Seahawks general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll have some difficult decisions to make during the next 24 hours.
By tomorrow afternoon NFL teams have to trim their rosters from 80 to 53 players for the regular season, which means 27 guys will be getting pink slips soon. Yesterday, we shared our initial 53-man roster projection. Now, let’s take a look at some of the toughest cuts to get there.
RB Rashaad Penny
Sometimes the hardest thing in life is to admit you made a mistake. It’s time for Seattle’s front office to admit that drafting Rashaad Penny in the first round was one of them. Penny has shined occasionally during his time on the field, but he’s either been unavailable due to injury or unimpressive far too often – a trend that continued this preseason. The truth is several other running backs are simply more deserving of a roster spot.
OT Jamarco Jones
Offensive line depth is nothing to mess with, which always makes these cuts somewhat tricky. Specifically, the Seahawks need all the help at left tackle that they can get since Duane Brown is holding in and Stone Forsythe clearly needs more time to develop. That said, Jamarco Jones just doesn’t look like a capable backup right now. Odds are they can find a better LT2 after cutdowns are complete.
G Phil Haynes
This might be the toughest potential cut of them all. Seattle has a solid pair of starting guards in Gabe Jackson and Damien Lewis. However, the padding underneath them is rather thin. Haynes has played well at multiple spots, but somebody has to be the odd man out.
LB Aaron Donker
There was some concern about linebacker falling off following K.J. Wright’s exit. However, this preseason has shown the Seahawks are rich at this position, with multiple quality backups inside and outside. That makes it tough for linebackers on the bubble. Donker’s relative inexperience (he’s only been playing football five years) could be a deciding factor.
FS Aashari Crosswell
This one stings. Based on the fine work the fine work the undrafted rookie has done this preseason and flashed during training camp, Croswell certainly deserves a spot on this team. Trouble is, it’s hard to pick whose spot he might take. Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, Marquise Blair, Ugo Amadi and Ryan Neal aren’t going anywhere. Hopefully there will be a spot for Crosswell on the practice squad.
