The Seattle Seahawks made a surprise move on Saturday, releasing veteran wide receiver Jaron Brown. The move was first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and was later confirmed by Brown in a tweet.
Brown was expected to be Seattle’s No. 2 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 in cap space, which helps alleviate the $15.9 million they need to earmark for the newly acquired Jadeveon Clowney.
However, the team already had more than enough room to keep Clowney and stay under the cap, especially after shipping Barkevious Mingo to Houston and cutting Cassius Marsh.
Brown’s exit leaves Seattle with almost no experience at wideout. Outside of Lockett, the rest of the team’s receivers only have 27 combined NFL receptions — 26 by Moore and one by Malik Turner, who is not even a lock to make the roster.
The other candidates to make the 53-man roster include draft picks John Ursua and Gary Jennings, as well as Keenan Reynolds and Terry Wright. Undrafted free agent Jazz Ferguson has already been released, although the team almost certainly will look to bring him back on the practice squad if he goes unclaimed.
Check our live tracker for the most up-to-date look at Seattle’s roster.
