Devon Witherspoon and the Seattle Seahawks have yet to agree on a contract extension this offseason. Seattle did take care of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, signing him to a four-year, $168.6 million contract in March 2026, making him the highest-paid wide receiver in NFL history.
As a result, it wouldn’t come as a surprise that Witherspoon wants to become one of the highest-paid cornerbacks. The question will be whether he gets that type of contract from the Seahawks or elsewhere.
Amid the lack of an extension, Seattle Sports’ Stacy Rost shared her thoughts on the situation in a May 12 mailbag article. Moreover, she isn’t ready to hit the panic button on the situation yet.
“I don’t think there’s something overly concerning going on, where you’ll see hostility from both sides, but you’d assume he and his agent are looking to reset the market,” Rost wrote.
“There could be a holdup based on anything from guaranteed money or disagreements about how much the market should be reset, or something as simple as this conversation being pushed back to a late offseason priority because of the draft.”
Last season, Witherspoon played 720 snaps for the Seahawks. Moreover, he recorded an overall PFF defensive grade of 89.9 while intercepting one pass, breaking four passes in coverage, and recording 54 solo tackles in run support and open-field situations.
Devon Witherspoon Has Played Hardball With Seattle
Moreover, another reason Rost isn’t a concern right now is that Witherspoon and his agent played hardball with Seattle in the past. As a result, it’s not surprising that the Seahawks star and his representation are again standing firm in any negotiations with Seattle’s front office.
“Two things worth noting here: Witherspoon and the Seahawks have been at a similar crossroads before. He was the final rookie of the 2023 class to sign his deal after a holdout that lasted into the earliest days of training camp.
“He and his agent, CAA’s Reggie Johnson, aren’t strangers to playing hardball. Secondly, an interesting note here is that Johnson is also one of the agents representing Patriots Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
“A quick look at the numbers here: The Rams’ Trent McDuffie is the highest-paid corner at 4 years/$124 million, with the Colts’ Sauce Gardner right behind him at 4 years/$120 million (roughly $30-31 million average annual value). Witherspoon is a former No. 5 overall pick and a three-time Pro Bowler, so yes, his agent is certainly looking to reset the market again.”
Seahawks 2025 Defense Receives Major Praise
Speaking of the Seahawks’ defense, the group from last season, which included Witherspoon, is receiving its flowers from its peers for its performance on the road to a Super Bowl title. In their final nine games (regular season and postseason), only the Los Angeles Rams scored more than 20 points against Seattle’s defense.
Los Angeles recorded 37 points in the regular season meeting in December 2025 and 27 points in the NFC title game. One player who faced this defense in its dominant form that led to a Super Bowl was Las Vegas Raiders QB Kirk Cousins, who was with the Atlanta Falcons.
Cousins and his former team scored only nine points in that game, which ended 37-9. In a May 8 video on Seattle Sports, Cousins shared his thoughts on the Seahawks’ defense from the 2025 season, particularly head coach Mike Macdonald, the mastermind behind it.
“I think you see a defense that plays together,” Cousins said. “Some of the effort and passion that came from the Pete Carroll system and world has carried over in Seattle with Mike Macdonald and what he coaches and emphasizes with effort, attacking, and playing together.
“I also think they do a great job schematically of giving the safeties, and even the linebackers, the ability to get to the right call. You may have two or three calls as a defense ready to go on any given play, and, based on how the offense aligns, whether it’s formation splits, shotgun, or whatever, they’ll be ready to get to what they feel is the right call in that moment.”
Seahawks Issued Clear Message on Devon Witherspoon Situation