Charles Cross was pretty much the only consistently good player on the Seattle Seahawks' offensive line last season, and has been a solid blocker since his arrival in Seattle in 2022.
As such, the Seahawks picked up Cross' fifth-year option earlier this week to keep the former first-round pick in Seattle through the 2026 season. It's a well-deserved reward after three years of strong play, but it's worth taking a look at how it affects Seattle's cap situation.
According to OverTheCap, Cross will carry a cap hit of $17.56 million for the 2026 season, as he reached the playtime incentive but has yet to make it to a Pro Bowl. That's a very reasonable rate for a 24-year-old tackle who's shown to be a capable blindside blocker, and it will only look better if he continues to improve.
In the bigger picture, the Seahawks have around $85.8 million in projected cap space for 2026, the sixth-most of any team in the league. That's already good, but they can really open up the cap situaion with one simple move.
If the Seahawks extend Cross, which they should want to do anyway because he's simply a good player, they will save around $13.1 million in cap space for 2026. That would put them at just barely under $100 million in total cap space, basically allowing them to do whatever they want.
Of course, the Seahawks will have to re-sign some of their pending free agents, a group that includes running back Kenneth Walker III, cornerback Riq Woolen, safety Coby Bryant and more. Even still, they'll have plenty of money to add outside free agents if they so choose.
The Seahawks made it a point to free up future cap space this offseason, and they've done a pretty good job of that. Now, they can put some of that newfound cap space to good use and free up more in the short term.
