1987 Seattle Seahawks season


The 1987 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's 12th season with the National Football League. After two seasons of missing the postseason, the Seahawks returned to the playoffs.
The 1987 season would be Kenny Easley's last due to a kidney failure caused from excessive ibuprofen use, which forced him into retirement. The Seahawks selected Brian Bosworth from the University of Oklahoma, who signed the biggest rookie contract in NFL history.

Offseason

Undrafted free agents

PlayerPositionCollege
Brant BengenWide receiverIdaho
Nate BlanksWide receiverWestern Illinois
Ron BohmDefensive tackleIllinois
Fred DavisCornerbackWestern Carolina
Paul DayWide receiverArizona State
Steve DomonoskiLinebackerTemple
Jim FoxPunterSyracuse
Charles GlazeCornerbackSouth Carolina State
Scott HaglerKickerSouth Carolina
Matt HanousekTackleUtah State
Henry HarrisDefensive tackleGeorgia
Ray HairstonLinebackerIllinois
Eric HodgesWide receiverFlorida
David HollisCornerbackUNLV
Marshall PinkneyLinebackerAlabama A&M
Ken RogersRunning backMississippi State
Rick SingletonDefensive endVirginia Tech
Dallis SmithSafetyValdosta State
Daryle SmithTackleTennessee
Donald SnellWide receiverVirginia Tech
Len StrandleyKickerCal State Fullerton
Mike TeifkeCenterAkron
Ricky ThomasSafetyAlabama
James WilliamsRunning backFresno State
Ray WilliamsWide receiverClemson
Carl WoodsRunning backVanderbilt

Personnel

Staff

NFL replacement players

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled:

Final roster

  • Starters in bold.
  • Denotes strike replacement players.
  • Denotes players that were selected for the 1988 Pro Bowl.

Schedule

Regular season

Divisional matchups this season have the AFC West playing the NFC Central.
A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players. 85% of the veteran players did not cross picket lines during the strike, putting in question the integrity of the 1987 season results.
The teams fielded by NFL clubs bore little resemblance to those the fans had come to recognize through previous seasons. Fans tagged the replacement player teams with mock names like "Seattle Sea-scabs."

Postseason

RoundDateOpponent ResultRecordGame siteRecap
Wild CardJanuary 3, 1988at [1987 1987 Houston Oilers season|Houston Oilers season|Houston Oilers] L 20–23 0–1Astrodome

Game summaries

Regular season

Week 9: at New York Jets


Postseason

Seattle entered the postseason as the #5 seed in the AFC.