RENTON, Wash. — During his annual news conference ahead of the season opener, general manager John Schneider was asked whether his offensive and defensive lines are in good enough shape to get the Seattle Seahawks to their ultimate goal, which he and coach Mike Macdonald have stated is a championship.
Schneider stammered through his initial response, but not because he doesn’t like the talent in those units. He does. However, he doesn’t like to speak in absolutes this time of year because roster construction is an ongoing exercise. Schneider recalled that before each season, late team owner Paul Allen used to ask, “How many games are we going to win?” Schneider couldn’t ever give him a definitive answer.
Regarding the current makeup of Seattle’s trenches, Schneider eventually settled on a reply: “I’m excited for both sides of the ball. I think they’re doing a really nice job so far.”
The Seahawks finalized their initial 53-man roster Tuesday, and if they are going to make any noise this year, the answer to that question must be a resounding “yes.” Schneider knows this, which is why he answered in the affirmative when asked “how paramount” those two units are to Seattle’s entire season.
“It’s huge,” Schneider said. “That’ll be continuing throughout the year.”
While watching practice Wednesday, Schneider said, he admired how players in those two position groups coached each other up between reps. He applauded the leadership of defensive tackle Leonard Williams and outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu and reserved a special shoutout for the team’s longest-tenured player, defensive tackle Jarran Reed, whose leadership is a “huge, huge piece of what we’ve got going.”
The front lines are not all that matters when assessing Seattle’s roster ahead of the start of the season, but they are by far the most important. Everything offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak wants to do with this new scheme, and everything Macdonald wants to do defensively, is contingent on both sides being not just good but dominant up front. There’s reason to believe the defensive line will be just that. The question, as is often the case in Seattle, is whether the offensive line will dictate terms on its side of the ball.
On Wednesday, Schneider was asked which position group he feels better about now than he did this time last year.
“It has to be the offensive line,” Schneider said. “But it has to be more the unit and the cohesiveness of the group than guys individually.”
Seattle placed guard Christian Haynes on injured reserve with a pec injury, traded tackle Michael Jerrell to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2027 and waived guard Sataoa Laumea before re-signing him to the practice squad Wednesday. This means Seattle doesn’t currently have any of its 2024 offensive line draftees on the active roster. Haynes might be a backup at best when he’s healthy enough to play. Jerrell and Laumea cracked the starting lineup last year, with mixed results.
Those linemen were acquired the same offseason in which Seattle signed offensive tackle George Fant (two years, $9.1 million), center Nick Harris (one year, $2.3 million), guard Laken Tomlinson (one year, $1.2 million), guard Tremayne Anchrum Jr. (one year, $1.1 million) and center Connor Williams (one year, $4 million).
Of all the offensive line investments made in 2024, the last man standing is Jalen Sundell, who was signed in July 2024 as a rookie free agent. Sundell will be Seattle’s seventh different Week 1 starting center in as many seasons (Kyle Fuller and Ethan Pocic split the job in Week 1 of 2021).
Those unsuccessful moves one year ago are among the reasons Schneider spent most of the offseason fielding questions about the offensive line. His only notable free-agent move was a one-year, $4 million deal for swing tackle Josh Jones. Schneider then used a first-round pick on left guard Grey Zabel, a sixth-round pick on guard Bryce Cabeldue and a seventh-round pick on tackle Mason Richman. All four made the team, and Zabel will be in the starting lineup.
Seattle will likely start the season against San Francisco with an offensive line featuring Sundell, his former North Dakota State teammate Zabel, right tackle Abe Lucas, left tackle Charles Cross and right guard Anthony Bradford, who’s playing his best ball after a rocky start to his career. Schneider said when he watches the Seahawks play live, he focuses on the defensive and offensive lines. Assuming the D-line picks up where it left off last year, what the offensive line shows Schneider and everyone else on game days will shape the direction of Seattle’s season.
“We like it. There’s an attitude they can have in this scheme where they can come off the ball and feel confident about themselves,” Schneider said of his starting offensive line. “They’re spending a lot of time together. You’ve seen a lot of growth within the group; there’s camaraderie that’s starting to come together. That’s the whole team, not just the offensive line, but that group is the group you like to see spend a lot of time together because they have to work as one.”
Here are other notes and takeaways from Schneider’s news conference:
Kendrick claimed, Griffin waived
Seattle used a waiver claim on cornerback Derion Kendrick, who was cut by the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday. A 2022 sixth-round pick, Kendrick has appeared in 32 regular-season games and made 18 starts before missing all of 2024 with a torn ACL. Most of his defensive snaps have come as an outside cornerback, but he can also play in the slot, which is where Seattle might need depth behind Devon Witherspoon.
Shaquill Griffin was waived to make room for Kendrick, who turned 25 on Sunday. Rookie defensive back Nick Emmanwori can play nickel, but Seattle likes to deploy him against heavier personnel on early downs. Seattle needs a backup nickel who can hold up against wideouts in three-receiver sets.
“He’s a competitor,” Schneider said of Kendrick. “Really nice mover. Really good ball skills. Came back from his ACL strong. We thought he had a very nice preseason.”
As for a potential reunion with Griffin, Schneider said: “He’ll stick around for sure. We love Shaq.” It’s unclear whether that will be on the practice squad or the active roster.
Schneider declined to comment on an NFL Network report that the Seahawks plan to sign linebacker Chazz Surratt. The report cited Surratt’s agency. Schneider said the team will “continue to be working” on acquiring inside linebackers, though he added that Drake Thomas and Patrick O’Connell had “really nice” preseasons and “really carried the defense.”
Signing Surratt, a 2021 third-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings who was recently released by the San Francisco 49ers, would require clearing a spot on the 53-man roster.
Initial practice squad set
Seattle signed 17 players to the practice squad Wednesday. All of them were with the Seahawks in training camp.
DT Quinton Bohanna
WR Tyrone Broden
DT Anthony Campbell
DE Jalan Gaines
CB Shemar Jean-Charles
OT Amari Kight
G Sataoa Laumea
C Federico Maranges (International Player Pathway exemption)
RB Damien Martinez
LB Patrick O’Connell
DT Brandon Pili
S Jerrick Reed II
LB Jamie Sheriff
DT J.R. Singleton
RB Anthony Tyus III
WR Ricky White III
RB Jacardia Wright
Bohanna and Pili give the Seahawks much-needed depth at nose tackle behind Reed and Byron Murphy II. Williams can play there as well, but Seattle is better off with heavier backups like Bohanna (listed at 355 pounds) and Pili (334 pounds).
2022 draft class extensions
Seattle has seven of its nine draftees from the 2022 class on its active roster. Everyone except Cross is on an expiring contract (Cross had his fifth-year option picked up and is under contract through 2026).
Cross, Lucas, Riq Woolen and Boye Mafe all play positions where the annual average of a new contract could be at least $20 million, depending on how the season goes. The safety market isn’t as robust, but a good year from Coby Bryant could earn him an eight-figure annual salary.
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