Training camp is in full bloom around the NFL, and teams are starting to build chemistry and shape what kind of squad they’ll be in the upcoming year.
There are new faces in new places that are getting adjusted to their new team and routine. Former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen is one of those players. Woolen signed with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason on a one-year deal.
Woolen was a bit of a polarizing player at times in Seattle, but he ultimately was an integral part of the Seahawks becoming Super Bowl champions. Now, Woolen is using his experience and lessons learned as a Seahawk to assimilate into the Eagles culture.
Similar Cultures
The Seahawks and the Eagles have commonalities. They are the last two Super Bowl champions, feature starting quarterbacks who have been doubted for large portions of their careers, and both have bird-based mascots. However, the biggest commonality is between their team cultures, as Riq Woolen has observed in his short time in Philadelphia.
NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank wrote about Woolen and his thoughts on Eagles culture and the comparisons to Seahawks culture in his July 31 article.
“Honestly, just the culture here is just an amazing culture. They preach to us we got to work hard,” Woolen said. “It’s a hard-working team. Everybody in this organization works hard. So just being able to be coached by them, I feel like it’s going to help me as a player and it’s going to push me to be a great person.”
Woolen then brought up the similar hard-working franchise he came from in Seattle.
“I came from an organization that has a similar knack for hard work and a knack for greatness,” Woolen continued. “This city here, y’all have a long line of athletes who’ve made history here, and same thing for Seattle. It all comes from working hard and working as a team. Philly was one of those teams that works hard in a championship caliber.”
Despite leaving in free agency, Woolen exited Seattle on good terms, and letting him walk was more financially motivated than anything.
Couldn’t Afford Him
The Seahawks lost several impact players in free agency, from Coby Bryant to Kenneth Walker III to Boye Mafe and Riq Woolen. The downside of having such a great team is you can’t afford to pay everyone, and the Seahawks felt that this season.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald explained that the decision not to re-sign Woolen was a financial decision above all else.
“We didn’t let him go,” Macdonald said to The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar at the NFL’s annual league meetings back in March.
“[The Eagles are] getting a great player,” Macdonald continued. “We love Riq. He’s a great player.”
With only so much money to be spread around, John Schneider and the Seahawks had to make tough decisions, and at the time, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon extensions on the horizon, Woolen was an odd man out in 2026 for the Seahawks.
Now, though, Woolen has a fresh start in Philadelphia and helps complete one of the best secondaries in the NFL alongside first-team All-Pros Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean.
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