The Seattle Seahawks, perhaps more than any other franchise, have become the final landing spot for a myriad of the game’s greatest players.
The team’s recent acquisition of Greg Olsen, as well as last year’s Josh Gordon experiment, potentially added two more NFL greats to a long list of players who play out their final games in the Emerald City.
I decided to rank the elite NFL players who called it quits while in Seattle. This list does not include lifelong Seahawks, like Steve Largent and Walter Jones, or even Marshawn Lynch – who might have played his final down last season (although with Beast mode, you can never be sure).
Instead, this list will focus on players who spent one year (or in many cases, less than a year) in Seattle to shut the door on their extensive – often Hall of Fame worthy – careers.
Honorable Mention: Wide Receiver Terrell Owens
I have Terrell Owens listed as an honorable mention instead of his rightful spot on this list (No. 2) because he never actually played a meaningful NFL down with the Seahawks.
Owens last played in the NFL in 2010, hauling in 72 receptions for 983 yards and nine touchdowns with the Bengals.
That goes down as the official end of his NFL career, but Owens actually finished up with the Seahawks in the preseason of 2012, hauling in just two receptions (on eight targets) before getting cut and never returning to the league.
Owens was one of the game’s greatest entertainers during his illustrious career. A six-time Pro Bowler and 2018 Hall of Fame inductee, Owens led the league in touchdown receptions three times and his 153 career receiving touchdowns is third all-time.
Owens may have never officially suited up for Seattle in a regular season game, but the team’s attempt to bring him on board in 2012 still earns him a spot on this list.
No. 4: Wide receiver brandon marshall
Next up is the only non-Hall of Famer on this list, receiver Brandon Marshall, who last played in the NFL in 2018 with the Seahawks.
Marshall did not have a great cameo in Seattle, hauling in just 11 of his 23 targets for 136 yards and one touchdown before getting released in November.
Marshall did catch on with the Saints after Seattle released him, but he has yet to return to the NFL – and at age 34 seems unlikely to do so.
If this is the end of the line, Marshall could very well end up a Hall of Famer after an illustrious 13-year-career that saw him make six Pro Bowls with one All-Pro nod and 83 career touchdowns receptions, which ranks 22nd all-time.
Marshall will likely become the most recent superstar to finish his career in the Emerald City, a career that may not lead to Canton right away, but could eventually result in a fifth Hall of Famer (including Owens) who spent their final NFL moments in Seattle.
Here are the remaining three.
No. 3: Running Back Edgerrin James
James is the newest addition to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, joining fellow former Seahawk Steve Hutchinson among the five new modern-era inductees.
Calling James and Hutchinson both former Seahawks is a tad misleading, however, as James only played seven games for Seattle during the 2009 season – his last in the league.
James may have only rushed for 125 yards in a Seattle uniform, but his entire body of work landed him in the Hall thanks primarily to his early-career success with the Colts – where he was a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in his rookie year.
James went on to rush for 12,246 yards and 80 touchdowns, numbers that put him among the elite running backs of all-time and earned him a spot in Canton.
However, despite being among the best running backs ever, James isn’t even the best running back to play his final NFL season in Seattle.
No. 2: Running Back Franco Harris
Franco Harris is known for his time on the dominant 1970’s Steelers teams, as well as hauling in the immaculate reception to defeat the Oakland Raiders in 1972.
The Hall of Famer is among the best running backs in NFL history, rushing for 12,120 yards and 91 touchdowns while making nine Pro Bowl appearances and being named an All-Pro in 1977.
However, Harris may bleed the yellow and black of the Steelers, but he only spent 12 of his 13 seasons in the Steel City, finishing things off in 1984 with the Seahawks.
Harris was coming off an excellent 1983 season, rushing for 1,007 yards, but he did not fare nearly as well once he moved west, only playing in eight games for Seattle and carrying the ball 68 times for 170 yards and no touchdowns.
That was the end of the line for Harris, who found himself in the Hall of Fame just a few years later – the first in a long line of Seahawks to make the HOF – although he hardly counted.
The same can be said for this last guy, one of the greatest in NFL history who spent most of his career with Seattle’s rival, but gave them a few happy memories at the end of the line.
No. 1: Wide Receiver Jerry Rice
Perhaps the greatest NFL player of all-time, Jerry Rice spent his entire career on the west coast. From 1985-2000, Rice teamed up with Joe Montana and Steve Young to become the most prolific wide receiver the league had ever seen, making 12 Pro Bowl appearances and being named an All-Pro a staggering 10 times in 15 seasons.
Rice led the league in receiving yards six times in a 10-year period, and is the record holder in nearly every major category for receivers in NFL history.
However, all good things must come to an end, and for Rice his tenure in San Francisco ended at the turn of the millenium. He didn’t have to move too far, however, spending 2001 through part of 2004 with the nearby Raiders of Oakland, where he was named a Pro Bowler a final time in 2002.
Rice traveled his biggest distance yet to play out the rest of the 2004 season in Seattle, appearing in 11 games for the Seahawks and hauling in 25 receptions for 362 yards and the final three touchdowns of his career, giving him a staggering 208 in total.
Rice, more than anyone else, encapsulates Seattle’s desire to bring aging superstars to the Pacific Northwest to finish their career. While he’ll never get remembered for his time in the green and blue, it did happen, and it helped continue a string of NFL legends heading west before calling it quits.
