As the 2025 NFL season has progressed, it’s seemed increasingly unlikely that Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen will be with the team in 2026.
But Sunday morning brought news that made it uncertain if he’ll even still be with the team through the end of the 2025 season.
Woolen, who can be an unrestricted free agent following this season, could be “a possible trade target’’ of other teams, the NFL Network reported Sunday.
That report stated that “clubs are monitoring’’ and “plan to keep an eye on” whether Woolen could become available.
The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 4, which comes after the Seahawks play at Washington two days before, Seattle’s eighth game of the season.
That date — as well as the vague language of the report stating only that other teams are paying attention to whether Seattle might look to trade Woolen — indicates nothing is necessarily imminent.
But it does indicate that Woolen’s name will be a significant part of the rumor mill until a trade is made or that date passes.
That such a rumor exists at all also illustrates how markedly Woolen’s status with the Seahawks has changed over the past few years.
Woolen became one of the surprise stories in the NFL in 2022 when he was drafted by Seattle with the 153rd overall pick out of the University of Texas-San Antonio.
At the time, he was mostly regarded as a player worth taking a gamble on as a possible long-term project due in large part to his uncommon blend of size (6-foot-4) and speed (he ran a 4.26-second 40 at the NFL combine, the fourth-fastest ever), having played barely more than two years of cornerback at UTSA after beginning his career as a receiver.
Woolen went from prospect to star almost overnight, earning a starting job in training camp, then recording interceptions in four of his first six games, including a pick-six that helped win a game at Detroit.
He finished the season tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with six, earning a Pro Bowl nod and seeming like he’d be a fixture in Seattle’s secondary for years to come just like Richard Sherman, a player to whom he often drew comparisons and who had become something of a mentor.
Woolen has just five interceptions in 35 games since, a span marked by frustrating lapses of consistency under both Pete Carroll and Mike Macdonald.
He was benched for a game in 2023 when a shoulder issue helped lead to some tackling difficulties. He was also benched for the opening series for a game against the Vikings last season as discipline for a violation of team rules, then gave up the winning touchdown on a pass by now-teammate Sam Darnold.
Woolen then gave up two receptions Sept. 7 late in the season-opening loss to the 49ers, which left Macdonald that week publicly stating that he could lose snaps to the emerging Josh Jobe.
That competition was momentarily shelved when Devon Witherspoon suffered an MCL injury late in the 49ers game that kept him out of the next two weeks.
But with Witherspoon back for Thursday’s 23-20 win over the Cardinals, Woolen indeed saw his role slightly altered.
Woolen played 62 of 67 snaps against Arizona.
But Jobe and Witherspoon played all 67 with Woolen not on the field when the Seahawks went with just two cornerbacks with Woolen playing only when Seattle was in its nickel or dime defense.
It was a subtle shift but one that also seems to have great meaning, indicating that the Seahawks feel their best two cornerbacks do not include Woolen.
Still, Woolen typically lines up on the wide side of the field, indicating the team still has confidence in his ability to cover a lot of territory.
But he also again showed some frustrating lapses, called for a facemask penalty and twice for defensive pass interference. He’s been called for six penalties in four games, the most of any Seahawk.
When asked Friday about Woolen’s play against the Cardinals, Macdonald made a comment referencing the fluidity of Woolen’s future.
“Riq is playing hard,’’ Macdonald said. “I think he’s pressing a little bit with the situation going on.”
He has a 40.4 grade from Pro Football Focus, 99th of 100 cornerbacks, allowing 10 receptions on 15 targets for 145 yards and a touchdown for an NFL passer rating against of 120.1. That is by far the highest of his career. He allowed ratings of 70.0, 81.1 and 83.7 in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Woolen’s career path over the last couple of years was enough to begin to doubt the Seahawks would want to extend or re-sign Woolen.
Also a factor is that Witherspoon will be eligible for an extension following this season.
The Seahawks could exercise an option on his contract for 2027 and stave off a long-term extension for a year or so. Regardless, Seattle all along has seemed unlikely to sign two cornerbacks to big extensions.
Of course, who knows what Woolen might command now on the open market.
But even if his value has cooled greatly, the Seahawks and Woolen could each decide at this point it’s best to move on.
That possibly declining market, though, also makes it worth wondering what the Seahawks could get for him in a trade, especially since any team acquiring him would consider him a half-season rental.
A mid- to late-round pick might be about the most Seattle could get, with markets for in-season trades often determined in large part on needs of other teams.
Seattle, recall, traded a second- and a fifth-rounder to the Giants for Leonard Williams at the trade deadline in 2023.
But in that instance, there was no question about Williams’ performance, simply that the Giants were in rebuild mode and unloading veterans with Williams also in the last year of his contract.
While cornerbacks have a high value, Woolen wouldn’t seem to command anything close to that kind of a package.
Maybe Seattle could make a trade for a veteran in a similar situation — entering the final year of his deal and unlikely to be back.
But any team is unlikely to give Seattle a veteran with multiple years on his deal unless there is some extenuating circumstance.
The Seahawks might have to square that with the possibility that if Woolen were to finish the season and then sign as a free agent next spring, the Seahawks could be eligible for a compensatory pick in 2027, possibly as high as a third-rounder.
Also a question is how Seattle would replace Woolen for the rest of the season.
Seattle’s other two cornerbacks on its 53-man roster are Derion Kendrick, who was claimed off waivers from the Rams in August, and 2024 fifth-round pick Nehemiah Pritchett. Veteran Shaquill Griffin is also on the practice squad.
Kendrick played well in Witherspoon’s absence against the Steelers and Saints with interceptions in each game.
Kendrick, though, played mostly on the outside during 18 starts with the Rams in 2022-23, and Seattle could view him as a viable replacement for Woolen’s role.
Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori also appears on track for returning for Seattle’s next game Oct. 5 against Tampa Bay after sitting out the last three with a high ankle sprain.
Emmanwori is slated to play mostly a third-safety or “big nickel’’ role and as such is not a direct replacement for Woolen.
But the Seahawks could view a three-safety/two-cornerback formation — in which only Witherspoon and Jobe would be on the field — as their primary alignment going forward, further decreasing Woolen’s role the rest of the season.
All of which seems to make clear that there’s no longer a question of whether Woolen’s Seattle career is near its end, it’s only a matter of when.