draft picks became set.
As confirmed by the team, Seattle’s picks are: 18, 50, 52, 82, 92, 137, 172, 175, 223 and 234.