Saturday was the deadline for teams to trim their rosters from 75 to 53 players. The Seattle Seahawks cut 23 players Saturday, while trading for one more. Here are the cuts:
Terminated Veteran Contract:
CB Will Blackmon
TE Anthony McCoy
Waived:
LB Tyrell Adams
TE RaShaun Allen
QB R.J. Archer
DE Obum Gwacham
S Keenan Lambert
DT T.Y. McGill
CB Douglas McNeil III
S Ronald Martin Jr.
G/C Will Pericak
LB Eric Pinkins
T Terry Poole
LB Alex Singleton
WR Kevin Smith
RB Rod Smith
DE Julius Warmsley
WR Kasen Williams
Placed on Injured Reserve:
CB Mohammed Seisay
RB Robert Turbin
Placed on Reserve/Non-Football Illness:
DT Jesse Williams
The player the Seahawks added Saturday was safety Kelcie McCray, acquired from Kansas City in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick believed to be a fifth rounder. McCray, in his fourth season after being an undrafted free agent out of Arkansas State, weighs in at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds. He appeared in all 16 games for the Chiefs last season, though he’s never made an NFL start. His acquisition addresses Seattle’s depth issues at safety, particularly with Kam Chancellor continuing his holdout.
Among the notable names on the cut list:
RB Robert Turbin. Turbin, a fourth-round pick in the 2012 draft, has been Seattle’s primary back-up ball carrier the past three seasons. However, he suffered a sprained ankle in Seattle’s third preseason game and reportedly will miss about five weeks, and with the rumored signing of former Buffalo tailback Fred Jackson someone had to make way. By being placed on IR he will be unable to play for the Seahawks this season.
CB Will Blackmon: Blackmon, an eight-year veteran who played with Jacksonville last season, was signed as a free agent in the offseason to help cover for the departure of Byron Maxwell and the injury to Jeremy Lane. In the preseason Blackmon had been Seattle’s nickel back.
CB Mohammed Seisay: The Seahawks invested resources in Seisay, sending a sixth-round draft pick to Detroit to acquire him during the offseason. Seisay had a rough day in Seattle’s final preseason game, culminating with a dislocated shoulder in the game’s final minute. He’s also done for the season.
DT Jesse Williams: Williams was the feel-good story of Seahawks training camp, as the 2013 fifth-round draft pick was attempting to come back just three months after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous kidney. Being placed on the Non-Football Illness list gives Williams and the team more time to work with.
WRs Kevin Smith and Kasen Williams: The University of Washington products both impressed during training camp and the preseason, with Smith standing out in the return game and Williams making some nice catches. However, they were always fighting the numbers game, particularly with returning receivers Ricardo Lockette and Chris Matthews regulars on special teams. Both Smith and Williams are candidates for the practice squad.
T Terry Poole, DE Obum Gwacham, S Ryan Murphy: Seattle selected eight players in this April’s draft. Three of those didn’t even make it to the start of the season as Poole (fourth round), Gwacham (sixth round) and Murphy (seventh round) were all cut. Those three are also practice squad candidates.
While these were all notable names, the only ones who were much in the way of surprises were Turbin and Blackmon, and Seattle retained Turbin’s rights.
The most notable name to make the team was running back Thomas Rawls. Rawls was a longshot through most of camp, but he had an excellent preseason, culminating in an 11-carry, 87-yard performance in Seattle’s preseason finale Thursday against Oakland. Putting Turbin on injured reserve left a place for Rawls. We’ll see if Rawls survives the signing of Jackson.
Being cut today doesn’t necessarily mean these players are done with the Seahawks for good. Teams will put together their 10-man practice squads Sunday. Cut players who qualify for the practice squad (basically non-veterans) and are not signed to the 53-man squad by another team are eligible to be signed to Seattle’s practice squad.
So here’s Seattle’s 53-man roster as it currently stands:
OFFENSE
Quarterback: Russell Wilson, Tavaris Jackson.
Running back: Marshawn Lynch, Christine Michael, Thomas Rawls.
Fullback: Derrick Coleman, Will Tukuafu.
Wide receiver: Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Tyler Lockett, Ricardo Lockette, Chris Matthews, B.J. Daniels.
Tight end: Jimmy Graham, Luke Willson, Cooper Helfet.
Offensive line: Russell Okung, Justin Britt, Drew Nowak, J.R. Sweezy, Garry Gilliam, Alvin Bailey, Patrick Lewis, Mark Glowinski, Kristjan Sokoli.
DEFENSE
Defensive end: Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Frank Clark, Cassius Marsh, Demarcus Dobbs.
Defensive tackle: Brandon Mebane, Ahtyba Rubin, Jordan Hill, David King.
Linebacker: Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Bruce Irvin, Mike Morgan, Brock Coyle, Kevin Pierre-Lewis.
Cornerback: Richard Sherman, Cary Williams, Marcus Burley, Tharold Simon, DeShawn Shead, Tye Smith.
Safety: Earl Thomas, Dion Bailey, Steven Terrell, Kelcie McCray.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker: Steven Hauschka.
Punter: Jon Ryan.
Long snapper: Clint Gresham.
Three players are on Seattle’s roster, but don’t count against the 53-man roster. Receiver Paul Richardson and cornerback Jeremy Lane are on the physically-unable-to-perform list and are ineligible too practice or play until after Week 6. Safety Kam Chancellor is exempt during his holdout.
This list also doesn’t include running back Fred Jackson, who reportedly has agreed to a deal with Seattle. Once that deal becomes official the Seahawks will have to make room on the 53-man roster, so everyone isn’t safe yet.
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