Post-preseason Seahawks 53-man roster projection

Preseason has come and gone for the Seattle Seahawks, and now the clock starts on roster cuts. More than three dozen players will get the dreaded call from now until Tuesday afternoon, and we know that Tuesday is just the deadline to get to 53. There will be more shuffling and tweaking and arranging to come before Seattle’s Week 1 roster is set, so an initial 53 shouldn’t be taken as the same group you’ll see by the time the Seahawks play the San Francisco 49ers.

Here’s my penultimate Seahawks 53-man

roster projection. There will be another one live streamed at 7:30 pm PT on The Hawk’s Eye podcast with Bryce Coutts, so you can tune in for that.

Offense (26)

Quarterback (3): Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Jalen Milroe (R)

Cut: N/A

Notes: Same story as it’s been all offseason.

Running Back (3): Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, George Holani

Cut: Anthony Tyus, Jacardia Wright, Damien Martinez

Notes: “They need to keep a fourth running back because of injuries” is a common refrain. I get it, but this is a position filled with replacement-level guys that you can find on the waiver wire or on the practice squad. Holani sitting out the final game tells me the RB3 competition is over, and RB4 either doesn’t exist or it’s down to Martinez and Wright. I lean towards Seattle keeping three backs and elevating a fourth when needed.

Fullback (1): Robbie Ouzts (R)

Cut: Wesley Steiner

Notes: N/A

Wide Receiver (6): Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Tory Horton (R), Jake Bobo, Dareke Young, Cody White

Cut: Ricky White III, Steven Sims, Tyrone Broden, John Rhys Plumlee

Cut or traded: Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Notes: Cody White sneaks in at the buzzer but I’d say any sixth receiver on this team is in a tenuous spot. MVS may have been thrown a lifeline via Jake Bobo’s concussion, otherwise the fact that he played the first half of a third preseason game with third-stringers looks ominous as can be. If he makes the team I think he ends up being more Braylon Edwards or Brandon Marshall than Marquise Goodwin. As for Cody White: he is a special teams returner option and ideally he’s higher on the depth chart for that job than Bobo moving forward. Steven Sims can just be stashed on the practice squad.

Tight End (4): Elijah Arroyo (R), A.J. Barner, Eric Saubert, Brady Russell

Cut: Marshall Lang, Nick Kallerup

Notes: There might be a chance Saubert is cut and then re-signed since he’s a vested veteran and isn’t subject to waivers. Otherwise I don’t think there’s much debate there.

Offensive Line (9): Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Josh Jones, Anthony Bradford, Olu Oluwatimi, Jalen Sundell, Grey Zabel (R), Michael Jerrell, a TBD player (perhaps Dalton Risner)

Cut: Federico Maranges, Amari Kight, Luke Felix-Fualalo, Bryce Cabeldue, Sataoa Laumea, Mason Richman

Placed on IR: Christian Haynes

Notes: Maybe my confidence was a little bit over-shaken in the Packers game, but that was a bad showing by the bottom-end of the depth chart. I’d be stunned if Laumea made the roster, while Cabeldue and Richman could be practice squad stashed. Jerrell didn’t play well against the Packers but he’d be at least a third-string tackle option behind Josh Jones on either side of the OL. We’ll see if Christian Haynes’ pec injury impacts his roster status and whether he’s an IR (designated to return) candidate, in which case I think that scheduled Dalton Risner meeting turns into a signing and you have a backup LG or RG. Absent a veteran addition, Richman gets in over Cabeldue since he can play across the line.

Defense (24)

Defensive Line (6): Byron Murphy II, Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, DeMarcus Lawrence, Mike Morris, Brandon Pili

Cut: J.R. Singleton, Quinton Bohanna, Bubba Thomas, Anthony Campbell

Injured list: Rylie Mills (R), Johnathan Hankins

Notes: Pili not playing against the Packers makes him a roster lock to me. Would the Seahawks keep a second true nose tackle on the active roster? I don’t think so, especially when Pili wouldn’t likely get a significant workload in the regular season. That’s my reasoning for Quinton Bohanna’s exclusion. Rylie Mills and Johnathan Hankins will start the year missing at least the first four games of the regular season.

Outside Linebacker (4): Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, Uchenna Nwosu, Jared Ivey (R, UDFA)

Cut: Seth Coleman, Jalan Gaines, Connor O’Toole, Tyreke Smith

Notes: I believe Ivey has done enough to make the roster, although I believe his outside linebacker/EDGE designation will go away. Nwosu still hasn’t actually come off PUP yet but I assume that will happen. I don’t totally rule out Seattle adding a veteran pass rusher after cutdown day if Nwosu’s health is still a concern.

Inside Linebacker (4): Ernest Jones IV, Tyrice Knight, Drake Thomas, Patrick O’Connell

Cut: Jamie Sheriff, D’Eryk Jackson, Josh Ross

Notes: O’Connell’s performance against the Packers only solidified his spot on the team. I think Thomas is in good shape to stay on board, and Jones and Knight are the starters.

Cornerback (5): Riq Woolen, Devon Witherspoon, Josh Jobe, Shaquill Griffin, Nehemiah Pritchett

Cut: Shemar Jean-Charles, Tyler Hall, Isas Waxter, Keydrain Calligan, Damarion Williams

Notes: Griffin evidently had a better joint scrimmage than his preseason game, so I’ll acknowledge that in keeping him on the team. The fringe roster players outside of Williams failed to inspire in terms of roster selection.

Safety (5): Julian Love, Coby Bryant, D’Anthony Bell, Ty Okada, Nick Emmanwori (R)

Cut: Jerrick Reed II

Notes: I thought about the possibility Seattle lets go of Bell, whom I’ve been high on throughout camp and the exhibitions. Okada has been a preseason standout for two straight seasons and may have the upper hand through being in Mike Macdonald’s defense a year longer than Bell. Does it seem like overkill for the Seahawks to keep five safeties and thus 10 defensive backs? Maybe, but Macdonald strikes me as someone who loves doing diabolical things to opposing offenses with defensive backs. Okada and/or Bell would most likely be in line to get let go when Seattle needs to make room for someone on the 53, so keep that in mind.