By Bob Condotta / The Seattle Times
We’re approaching the finish of our Seahawks roster countdown, with camp set to begin Wednesday, as we’re now down to the top third of the roster. In this installment, we’ll review players 30-21 on our list.
30. Linebacker/edge Derick Hall
Potential role in 2023: Regular in the pass rush/outside linebacker rotation.
Why he’s ranked here: Expectations are high for Hall, a second-round pick out of Auburn. He enters camp as a backup to the veteran starting edge-rush tandem of Uchenna Nwosu and Darrell Taylor. If he shows he’s ready, pencil him in for a significant role in the rotation.
29. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks
Potential role in 2023: Starting middle linebacker when healthy.
Why he’s ranked here: Brooks would rank a lot higher on this list if he were not coming off an ACL injury suffered Jan. 1 against the Jets. The usual timeline for such an injury makes it questionable if he will be ready for the season. And with Seattle signing Bobby Wagner, the Seahawks can be as patient as they want with Brooks. Still, this is a big year for Brooks as he enters the final season of his four-year rookie deal. Once he returns, he’s going to want to show the Seahawks — or some other team — he’s worthy of a big deal in the offseason. How Seattle will use Brooks with Wagner and Devin Bush once he becomes healthy is also an interesting question. But first, Brooks has to get back on the field.
28. Nose tackle Cameron Young
Potential role in 2023: Starting nose tackle.
Why he’s ranked here: The fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State ended the offseason program as the No. 1 nose tackle, with Bryan Mone still rehabbing and injuries also limiting other possible candidates. He may not end up as the starter, depending on what else happens. But he seems sure to have a significant role regardless.
27. Cornerback Tre Brown
Potential role in 2023: Starting left cornerback, or backup.
Why he’s ranked here: Brown, a fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma, is one of the more intriguing stories of camp. He looked like a future star when he emerged as a starter midway through his rookie season before suffering a patellar tendon injury. He seemed to still be shaking off the rust when he returned last season. But he looked fully healthy in the spring, and with Tariq Woolen out, he got ample work with the starting defense at corner. Woolen will return to the right side once healthy, leaving Brown, Michael Jackson and maybe Devon Witherspoon (if he’s not at the nickel) to battle for the left. If Brown can return to his 2021 form, he’ll be hard to keep off the field.
26. Linebacker Devin Bush
Potential role in 2023: Starting weakside linebacker.
Why he’s ranked here: Seattle signed the former Steelers first-round pick to a one-year deal to essentially replace Cody Barton, who signed with Washington. The Seahawks are particularly enamored with Bush’s run-stopping ability, something that was an obvious issue for the defense a year ago. If Jordyn Brooks isn’t ready for the start of the season, Bush will team with Bobby Wagner as the starting inside linebackers in the 3-4 base defense.
25. Right guard Phil Haynes
Potential role in 2023: Starting right guard.
Why he’s ranked here: Haynes will have to hold off fourth-round pick Anthony Bradford out of Louisiana State to keep the right guard job. But entering camp, it is his to lose after he signed a one-year deal worth up to $4 million, which makes him tied for the 12th-highest salary cap hit on the team. The deal included $3.4 million fully guaranteed.
24. Cornerback Michael Jackson
Potential role in 2023: Starting left cornerback or key backup.
Why he’s ranked here: With Woolen out in the spring, Jackson — the starter at left cornerback last season — worked consistently as the starter at both left and right cornerback in the spring. And with Seattle using first-round pick Devon Witherspoon some at the nickel late in the spring, the team seemed to be toying with a cornerback starting trio of Woolen, Jackson and Witherspoon. That’s a heady climb for Jackson, who, at this time a year ago, was not guaranteed a spot on the roster and is making only $940,000 this year. Whether Jackson can hold on to a starting spot will be one of the intriguing stories of camp.
23. Kicker Jason Myers
Potential role in 2023: Starting kicker.
Why he’s ranked here: Myers, 32, has four years remaining on a contract extension signed a year ago, and he proved worth that deal last season when he was named to the Pro Bowl after leading the NFL with 143 points and tying a team record with 34 field goals while missing only three. But, such is life in the NFL that Myers has no more guaranteed money after this season, with his $3.635 million base salary for 2024 becoming fully guaranteed next Feb. 10. In other words, while his contract runs through 2026, he’ll be kicking for his job every year the rest of the way.
22. Defensive end Darrell Taylor
Potential role in 2023: Starting rush end/outside linebacker.
Why he’s ranked here: Taylor had a somewhat erratic but also ultimately productive 2022 season, essentially his second in the league after missing all of 2020 due to injury, tying Uchenna Nwosu for the team lead in sacks with 9.5. He got 6.5 of those in the final six games after enduring a stretch in midseason when he battled injuries and inconsistency and saw his playing time decreased, before he came on to record 4.5 sacks in the final three games. Seattle hopes that late-season surge foreshadows a full season of consistent production this year.
21. Safety Julian Love
Potential role in 2023: Starting strong safety and/or a regular presence in defensive specialty packages.
Why he’s ranked here: Seattle’s somewhat surprising signing of Love to a two-year deal worth up to $12 million was in part a hedge on the health of Jamal Adams — if Adams isn’t ready for the season, Love will pair with Quandre Diggs as the starting safeties. But Seattle just likes a lot of what Love brings, and even with Adams healthy, the team will find ways to get him on the field in three-safety sets (in which Adams would likely essentially play a linebacker role). Love’s contract includes a $5 million non-guaranteed salary for next season. Diggs and Adams also have no guaranteed money beyond this year. So, Seattle will have options and flexibility on how it wants to go with its safety group after this season. For 2023, though, expect Love, who started 16 games for the Giants last season, to find his way on the field regularly, one way or another.
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