SEATTLE — One of the bigger questions hovering over the Seattle Seahawks this offseason — when will star cornerback Devon Witherspoon get a contract extension? — may be close to an answer.

That’s according to a report Tuesday afternoon from Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, who stated that the Seahawks have “made an offer upwards of $30 million” (per season) to Witherspoon and indicated a deal could be close at hand.

Rapoport made the statement during a report noting that that Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez of New England — 2023 first-round picks who are eligible for extensions — have been in negotiations with their teams on new deals.

Both are represented by the same firm, the Win Sports Group, who also represent Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Rapoport stated that negotiations for each player and their team have been “going on concurrently,” but that it “certainly seems like Witherspoon is further along in his negotiations than Gonzalez is in his negotiations,” adding that he “wouldn’t be surprised if Witherspoon gets done first and then Gonzalez gets done shortly after with the market set.”

A contract at $30 million per year in new money would appear to be about the floor for each player, who are likely hoping to become the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.

That designation is held by former University of Washington standout Trent McDuffie, who signed a deal worth $31 million a year with the Los Angeles Rams after being acquired in a trade with Kansas City.

Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner of the Colts is next at $30.1 million and Derek Stingley Jr. of Houston is third at $30 million, according to Spotrac.com. Fourth is Jaycee Horn of Carolina at $25 million.

Witherspoon is due to make a $10.1 million base salary in 2026 on the last year of his standard four-year rookie contract.

The Seahawks picked up an option for the 2027 season in March that will pay him $21.161 million, according to OvertheCap.com.

The team has made clear it wants to sign Witherspoon to a long-term deal, just as it did with Smith-Njigba.

The Seahawks picked up Smith-Njigba’s 2027 extension on the same day as they did Witherspoon’s on March 20.

Four days later, the Seahawks signed Smith-Njigba to an extension through the 2031 season, paying him $195.1 million overall for the next six seasons.

The Seahawks likely hope to work a similar structure with Witherspoon, including the next two seasons for which he is already under contract as part of a deal to keep him with the team into the next decade.

Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said earlier this year he was hopeful the team could sew up Witherspoon as it had done with Smith-Njigba.

“I think what gets lost is like what their role is as a leader on our team and how young they are,” he said at the NFL meetings in March, a few days after Smith-Njigba signed. “And that’s a unique combination of their impact on our team, but also they’ve been here for three years, so the opportunity to really lay a great foundation for the next 10 years is there, which is really exciting.”

The Seahawks have been known to be talking with Witherspoon since at least last spring.

That a deal has yet to get done is not surprising since the Seahawks have often waited until the beginning of training camp to complete significant extensions.

There is the added complication of Gonzalez, who finished his college career at Oregon, attempting to get a new deal at the same time.

Seeming to indicate there had been no huge snag in the talks, Witherspoon attended all of the team’s offseason program, voluntary and mandatory, including being on the field for 11-on-11 sessions. He was also featured in promo material released Tuesday for “Hard Knocks.”

Gonzalez sat out much of the voluntary portion of the Patriots’ offseason program.

Witherspoon, who turned 25 in December, has made the Pro Bowl all three seasons since coming to Seattle with a pick the team acquired in the Russell Wilson trade with Denver, and turned in a performance during the Super Bowl win over New England that some felt could have won him MVP honors.

He had four tackles in the 29-13 win along with one sack and a QB hit that forced an interception by teammate Uchenna Nwosu and a 45-yard return for a touchdown that helped seal the victory.

The Seahawks have just over $25 million in cap space for 2026, according to OvertheCap.com, but could structure the deal in a way that it would not add — and maybe could decrease — Witherspoon’s current cap hit for 2025 of $10.137 million. (Smith-Njigba has a $10.371 million cap hit this year).

Getting Witherspoon done soon — maybe even before training camp begins Saturday — could allow the Seahawks to take care of some other potential contract situations, notably defensive lineman Leonard Williams.

Williams can be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2026 season and there has been some speculation the team could look to give him a new deal sooner rather than later to prevent him from hitting the market.

A new deal could also bring down Williams’ 2026 cap hit of just over $29 million, second-highest on the team behind the $37.9 million of quarterback Sam Darnold.

Seahawks sign CB Johnson

The Seahawks announced Tuesday they signed second-year free agent cornerback Brandon Johnson, waiving tight end Harrison Bryant in the process.

Johnson, who began his college career at Duke before transferring to Oregon for a season in 2024, signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2025. He spent most of last year on the team’s practice squad but saw action in three games with one start, credited with three tackles and one pass defense.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pounder was waived by the Eagles last month and had a tryout with the Seahawks this week.

Bryant signed with the Seahawks on April 29.

The moves give the Seahawks 10 cornerbacks on their roster while reducing the number of listed tight ends to five, with Brady Russell officially listed as a fullback.

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