{"id":662903,"date":"2026-05-24T20:45:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T20:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/662903\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T20:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T20:45:09","slug":"a-seattle-seahawks-53-man-roster-projection-pre-otas-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/662903\/","title":{"rendered":"A Seattle Seahawks 53-man roster projection: Pre-OTAs edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Seattle Seahawks begin their voluntary Organized Team Activities (OTAs) next Tuesday, bringing us another step closer to a new NFL season. With Seattle retaining so many players from its Super Bowl championship season, then adding more talent through the draft<\/a>, this is going to be an extraordinarily difficult process to get from 90 to 53 by the end of August.<\/p>\n

This is our first crack at a 53-man roster projection. More information gathered through camp reports, roster transactions, and preseason performances will change projections in the weeks and months to come.<\/p>\n

Quarterback (3): Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Jalen Milroe <\/p>\n

Notes: The only thing of interest I see is whether or not Jalen Milroe shows serious enough improvements during camp and preseason for the Seahawks to slot him in as QB2 and field any trade calls for Lock, who is in the final year of his contract. Otherwise, they might as well keep this set-up.<\/p>\n

Running Back (3): Jadarian Price (R), Emanuel Wilson, George Holani<\/p>\n

Cut: Jacardia Wright, Kenny McIntosh<\/p>\n

Notes: Unless his knee is really messed up, Zach Charbonnet will play at some point this season. I don\u2019t think that means Seattle needs to roster four running backs. Jadarian Price, Emanuel Wilson, and George Holani can split the carries however the coaching staff sees fit, and the odds of a fourth back getting touches is minimal. If there\u2019s a need for a fourth back, then one of Jacardia Wright or Kenny Mac can get called up from the practice squad. Unfortunately, while McIntosh has been promising, two serious knee injuries in three years has me fearing the worst for his chances to make the roster.<\/p>\n

Fullback (2): Robbie Ouzts, Brady Russell<\/p>\n

Notes: Russell is pretty much a fullback\/tight end hybrid who\u2019s real job is to be a special teams demon. Ouzts is a TBD until we figure out the deal with his neck, which led to him missing the NFC Championship and Super Bowl. He did get married recently, so he technically has two rings this year.<\/p>\n

Wide Receiver (5): Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed, Tory Horton, Jake Bobo<\/p>\n

Cut: Emmanuel Henderson Jr (R), Cody White, Ricky White III, Velus Jones Jr, Rashad Rochelle, Trayvon Rudolph, Levi Wentz, Montorie Foster<\/p>\n

Notes: This is a bit tougher than expected. I can see the case for Seattle keeping a sixth receiver for special teams reasons, which is the main reason they took Emmanuel Henderson Jr. There\u2019s also no requirement for a receiver to be one of the main gunners. As long as Tory Horton is able to go for training camp, I think the top five receivers are already set and there\u2019s just not going to be room for a sixth. This might be a position where the \u201cready squad\u201d is well stocked.<\/p>\n

Tight End (4): A.J. Barner, Elijah Arroyo, Eric Saubert, Nick Kallerup<\/p>\n

Cut: Harrison Bryant, Lance Mason<\/p>\n

Notes: The fact that Seattle didn\u2019t want to expose Kallerup to waivers last year tells me they see something in him for the long term. Saubert\u2019s contract extension isn\u2019t nothing, and if Seattle wants to get younger and save almost $2 million in cap space then it can be done<\/a>. I say don\u2019t mess with the quartet that worked last year.<\/p>\n

Offensive Line (9): Charles Cross, Abe Lucas, Josh Jones, Anthony Bradford, Olu Oluwatimi, Jalen Sundell, Grey Zabel, Bryce Cabeldue, Beau Stephens (R)<\/p>\n

Cut: Federico Maranges, Mason Richman, Amari Kight, Logan Brown, Christian Haynes<\/p>\n

Notes: I think there is a real possibility Oluwatimi is a trade target should Seattle want to acquire a player before the start of the season. Otherwise he\u2019ll just ride out his rookie deal is a backup center behind Sundell. I think Haynes is as good as gone and the Stephens pick seals his fate. Mason Richman might be the odd man out among the young OL and he ends up as a practice squad candidate.<\/p>\n

Defensive Line (5): Byron Murphy II, Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Rylie Mills, Deven Eastern (R) <\/p>\n

Cut: J.R. Singleton, Mike Morris, Bubba Thomas, Brandon Pili, Uso Seumalo<\/p>\n

Notes: Mills will be one to watch in training camp and preseason now that he\u2019ll have a healthy offseason under his belt. I think Eastern is the big space-eating nose who can do the dirty work in Macdonald\u2019s defense. Morris is the notable name who gets let go in the final year of his contract. Pili returns to the PS again.<\/p>\n

Outside Linebacker (5): Derick Hall, Uchenna Nwosu, Dante Fowler Jr, DeMarcus Lawrence, Aidan Hubbard (R)<\/p>\n

Cut: Jared Ivey, Connor O\u2019Toole, Marvin Jones Jr, Jamie Sheriff, Jalan Gaines<\/p>\n

Notes: Hubbard is my lone UDFA to crack the roster. He had the traits and productions to be drafted, which makes him a steal to me for the Seahawks. Ivey and O\u2019Toole stayed on the 53 all of last season, but the additions of Hubbard and Jones Jr as UDFAs put them both under pressure to perform. I know Mike Macdonald has talked about Jamie Sheriff doing some off-ball work, but he said that last year and it didn\u2019t actually happen. I\u2019ll believe it when I see it.<\/p>\n

Inside Linebacker (4): Ernest Jones IV, Drake Thomas, Tyrice Knight, Chris Paul Jr<\/p>\n

Cut: Chazz Surratt, Patrick O\u2019Connell, Ja\u2019Markis Weston<\/p>\n

Notes: Don\u2019t forget about \u2018Pooh\u2019 Paul! It was curious when the Rams let him go, and the Seahawks made sure to swoop in and get him on the practice squad. Surratt was a cheap FA re-sign limited to special teams, while O\u2019Connell is a perennial \u201cready squad\u201d guy. I think Paul makes it as the fourth ILB.<\/p>\n

Cornerback (5): Devon Witherspoon, Josh Jobe, Nehemiah Pritchett, Julian Neal (R), Andre Fuller (R)<\/p>\n

Cut: Shemar Jean-Charles, Noah Igbinoghene, Michael Dansby, Tyrone Broden<\/p>\n

Notes: Witherspoon and Jobe are locks, so we don\u2019t have to even talk about them. Neal is as close to a lock as you can get because third-rounders almost never get cut as rookies. Pritchett, Fuller, Igbinoghene, and Dansby I believe are four guys competing for two spots. Pritchett should have the inside track for one spot, and I\u2019m really high on Fuller as someone who could contribute as soon as this season. Igbinoghene was a hedge signing based on what they would be able to do in the draft, and I see him being the free agent acquisition they let go (much like Marquez Valdes-Scantling in 2025).<\/p>\n

Safety (5): Julian Love, Ty Okada, Nick Emmanwori, Bud Clark (R), Rodney Thomas II<\/p>\n

Cut: Maxen Hook, D\u2019Anthony Bell, A. J. Finley<\/p>\n

Notes: Realistically, the only thing to debate here is whether or not Seattle keeps a fifth safety\u2014Emmanwori is officially a safety so we\u2019ll keep him there. Thomas looks like a good depth signing with vast special teams experience, which likely makes Bell redundant.<\/p>\n

Punter (1): Michael Dickson<\/p>\n

Long Snapper (1): Chris Stoll<\/p>\n

Notes: No reason to believe anything changes with this special teams trio.<\/p>\n

Damn this is tougher than I expected. I\u2019m not sure it actually gets all that much easier as the months progress. It\u2019s one of those good problems to have if you\u2019re the Seahawks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Seattle Seahawks begin their voluntary Organized Team Activities (OTAs) next Tuesday, bringing us another step closer to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":662904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,50640,24284,99],"class_list":["post-662903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-seattle-seahawks-analysis-and-opinion","tag-seattle-seahawks-roster","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}