A week away from 49ers, oft-changed Chazz Surratt rushes to learn Seahawks ways
Chazz Surratt was in a hurry.
It was still 15 minutes until special-teams pre-work was to start. It was about 35 minutes before stretching for the full practice was to begin.
Yet the newest Seahawks linebacker and new number 44 was in full uniform, walking out of the locker room onto the field Wednesday.
The reason Surratt was scurrying: He was down to four days to learn head coach Mike Macdonald’s tricky defense plus the schemes for all four special-teams units installed by coach Jay Harbaugh before he plays in them.
“There are some differences in just the technique. But, you know, Coach Harbaugh has been doing a great job with me trying to get me up to speed,” Surratt told The News Tribune Wednesday, on his way out the door.
“Got to get ready for week one.”
Surratt, 28, is used to change.
The Seahawks signed him last week as a free agent. That was a day after the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle’s opponent Sunday in the opening game at Lumen Field (1:05 p.m., FOX Sports television, channel 13 in Seattle), released Surratt among their final roster cuts of the preseason.
“The special teams tape is great,” Macdonald said. “Right now, that’s the easiest way for him to contribute to us as he starts to learn our system. “This guy can play both (off-ball linebacker) spots. He plays all four special teams. Great coverage ability. I thought you see him do some really good plays in the run game on the preseason tape.
“So, a guy that we had a lot of respect for coming out of the process, and we’ve kept tabs on over the years that we have a lot of respect for. We’re glad he’s here.”
Surratt was with the 49ers for less than two months. His former coach with the New York Jets, Robert Saleh, has returned to San Francisco this year to be the 49ers’ defensive coordinator again.
Surratt played three seasons with the Jets for Saleh, the former Seahawks defensive assistant under Pete Carroll whom New York fired during last season. He also played for former Jets special-teams coach Brant Boyer; Boyer is San Francisco’s new special-teams coach for this season. Surratt primarily played special teams for the Jets from 2022-24, up to 73% of special-teams snaps two seasons ago. Last season he got his first five NFL starts, at right outside linebacker.
His rookie season in 2021 was with Minnesota. The Vikings drafted him in the third round out of North Carolina.
The University of North Carolina recruited Surratt to be a quarterback, and to possibly play basketball. He was a Gatorade state player of the year and two-time all-state QB at East Lincoln High School in Denver, North Carolina. He set the state record for total yards and touchdowns. He also was also all-state in basketball as a junior.
He flipped his commitment from archrival Duke to UNC. In that state, that’s considered borderline criminal.
Surratt played in nine games and threw eight touchdown passes for the Tar Heels as a freshman in 2017. He threw three interceptions in 10 pass attempts his sophomore season of 2018.
That was the year UNC recruited Sam Howell to be its quarterback. Howell, Seattle’s backup last season, took Surratt’s QB job at North Carolina as a freshman in 2019. Surratt moved to linebacker.
He got bigger, and better.
Surratt quickly became a mainstay in the middle of the Tar Heels’ defense in 2019 and ‘20. That’s how he became the Vikings’ third-round pick in 2021.
Now he’s on his third NFL team in eight months.
Seahawks, 49ers intel swaps
Surratt is Seattle’s answer to what Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been doing the last week in Santa Clara, California, with the 49ers.
The day the Niners cut Surratt, Aug. 26, the Seahawks released Valdes-Scantling. The 30-year-old veteran wide receiver got beat out by rookie Tory Horton, plus Jake Bobo, Dareke Young and Cody White for the extra wide-receiver spot behind Seattle starters Cooper Kupp and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The 49ers signed Valdes-Scantling as a free agent last week, to their practice squad. Wednesday, San Francisco signed him to the 53-man active roster. The Seahawks are paying Valdes-Scantling $3 million guaranteed to have their rival explain Seattle’s offense to the Niners’ coaches this week, then play for their rival against them Sunday at Lumen Field.
“Officially, it changes everything. We’re going to change all the calls, yeah,” Macdonald joked in deadpan this week.
“He’s a smart player. He’s probably going to give them information. That stuff happens all the time.
“Some things you can take into account. Some things you just got to call it and haul it.”
It does happen all the time in the NFL. Surratt is doing the same thing in reverse for Seattle.
He was only with the Niners from May 28 to Aug. 26. Yet he was in Saleh’s defense and schemes for three seasons before that, in New York. Same with Boyer’s special-teams systems with the Jets.
Now he’s relaying his intel on the 49ers’ defense to Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, and to Harbaugh for Seattle’s special teams.
“I was with Saleh and the special-teams coach for a little bit. So, yeah,” Surratt said.
But he said he really doesn’t have a ton more to share than what the Seahawks already know about the 49ers.
“I mean, they’ve been watching San Francisco all offseason,” Surratt said. “Really, they’ve already got their game plan set.
“I’m just here, you know, fly around and make some plays.”
That is going to be on punt return, punt and perhaps kickoff and kickoff return Sunday for the Seahawks. He is still learning Ernest Jones’ role as the middle linebacker and signal-caller.
He’s also learning weakside inside linebacker. Tyrice Knight is the starter there. Knight is coming back from missing most of training camp. He was full go Wednesday in practice. That’s a sign Knight will start Sunday next to Jones against San Francisco’s power run game and quarterback Brock Purdy throwing to All-Pro tight end George Kittle, among others.
What is Surratt’s scouting report on the 49ers offense? It added running back Brian Robinson in a recent trade from Washington to join Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco’s backfield that often has fullback Kyle Juszczyk as lead blocker.
“Offensively, they just do a good job with the shifts and the motions and trying to mess up your eyes as a linebacker in the run game,” Surratt said. “You know, they got two pretty good backs, so we have to be prepared for that. And then obviously they’ve got Kittle. He’s a problem.
“So, yeah, they’ve got some talented players on offense. We’ll have to be ready to go.”
This story was originally published September 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
