Seahawks 53-man roster projection for 2023 season
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 26: Jake Bobo #19 of the Seattle Seahawks catches a pass for a touchdown in front of Innis Gaines #38 of the Green Bay Packers during the second quarter of a preseason game at Lambeau Field on August 26, 2023 in Green Ba
The preseason is now over and the Seattle Seahawks will have to cut their roster from 90 players to just 53 ahead of Tuesday's 1 p.m. deadline.
Saturday's preseason finale against the Green Bay Packers didn't seem to shift the thinking on the roster significantly outside of a few possible injury concerns. But with two weeks until the regular season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, there will be time to get any small nicks and bruises squared away.
This is our attempt to guess what the Seahawks roster will look like after cuts are made after watching the last month of preseason practices and games.
Some things to note off the top:
-- There is no way to reasonably forecast any trades that could occur. So for this projection, we aren't including any guesses on that front.
-- The roster will be far from final. Teams can make waiver claims the day after players are released to add players released by other teams. A player added via waivers means another player must go to create room. Additionally, players initially kept on the active roster could be moved to injured reserve, which would create another opening to then refill. Then once those initial moves are made, another round of claims and cuts can occur.
-- Injuries to linebacker Devin Bush (concussion), safety Joey Blount (shoulder) and outside linebacker Derick Hall (shoulder) from the final preseason game could factor into the decisions made on the roster. Head coach Pete Carroll didn’t indicate any of the three were particularly serious, so we’re not going to assume they’re significant enough to alter roster construction.
So with all that being said, here's our projection:
Seahawks projected roster:
QB (2): Geno Smith, Drew Lock.
Smith is the starter. Lock is the backup. The return of the third quarterback rule does increase the incentive to keep an extra quarterback on the roster in case they become needed in a game. However, it would be a surprise to see the team keep Holton Ahlers for that reason.
RB (4): Ken Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, DeeJay Dallas, Kenny McIntosh.
This position has felt very settled for most of training camp. The only question was going to be health. McIntosh is still working back from a sprained knee from the team’s mock game scrimmage in early August. SaRodorick Thompson would be a strong practice squad consideration.
TE (3): Noah Fant, Will Dissly, Colby Parkinson.
Another position that has felt incredibly settled all training camp once Fant came off the physically unable to perform list. Tyler Mabry is a really solid fourth option to have on the practice squad if they can get him through waivers.
WR (6): Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Jake Bobo, Dareke Young, Cade Johnson.
Injuries and suspensions have put this position battle into a blender the last two weeks of camp. Dee Eskridge missing the first six games to suspension for a domestic violence incident is a tremendous lost opportunity for the former second-round pick.
Smith-Njigba could miss the season opener following wrist surgery and Young may need surgery for a core muscle injury as well. The injury to Young could lead him to being placed on injured reserve and being ruled out for the year. For our purposes, we’re going to assume Young is kept on the initial roster before being moved to injured reserve in order to preserve the ability to play at some point this year.
Johnson gets the edge over an injured Cody Thompson (shoulder) and Easop Winston Jr. for the last receiver spot on the initial 53-man group. Bobo has had an outstanding camp and preseason and will be in the receiver rotation for the opener if Smith-Njigba is out.
OL (9): Charles Cross, Damien Lewis, Evan Brown, Phil Haynes, Abe Lucas, Jake Curhan, Olu Oluwatimi, Anthony Bradford, Stone Forsythe.
Brown has pretty clearly seized the starting center job along four starters that have been firmly entrenched all camp. Curhan can backup at guard and right tackle. Oluwatimi will be the backup center. Forsythe gets the last offensive line spot, though Greg Eiland would be a consideration as well.
Edge (5): Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Darrell Taylor, Derick Hall, Tyreke Smith.
This is a group that’s felt pretty settled for a while. Taylor is still working back from a shoulder injury of his own and Hall injured his shoulder in Saturday’s preseason game against the Packers. But beyond the injuries, the group appears set.
DL (6): Dre’Mont Jones, Jarran Reed, Mario Edwards Jr., Myles Adams, Mike Morris, Cameron Young.
This group has seen the most turnover on the roster compared to last year’s team with Adams the only holdover from the team that broke camp last year.
Morris (shoulder) and Young (calf) are both dealing with injuries currently with Morris potentially on a longer recovery timeline after a procedure this week. Jones, Reed and Edwards are set as the three defensive line starters if the team starts in a base 3-4 look on defense. Adams has shown to be effective as a depth guy.
There is still concern about how capable Reed and the nose tackle group will be with depth as the season nears Week 1. It would not be a shock to see the team look to add here via a trade or waiver claim.
LB (6): Bobby Wagner. Jordyn Brooks, Devin Bush, Nick Bellore, Vi Jones, Jon Rhattigan.
Wagner and Brooks are set to be the starters (again) with Brooks apparently tracking to be ready for the start of the season despite being just eight months removed from ACL surgery. Bush will be the primary backup at both spots as long as his concussion from Saturday doesn’t linger. Bellore remains a stalwart special teams piece that can also play fullback.
Jones is still recovering from a high-ankle sprain and doesn’t seem like he’ll be ready to start the year. However, he needs to be on the 53-man roster before being moved to injured reserve to preserve his ability to play this year. So we’re betting the team will do that. Rhattigan can play special teams and backup both positions as well, though he’s been nursing an elbow injury.
CB (5): Riq Woolen, Mike Jackson, Tre Brown, Devon Witherspoon, Coby Bryant.
Woolen will be one starter. Jackson and Brown have been in competition for the starting job on the other side with Witherspoon missing time due to a hamstring strain. Jackson has had an uneven preseason, but has a track record of solid play and had a great start to training camp. Witherspoon will push for playing time either at nickel cornerback or on the outside when he returns. Bryant has the flexibility to play safety now as well as the nickel spot.
Artie Burns has made a strong case for a roster spot too. It would not be any surprise at all to see him on the Week 1 roster. However, he’ll probably be released as he’s a veteran that doesn’t have to go through waivers. That saved roster spot would allow for a Vi Jones or Dareke Young to be moved to injured reserve before re-signing Burns to the roster.
S (4): Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams, Julian Love, Joey Blount.
Diggs and Adams are going to be the starters when Adams is back to full strength. It’s still going to take Adams some time to get back into game shape and he still seems unlikely to be ready for Week 1. Love will play regardless as the team will likely play three safeties together at times. Blount is a solid reserve option and special teams piece.
ST (3): Jason Myers, Michael Dickson, Chris Stoll.
Assuming they don’t make a change before Week 1, the Seahawks will have a rookie long snapper in Stoll. The undrafted rookie takes over for Tyler Ott, who missed all of last season due to injury, and Carson Tinker, who took over for Ott.
PUP (2): Bryan Mone, Austin Faoliu.
Mone and Faoliu are a pair of nose tackle options that could help the team later in the year. They’ll have to miss the first four weeks of the season if they remain on the PUP list.
SUS (1): Dee Eskridge.
Eskridge will be eligible to return to the team on October 23 following the Week 7 game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Notable omissions:
– Safety Jerrick Reed II
Reed was a sixth-round draft pick in this spring’s NFL Draft. The team was extremely high on his potential coming out of New Mexico. However, it hasn’t yet availed itself consistently through practice or the preseason. Would absolutely be a practice squad consideration.
– Safety Jonathan Sutherland
An undrafted rookie out of Penn State that is absolutely a consideration for the roster. However, he is dealing with a groin injury that kept him out this week. Sutherland could easily be on the roster or added back to the group following injured reserve shuffling.
– Wide receiver Cody Thompson
Thompson is a trusted depth option at receiver. The shoulder injury in the second preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys came at a bad time. Absolutely a practice squad option.
– Wide receiver Easop Winston Jr.
Had a really solid preseason and good finale against the Packers on Saturday. With the injury to Thompson, it’s probably a coin flip between Winston and Cade Johnson for the last receiver spot for the start of the year (assuming Dareke Young is unavailable). I also don’t think Winston would get claimed off waivers and would therefore be a practice squad elevation option to still be a part of the Week 1 gameday roster.
– Running back SaRodorick Thompson
Thompson had a really strong camp and preseason for Seattle after joining the team after the start of camp with injuries to Ken Walker III and Zach Charnonnet. The team just doesn’t have the room for five running backs. Thompson would be a very likely practice squad piece.