By Bob Condotta / The Seattle Times
While the roster shuffling and team building never really ends in the NFL, the heavy lifting of putting together the 2023 Seattle Seahawks is now done.
Which makes it the perfect time for our first 53-man roster projection of the season.
Yes, it may seem early for that, especially with a team that preaches, “Always Compete.”
Conversely, the moves the Seahawks made in free agency and the draft have appeared to solidify an awful lot of spots throughout the roster — for now, for instance, all 10 draft picks appear to have pretty clear paths to make it.
So let’s review what the 53-man roster could look like and also what could be the tough decisions at each spot:
Quarterback
Keep: Geno Smith, Drew Lock.
The tough decisions: None. Seattle is committed to Smith and Lock as its two QBs this season. Undrafted free agent (UDFA) signee Holton Ahlers of East Carolina projects as the third QB and a likely practice-squad spot for now.
Running back
Keep: Kenneth Walker III, DeeJay Dallas, Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh, Nick Bellore.
The tough decisions: At the moment, none. Walker, Dallas, Charbonnet and McIntosh are the only running backs on the roster who are not UDFA signees and seem locks to be the four on the 53. Bellore also appears a lock as a special-teams fixture and fullback/linebacker depth.
Tight end
Keep: Will Dissly, Noah Fant, Colby Parkinson.
The tough decisions: None here, either, as Seattle entered the draft with a pretty set trio at tight end and did not draft any. Tyler Mabry also is on the roster and projects again as a practice-squad player ready for the call at any moment.
Wide receiver
Keep: DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Dee Eskridge, Dareke Young.
The tough decisions: The top three are a given. The one tough call here is leaving off Cade Johnson, who ended last season as the de facto third receiver with Eskridge and Marquise Goodwin hurt. But if Eskridge is healthy in camp and does much of anything in the preseason the Seahawks seem sure to keep him and see if he can finally live up to that second-round pick selection of 2021. And Young, a seventh-rounder a year ago, fits the bill of a fifth WR who is a core special-teamer. But Johnson will have his chance to make his case, and Jake Bobo of UCLA and Matt Landers of Arkansas — listed at 6-4 and 6-5, respectively — are two intriguing UDFA signees.
Offensive line
Keep: Charles Cross, Abraham Lucas, Evan Brown, Damien Lewis, Phil Haynes, Stone Forsythe, Jake Curhan, Anthony Bradford, Olu Oluwatimi.
The tough decisions: Maybe surprisingly, there don’t seem to be any at the moment. Seattle has only three other OLs on its rosters who aren’t rookie UDFA signees, all of whom were practice-squad guys last year — Greg Eiland, Joey Hunt and Jalen McKenzie. Cross (LT), Lucas (RT), Brown (C), Haynes (RG) and Lewis (LG) enter the offseason as the starters. Backups include Forsythe at tackle and Curhan, a swing guy able to play both guard and tackle spots. Rookies Bradford (guard) and Oluwatimi (center) seem to have roster spots as backups who will compete for playing time, especially Oluwatimi, given that Brown is also new to the roster and will have to solidify his spot.
Defensive line
Keep: Tackles Cameron Young, Myles Adams, Robert Cooper; ends Dre’Mont Jones, Jarran Reed, Mike Morris.
The tough decisions: I’m assuming nose tackle Bryan Mone won’t be ready for the start of the season. Expect him to start on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. The fairly barren numbers here mean there aren’t a lot of tough calls. In fact, to assure enough numbers at nose with Mone out, I’m putting UDFA signee Cooper — a 330-pounder from Florida State — on the roster. But expect Seattle to explore all options to fill out that spot, such as waiver claims during the preseason.
Linebacker
Keep: OLBs Uchenna Nwosu, Darrell Taylor, Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, Tyreke Smith, Vi Jones; ILBs Bobby Wagner, Devin Bush, Jordyn Brooks, Jon Rhattigan.
The tough decisions: One big question here will be the availability of Brooks, who could open camp on the PUP list, though the team remains optimistic he’ll be ready for the start of the regular season. If he’s not, Seattle could go with three ILBs given their stated desire to use lots of three-safety sets (with the other safety essentially playing an ILB spot at weakside linebacker). I also have Jones making it for now over 2020 fifth-round pick Alton Robinson. But at this point it’s hard to know what to expect out of Robinson after he missed last season due to injury. Smith also missed all of last season with injury and his roster spot is hardly a given. But if he’s healthy and does much in the preseason, he figures to get on the roster.
Safety
Keep: Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, Julian Love, Joey Blount, Jerick Reed II.
The tough decisions: None at the moment as those are the only five non-UDFA safeties on the roster. Adams’ health is a question and he could well begin camp on the PUP list. The team continues to be optimistic he’ll be ready for the start of the season.
Cornerback
Keep: Tariq Woolen, Coby Bryant, Devon Witherspoon, Michael Jackson, Tre Brown.
The tough decisions: The only veteran at this spot I don’t have making the 53 at the moment is Isaiah Dunn, who played in five games last year before going on the injured reserve. Depending on how the numbers work out elsewhere, he could make it — Seattle had seven cornerbacks on its 53 at the end of the season. But barring something really surprising, the top five seem like locks.
Special teams
Keep: K Jason Myers, P Michael Dickson, LS Chris Stoll.
The tough decisions: None at all as those three are the only ones at their position on the roster. Stoll is a reported UDFA signee out of Penn State who appears for now set to take over as Seattle’s snapper in 2023.
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