The Seattle Seahawks had the unenviable task of trimming their roster from 90 players all the way down to 53 on Saturday afternoon.
“We’ve invested so much, and these guys have invested so much and it’s a challenging process because we don’t want to let anybody go,” coach Pete Carroll said on Wednesday. “We’d like our team to stay as it is, but we don’t get to do that. What we do recognize though is the guys that have been with us that do have to go on cut day, they’ve made headway into this program. We know who they are, we know what they can do. We know where they fit and how they could help us down the road.”
Most of the moves were expected, as many of the released players were simply roster-fillers, using the preseason as an opportunity to put down some tape for other teams around the league or perhaps the XFL.
However, Carroll and general manager John Schneider are never afraid to mix things up on deadline day and a massive trade for defensive end Jadeveon Clowney certainly altered their roster construction just hours before cuts were due.
Here are the five most surprising roster cuts made by the Seahawks on Saturday afternoon.
Wide Receiver Jaron Brown
Brown was expected to be Seattle’s No. 2 wide receiver this season behind Tyler Lockett. With injuries to David Moore and DK Metcalf, Brown was one of the few healthy receiving options Seattle had, making his release all the more eye-opening.
The move does save Seattle $2.75 million dollars in cap space, which helps alleviate the $15.9 million they need to earmark for Clowney.
However, this move also gives Seattle’s current roster almost no experience catching the football. Outside of Lockett, the rest of the team’s receivers only have 27 combined NFL receptions – 26 by Moore and one by Malik Turner.
This could of course prelude another roster move in the near future.
Quarterback Geno Smith
When news broke the Seahawks cut Paxton Lynch on Friday, it was considered a slam dunk that Geno Smith would be Russell Wilson’s backup quarterback this season.
However, when the rosters cuts were announced on Saturday, the team had also cut Smith along with J.T. Barrett, which gave them just one quarterback – Russell Wilson – on the active roster.
As of now, it is not clear who will be Seattle’s backup quarterback this season. Last year the team allowed Alex McGough and Austin Davis to battle it out all preseason before trading for Brett Hundley at the last minute, so perhaps they have a similar plan in mind this year.
Tight end Jacob Hollister
The Seahawks traded a seventh-round pick in 2020 in order to acquire tight end Jacob Hollister, and for most of training camp, he looked like an absolute steal.
An injury limited him during the preseason, but he did haul in a touchdown reception in the final game against the Raiders.
With Will Dissly’s and Ed Dickson’s health still question marks and George Fant still out, it seemed all but certain that both Hollister and Nick Vannett would make the roster alongside Dissly.
However, the Seahawks chose to release Hollister instead, giving them only two healthy tight ends going into Week 1. This could signal that Dickson is recovering more quickly than projected, or the team just felt that Fant is more than capable of serving as the team’s no. 3 tight end.
Hollister is a very solid bet to end up on the practice squad if he goes unclaimed over the next day.
Defensive end Cassius Marsh
The addition of Clowney is likely what ended the second tenure in a Seahawks uniform for Cassius Marsh, who was released a few hours after the trade was finalized.
Marsh looked solid during the preseason as a situational edge rusher and core special teamer, but the team opted to let him go and kept Branden Jackson instead.
Marsh’s release does save the team some money, and they could look to bring him back after the second week of the season when his contract will go from being guaranteed all season.
Regardless, the team’s decision to let one of their core special teamers go could impact them on Sundays – especially after they already lost Barkevious Mingo as a part of the Clowney trade.
Nickelback Jamar Taylor
The Seahawks had four players competing to be the team’s starting nickelback throughout the summer and the preseason.
Veteran Jamar Taylor often looked like the front-runner and was still considered the most likely Week 1 starter until the Seahawks cut him Saturday afternoon.
The team swung a trade for Jets CB Parry Nickerson before the cuts deadline and it is assumed he will be the primary candidate for that job this season.
Still, while Taylor had his ups and downs for the Seahawks this preseason, it was a bit surprising to see him let go – as his experience playing nickel and outside corner make him a versatile defensive back that would be useful as a backup and core special teamer.
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