| Team: | Seattle Seahawks |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Coach: | Pete Carroll |
| Owner: | Paul Allen |
| General Manager: | John Schneider |
| Stadium: | CenturyLink Field |
| Record: | 10–5–1 |
| Division Place: | 1st NFC West |
| Playoffs: | Won Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Lions) 26–6 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Falcons) 20–36 |
| Uniform: | Seattle Seahawks Uniforms 2016-2022.png |
| Shortnavlink: | Seahawks seasons |
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.[1] 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 20-36 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 before rejoining the Seahawks in December 2019.
| Position | Player | Tag | 2016 team | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signed with the Browns on March 11[2] | |||||
| Seattle Seahawks | Signed tender on April 19[3] | ||||
| UFA | Signed with the Colts on July 26[4] | ||||
| RFA | TBD | ||||
| UFA | TBD | ||||
| ERFA | Seattle Seahawks | Signed tender on April 18[5] | |||
| TE | RFA | Seattle Seahawks | Signed tender on April 18 | ||
| UFA | Signed with the Raiders on March 9[6] | ||||
| RB | UFA | TBD | |||
| UFA | TBD | ||||
| UFA | Signed with the Lions on August 17[7] | ||||
| UFA | Seattle Seahawks | Re-signed on March 10[8] | |||
| CB | UFA | Seattle Seahawks | Re-signed on March 9[9] | ||
| C | RFA | Seattle Seahawks | Signed tender on April 18 | ||
| WR | UFA | Retired | Retired on May 12[10] | ||
| TE | UFA | TBD | |||
| DT | UFA | Signed with the Chargers on March 9[11] | |||
| RB | RFA | Seattle Seahawks | Re-signed on March 17[12] | ||
| LB | RFA | TBD | |||
| LB | UFA | Seattle Seahawks | Re-signed on March 19[13] | ||
| T | UFA | Signed with the Broncos on March 17[14] | |||
| LB | ERFA | Seattle Seahawks | Re-signed on March 16[15] | ||
| DT | UFA | Seattle Seahawks | Re-signed on March 7[16] | ||
| UFA | Seattle Seahawks | Re-signed on March 11[17] | |||
| CB | ERFA | Seattle Seahawks | Signed tender on April 18 | ||
| CB | ERFA | Seattle Seahawks | Signed tender on April 14[18] | ||
| G | UFA | Signed with the Buccaneers on March 9[19] | |||
| ERFA | Seattle Seahawks | Signed tender on April 18 | |||
| FB | UFA | Seattle Seahawks | Re-signed on August 20[20] |
| Position | Player | 2015 Team | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Stampeders (CFL) | Signed February 11,[21] waived June 28[22] | |||
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) | Signed February 11, waived May 4,[23] signed August 4,[24] waived August 15[25] | |||
| Signed March 14,[26] placed on injured reserve August 29,[27] released on September 3[28] | ||||
| Signed March 14[29] | ||||
| OT | Signed March 15[30] | |||
| None | Signed March 23,[31] waived August 4 | |||
| Signed April 1,[32] retired July 28[33] | ||||
| Signed April 17,[34] released August 29 | ||||
| DE | New Orleans Saints | Signed April 28[35] | ||
| Signed April 28[36] | ||||
| None | Signed May 2,[37] waived on September 3 | |||
| None | Signed May 16,[38] released June 28[39] | |||
| Oakland Raiders | Signed August 4, waived on September 3 | |||
| RB | Jonathan Amosa | None | Signed August 6,[40] waived August 20 | |
| WR | BC Lions (CFL) | Signed August 6, waived on September 3 | ||
| New Orleans Saints | Signed August 6,[41] released on September 3 | |||
| LB | Signed August 15, waived August 30 | |||
| DT | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Signed August 16[42] | ||
| DT | Signed off waivers September 4[43] |
| Indicates that the player was a free agent at the end of his respective team's season. |
| Position | Player | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released March 16 | |||
| Waived March 8[44] | |||
| LS | Waived March 24[45] | ||
| Waived April 28[46] | |||
| Waived May 4 | |||
| Waived May 4 | |||
| Waived May 4, signed August 9,[47] placed on injured reserve August 30, waived on September 5[48] | |||
| Waived May 4 | |||
| Waived August 6[49] | |||
| WR | Placed on injured reserve August 30, waived on September 6[50] | ||
| DE | Waived August 29 | ||
| Waived August 30 | |||
| RB | Placed on injured reserve August 30, waived on September 3 | ||
| C | Waived August 30 | ||
| Placed on injured reserve August 30, waived on September 3 | |||
| Waived August 30 | |||
| WR | Placed on injured reserve August 30, waived on September 3 | ||
| CB | Waived on September 3 | ||
| WR | Waived on September 3 | ||
| WR | Waived on September 3 | ||
| WR | Waived on September 3 | ||
| C | Waived on September 3 | ||
| DE | Waived on September 3 | ||
| CB | Waived on September 3 | ||
| Released on September 3 | |||
| WR | Waived on September 3 | ||
| DT | Waived on September 4 |
See main article: article and 2016 NFL draft.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Trades |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | |||||
| 2 | 49 | ||||
| 3 | 90 | ||||
| 94 | Ohio State | ||||
| 97 * | G | Boise State | |||
| 4 | None | ||||
| 5 | 147 | DT | |||
| 171 * | RB | Arkansas | |||
| 6 | 215 * | ||||
| 7 | 243 | ||||
| 247 | RB | Clemson |
| Compensatory selection |
All undrafted free agents were signed after the 2016 NFL draft concluded on April 30,[51] unless noted otherwise.
| Position | Player | College | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| waived September 3 | ||||
| signed June 2,[52] waived August 29 | ||||
| signed July 31,[53] waived September 3 | ||||
| TE | ||||
| LB | placed on injured reserve May 18,[54] waived August 11[55] | |||
| signed June 28 | ||||
| signed August 11,[56] waived September 3 | ||||
| signed July 29,[57] waived August 29 | ||||
| DT | waived May 9[58] | |||
| LB | waived September 3 | |||
| placed on injured reserve August 7[59] | ||||
| waived July 29 | ||||
| CB | signed May 9, waived June 1[60] | |||
| WR | ||||
| DE | waived August 11 | |||
| LB | signed August 6, waived September 3 | |||
| DE | placed on injured reserve August 7, waived September 5 | |||
| RB | signed August 6, waived September 3 | |||
| LB | signed May 9, waived August 30 | |||
| TE | signed August 6 | |||
| signed May 9, waived September 3, signed September 5[61] |
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 |
Divisional matchups: the NFC West played the NFC South and the AFC East.
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.
With the win, the Seahawks have now recorded at least one victory at CenturyLink Field against each of the 31 other franchises.
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.
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.
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.
With their 24–3 victory over the Rams, the Seahawks moved to 9–4–1 and clinched the NFC West title.
See also: 2016–17 NFL playoffs.
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | Detroit Lions (6) | W 26–6 | 1–0 | CenturyLink Field | Recap | ||
| Divisional | at Atlanta Falcons (2) | L 20–36 | 1–1 | Georgia Dome | Recap |
This was the final game in Seattle for longtime Seahawks Jermaine Kearse and Steven Hauschka.