DBs Coleman, Blair cut as Seahawks trim roster to 53

By Bob Condotta / The Seattle Times

Tuesday was cutdown day in the NFL with teams having to pare their rosters down to the regular season limit of 53.

Any NFL roster will change many times throughout the season, and this is best-viewed as an initial roster that could change as soon as tomorrow.

The biggest surprise of the day for the Seahawks might have been the release of veteran cornerback Justin Coleman and the waiving of safety Marquise Blair. But Coleman does not have to go through waivers as a vested veteran, and Seattle could re-sign him, a tactic the team has used in years past to bring back vested vets past the initial cutdown date.

Blair, meanwhile, lost out on a roster spot to undrafted rookie free agent Joey Blount, who is the fifth safety.

Quarterback

Keep: Geno Smith, Drew Lock.

Cut: Jacob Eason.

Comment: No surprises here. Seattle cut Eason, and he now will go through waivers. Assuming he clears, he’ll likely be back on the practice squad to serve as a third QB. Seattle typically keeps just two QBs on its active roster and a third on the practice squad.

Running back

Keep: Rashaad Penny, Ken Walker III, Travis Homer, DeeJay Dallas.

Cut: Darwin Thompson, Ron Rivers, Josh Johnson.

Comment: No surprise here, either. Thompson had some good moments in the preseason and could be back on the practice squad. Johnson was officially waived as injured and could revert to Seattle’s IR.

Receiver

Keep: Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Dee Eskridge, Marquise Goodwin, Dareke Young, Penny Hart.

Cut: Bo Melton, Freddie Swain, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Cade Johnson, Aaron Fuller, Kevin Kassis.

Comment: Seattle ultimately decided to keep six receivers and appears to have opted for Hart, one of the team’s best special teamers, over rookie Melton for the final spot. But after the top two, this was a pretty spotty group in the preseason, and it will be no surprise if Seattle scans the waiver wire for additions. Arcega-Whiteside was a second-round pick in 2019, but the writing was on the wall that he hadn’t impressed Seattle in his brief time after being acquired in a trade for Ugo Amadi when he didn’t play against Dallas.

Tight end

Keep: Will Dissly, Noah Fant, Colby Parkinson.

Cut: Tyler Mabry, Cade Brewer.

Comment: No surprises here, either. Seattle will likely try to get one or both of the two cut tight ends back on the practice squad.

Offensive line

Keep: Charles Cross, Abraham Lucas, Stone Forsyth, Jake Curhan, Austin Blythe, Kyle Fuller; Damien Lewis, Gabe Jackson, Phil Haynes.

Cut: Dakoda Shepley, Greg Eiland, Liam Ryan.

Comment: Seattle opted for nine offensive linemen to begin, indicating more strongly that Damien Lewis’ ankle injury is not a big deal, as the team has insisted. All three of the cut OLs could land on the practice squad, especially Shepley, who was the No. 3 center all of camp. Eiland played both guard and tackle, and Seattle could want to keep him around as well.

Defensive line

Keep: Tackles Poona Ford, Al Woods and Bryan Mone; ends Shelby Harris, L.J. Collier, Quinton Jefferson, Myles Adams.

Cut: Jarrod Hewitt.

Comment: Heading into the final game, it was worth wondering if Seattle might have to cut Collier to keep Adams, who was one of the breakout players of camp. Instead, Seattle has both on the roster. Seattle could make another move now to put Collier on injured reserve — he did not play in the preseason due to an elbow injury suffered in the mock game. Since he is on the initial 53-man roster, he would have to sit out only four games. That could open up a spot for Seattle to re-sign Coleman. Regardless, the upshot is that Adams appears ticketed for a spot in the team’s defensive line rotation.

Linebackers

Keep: OLBs Uchenna Nwosu, Darrell Taylor, Boye Mafe, Alton Robinson, Joshua Onujiogu. ILBs Jordyn Brooks, Cody Barton, Nick Bellore.

Cut: Tanner Muse, Vi Jones, Lakiem Williams, Joel Dublanko.

Place on IR: Tyreke Smith.

Comment: One surprise is Seattle keeping Onujiogu, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Division III Framingham (Ma.) State. However, he was one of the standout players of the preseason with eight tackles and a sack, and Seattle is always enamored of edge rushers. He essentially takes the spot on the roster of Smith, a fifth-round pick out of Ohio State who was placed on IR and will miss the season after not playing in the preseason due to issues with both hips. Seattle for now has just three ILBs on the roster. But the Seahawks are surely hoping a few of the cut LBs who play there — Muse, Williams and Dublanko — pass through waivers, return to the PS and could be gameday elevations to add depth. Seattle will likely peruse the waiver wire for ILBs.

Safeties

Keep: Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, Josh Jones, Ryan Neal, Joey Blount.

Cut: Marquise Blair. Deontai Williams. Scott Nelson.

Comment: One surprise at this position was the release of Blair, a second-round pick and 47th overall in 2019, and decision to essentially replace him on the roster as the fifth safety with Blount, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Virginia. Blair was once hailed as a potential long-term fixture in the secondary. But Blair struggled with knee injuries the past two years and during camp was shifted to play almost exclusively at safety as opposed to also playing nickel. Jones emerged as the starter in three-safety sets with Adams and Diggs, and Blair’s release indicates that Neal, who did not play in the preseason with an ankle injury, is close to returning, as the team said recently that he was. Blount had a solid preseason with 12 tackles and got the second-highest grade of any Seattle defensive player from Pro Football Focus.

Cornerbacks

Keep: Artie Burns, Coby Bryant, Sidney Jones IV, Tariq Woolen, Michael Jackson, John Reid.

Cut: Justin Coleman, Jameson Houston.

PUP list: Tre Brown.

Comment: As noted earlier, the team could just re-sign Coleman, who was the starter at nickel throughout camp, later — since he doesn’t have to go through waivers, the team could have an agreement with him that it will bring him back once a roster spot opens up in another manner. Or maybe, rookie Bryant has for now won the job. He was moved there midway through camp and played there almost solely in the final preseason game against Dallas. Reid also is something of a surprise to make it as a sixth cornerback, and maybe Seattle plans to just go with the six it has. Reid has experience playing in the slot in his career, but did not do it much in the preseason — he played only in the finale against Dallas and saw all of his action as an outside corner. Keeping six also is a hedge against some of the injury issues the team had in camp.

Specialists

Keep: PK Jason Myers, P Michael Dickson, LS Tyler Ott.

Comment: There was never any doubt here as the Seahawks never had any other specialists on the roster. Myers, who had a down season a year ago after a sterling 2020, finished the preseason on a high note going 4-for-4 on field goals in the last game against Dallas.