No Jadeveon Clowney, Paul Richardson, Shaquem Griffin: analysis of Seahawks’ 53-man roster
Who didn’t make the Seahawks’ initial 53-man roster was more intriguing than those who did.
Their biggest priority to add back to this year’s team, Jadeveon Clowney, is not on it.
An already worrisome defensive line is the thinnest position.
Paul Richardson here and gone in a matter of days. Former All-Pro Josh Gordon still officially suspended, but signed.
Shaquem Griffin, also gone, separated from his soulmate and twin, Pro Bowl cornerback Shaquill. At least for now.
And Seattle’s ol’ release the veteran for week one so you don’t have to guarantee his full pay all season.
The initial roster the team set Saturday had a couple surprises—and a whole lot of to be continued...
A position-by-position analysis of a lineup that is going to change before next Sunday’s opener at Atlanta, perhaps as early as this weekend with waiver claims across the NFL and injured-reserve moves:
Bottom line: this is an ultra-talented team, especially at the skill positions. They’ve hugely upgraded their secondary, wide receivers and tight ends since last season ended in the divisional playoffs at Green Bay. But the offensive and defensive lines are hugely vulnerable, with the pass rush relying on a lot of hope so far. It’s tough to win Super Bowls with cracks in those foundations.
Quarterbacks (2): Russell Wilson and Geno Smith
Same as 2019, as planned. The team waived undrafted rookie Anthony Gordon and recently signed Danny Etling, both of whom got few chances to show in a training camp shortened by the COVID-19 virus. The Seahawks focused far more on readying veterans for the season than development.
They will try to get Gordon and perhaps Etling, last of the Patriots and before the Falcons, through waivers and onto the practice squad that is expanded from 10 to 16 players this season.
Running backs (4): Chris Carson, Carlos Hyde, DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer
Dallas wowed coaches all training camp. The rookie fourth-round draft choice and former University of Miami wide receiver will get chances as the third-down back departed C.J. Prosise could never be consistently because of his 10 injuries in four seasons.
Hyde proved in camp he should get some early-down carries to spell Carson, who’s had injuries in each of his first three seasons with Seattle. Hyde had his first career 1,000-yard season last year, his only one with Houston.
Fullback Nick Bellore barely played on offense but was a mainstay on special teams last season. He got released Saturday. Like they’ve done with fullback Will Tukuafu before and veteran defensive back Jamar Taylor last year, the Seahawks could sign back Bellore after week one. Vested veterans (those with four or more years in the league) who are on a team’s roster for week one get their salary guaranteed for all 17 weeks of the season.
Bellore, 31, was scheduled to earn $1.05 million this season. The Seahawks could now pay him a la carte, per game, starting with week two’s against New England if no other team signs the 10th-year veterans before then.
Wide receiver (6): Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Phillip Dorsett II, David Moore, Freddie Swain, John Ursua
Swain makes it despite the rookie sixth-round pick showing little during training camp. His experience returning kicks at Florida was a factor.
Moore is too valuable as a kick returner and Wilson trusts him. He agreed to renegotiate his $2.13 million pay for 2020, to give the team more space under the salary cap.
Gordon is signed. That happened Thursday. But the former All-Pro receiver is still officially suspended by the NFL for the seventh time, for drugs. That may change soon. The Seahawks would not have re-signed him now if they could not play him.
When asked if commissioner Roger Goodell had indeed decided on Gordon’s reinstatement request he filed in June, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told The News Tribune Thursday: “We are going to decline comment.”
If and when it happens, it would necessitate another roster move to add Gordon to this stacked group.
Tight ends (4): Greg Olsen, Will Dissly, Jacob Hollister, Luke Willson
The 29-year-old Willson looked slower in training camp, yet the offense and Wilson trusts the veteran.
Dissly’s strong return from a torn Achilles and Olsen’s signing in January make this one of the team’s strongest positions.
Offensive line (10): Duane Brown, Mike Iupati, Ethan Pocic, Damien Lewis, Brandon Shell, B.J. Finney, Phil Haynes, Jordan Simmons, Jamarco Jones, Cedric Ogbuehi
Ogbuehi excelled as a swing tackle on both sides during his first camp for Seattle. But he was injured late in it. The former first-round pick by Cincinnati could go in injured reserve soon, but since he was on the initial regular-season roster he could return in as few as three weeks, per new NFL roster rules for this COVID-19 season.
Finney failed in camp to learn the offense after signing for two years with $4.5 million guaranteed this spring from Pittsburgh. That guaranteed money may be the only reason the current backup made the team. He now has time to learn behind Pocic, the former backup guard and tackle who is Wilson’s new starting center.
Finney’s issues are why the Seahawks have tried out former starter Justin Britt twice the last two weeks. They cut Britt this spring during his rehabilitation from reconstructive knee surgery in October. That was avoid carrying the veteran’s $11 million salary-cap charge for 2020.
Lewis, the rookie third-round pick, and Shell are the new right guard and right tackle, respectively. Shell signed this offseason to replace departed former number-one pick Germain Ifedi as Wilson’s protector on the quarterback’s front side.
Defensive line (8): L.J. Collier, Rasheem Green, Benson Mayowa, Damontre Moore, Alton Robinson, Poona Ford, Bryan Mone, Jarran Reed
Eight players. The Seahawks normally like to use eight defensive linemen on the first drives of games. And Moore just signed Thursday. He’s had one mpre practice with the team this year than you have.
Expect a signing, or two, at tackle and pass rusher. Not because they should. Because they must.
The best performer daily in camp in this group was Robinson. The rookie fifth-round pick from Syracuse seems poised to get Taylor’s reps as edge pass rusher rotating into long-yardage situations.
Linebackers (6): Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Bruce Irvin, Cody Barton, Jordyn Brooks, Ben Burr-Kirven
Brooks, the rookie first-round pick, is beginning as a nickel linebacker in situational roles so far. It’s Irvin, Wagner and Wright in base 4-3 defense to begin the season.
Burr-Kirven, the former University of Washington middle linebacker, made it over Griffen because of special teams. For now.
Cornerbacks (5): Shaquill Griffin, Tre Flowers, Quinton Dunbar, Neiko Thorpe, Linden Stephens
Griffin and the newly arrived Dunbar are the starters. Flowers’ role is unclear. The 6-foot-3 converted safety could be a matchup nickel if an offense goes with a tall slot receiver. But Flowers has played zero nickel in the NFL, none in the just-completed training camp.
Stephens, claimed this offseason off waivers from Miami, was low-key excellent on balls in the air during camp.
Safeties (5): Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, Marquise Blair, Ugo Amadi, Lano Hill
Adams, the All-Pro added in a splashy trade with the Jets this summer, and Diggs, a 2019 Pro Bowl alternate, give Seattle its best safeties since Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor in the Legion of Boom.
The popular, physical Blair beats out Amadi as the new nickel, fifth defensive backs. Hill is the new dime, sixth DB for long-yardage downs.
Specialists (3): P Michael Dickson, K Jason Myers, LS Tyler Ott
Same as last year. They had no camp competition.
Injured lists
There were no surprises on Seattle’s reserve lists.
Running back Rashaad Penny begins the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list. The number-two rusher behind Chris Carson tore knee ligaments in December and had reconstructive surgery.
Rookie second-round draft choice Darrell Taylor plus tight end and fourth-round pick Colby Parkinson went on the non-football-injury list. Taylor had surgery Jan. 30; surgeons put a Titanium rod in his leg to fix a stress fracture he played with last season at the University of Tennessee. Parkinson broke a bone on the outside of his foot in June.
Reserve defensive back D.J. Reed also went on the NFI list.
Penny, Taylor, Parkinson and Reed cannot practice or play for at least the first six weeks of the season.
Both in appearance during training camp and Carroll’s comments, Parkinson seems ahead of Taylor in getting back to the field. The coach said last month Taylor is going to be out “a bit.” He was expected to be rotating in the first-team defense as an edge rusher in a pass rush that needs him.
Penny’s recovery timeline is trickier because of his reconstructive knee surgery. Carroll said last month the team’s first-round pick in 2018 has had a “strong” rehabilitation from the injury and surgery, but the coach offered no timeline on his return.
After the first six weeks of the season, the Seahawks will have a five-week window to decide if Penny can begin practicing. He must return to practice, go on injured reserve or be released within that five-week window beginning in mid-October.
As expected, all 10 of training camp’s undrafted rookies, plus seventh-round draft choice Stephen Sullivan, did not make the team.
Seattle has for the last decade been a leader in the NFL in playing rookie free agents into prominent roles: Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse and Thomas Rawls were a few. But this training camp truncated by the COVID-19 virus and league restrictions on practices made 2020 the wrong year from developmental projects to shine in training camp.
The Seahawks just went with known veterans and ready-to-play higher rookie draft picks instead.
This story was originally published September 5, 2020 at 6:25 PM.
