Seahawks waive Matt Gotel from Lakes HS among five moves to get roster down to 80
The NFL is a cold business.
Matt Gotel just had dozens of family members, friends, his girlfriend and neighbors drive up from Tacoma to see him play for the team they all grew up cheering.
Heck, the Tacoma native and undrafted rookie defensive tackle from West Florida and Lakes High School had 10 to 15 of them at almost every one of his Seahawks training-camp practices open to fans this month. They carried and waved signs with his name from behind the fence like separating fans from the practice fields at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
“It’s a good feeling just to have family out here,” Gotel told The News Tribune this week. “My mom hasn’t got to see my play in I don’t know how many years, because I’ve been playing ball in Florida. She’s gotten to see my practice for the first time in a long time. My girlfriend has gotten to see my practice. My nieces and all that.
“It’s a great feeling.”
Gotel thrilled them by playing 22 snaps on the Seahawks’ defense in their preseason game against Chicago at Lumen Field Thursday night.
Saturday, Seattle waived him.
The team also cut veteran linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe and waived safety Bubba Bolden, tight end Cade Brewer and cornerback Elijah Jones. The moves Saturday was ahead of the league deadline to trim the roster from 85 to 80 players.
The 6-foot-1, 341-pound Gotel was on the reserve defense in training camp playing nose tackle with backside “A” gap responsibilities in Seattle’s new 3-4 scheme. He’d made it from Lakes High through Snow Junior College in Utah then the University of West Florida to the Seahawks. They signed him as an undrafted rookie on a tryout this spring.
He survived offseason moves to make the 90-man roster for the start of training camp. The Seahawks got down to the league maximum of 85 this month by releasing a rookie free-agent defensive lineman, but not Gotel. Seattle’s coaches seemed to like his speed for his size, and his progress from April’s offseason practices.
He credited veteran defensive tackles Al Woods and Bryan Mone, in particular, for showing him the hand and footwork necessary to play in the league.
“I’ve definitely improved since day one,” Gotel said.
“I know I can play here.”
Gotel has 37 plays from the Seahawks’ two preseason games other teams’ scouts can evaluate in deciding whether to give him another NFL chance this week. Gotel was available for any other team to claim him until his waiver period expired at 1 p.m. Sunday.
If no other team claimed him, Gotel was set to become a unrestricted free agent.
Iyiegbuniwe signed with the Seahawks as a free agent after spending his first four seasons in Chicago. His release decreases what’s already thin depth at inside linebacker behind starters Jordyn Brooks and Cody Barton.
Bolden and Brewer signed with Gotel as undrafted free agents following the draft this spring. Jones, from Oregon State, signed a couple weeks later after trying out during Seattle’s rookie minicamp.
This story was originally published August 20, 2022 at 3:37 PM.
