Predicting The Seahawks Cuts Down To 75
By Keith Myers
Somewhere between the minute I publish this and the next couple days, the Seahawks will cut their roster from 90 down to 75. I’ve been getting a lot of questions about who it will be, and the truth is that I have no idea.
It’s not always as obvious as you’d expect for this first cut, as teams will keep players who have no chance at the final roster but play at a position where the depth is needed for practice, and they might cut a player on the bubble in order to give them more time to find a new team. It’s fairly unpredictable, but people keep asking. So here I go with an attempt.
Tarvaris Jackson would be an easy candidate, but unless the Seahawks get a trade offer I expect him to stick around part this first set of cuts. Flynn’s elbow injury leaves the Seahawks without a backup QB at the moment, so I expect him to stick around for another few days, leaving QB as the only offensive position unlikely to see at least one cut.
Running Back: one of the toughest groups to guess who goes first. I’ll guess Tyrell Sutton, though Lumpkin could get the veteran treatment and to be allowed to go find another roster now.
Tight End: Cooper Helfet appears to be the furthest from claiming a roster spot of the TEs, and thus he’s my pick to be let go at this point.
Wind Reciever: With 13 players on the roster at the position, receiver will likely see the most cuts in this round. Especially now that Rice and Baldwin are back practicing. Jermaine Kearse, Lavasier Tuinei, and Phil Bates are my prediction here, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Terrell Owens or Kris Durham are included as well.
Interior Offensive Line: The Seahawks have some great depth here, and a fairly well defined pecking order, making cutting from this group fairly easy. Paul Fanaika, Rickshaw Johnson, Kris O’Dowd are all likely to be let go.
Offensive Tackle: Unlike the interior line, the tackles depth is pretty poor. Allen Barbre and Frank Omiyale could both be cut here, but I only expect one of the 2 to be let go at this point, so I’ll predict Barbre.
Defensive Tackle: With only 5 DT on the roster, and one of those (Pep Livingston) spends time at the 5-tech DE spot. It’s hard to see any of these players getting cut at this point.
Defensive End: Another position with great depth. Pierre Allen has flashed some ability, but I think he’s going to be the first to edged out as the rosters shrink.
Linebacker: Allen Brandford, Kyle Knox and Jameson Konz, have all failed to make an impact when on the field during the preseason. In a position group with a lot of bodies and few roster spots on the final roster, I could see all getting cut, but I think the Seahawks will need to keep at least one of them for practice. I’ll guess Konz sticks, since he is such an interesting athlete.
Corner: Donny Lisowski has already been cut once in camp. That doesn’t bode well for him to survive this round of roster cuts. Ron Parker is another likely choice here.
Safety: Deshawn Snead and Phillip Adams are both candidates here, but only one cut is left, and Adams has seen time with kick returns, so I’ll predict Snead.
So there’s my predictions. Feel free to point and laugh. I don’t mind. I can almost guarantee that this won’t be correct. Plus, given Pete Carroll’s John Schneider’s past, don’t be surprised if more than 15 players on the current roster are let go so they can bring in a few players current on other NFL rosters.
For quick reference, my cut predictions are: Sutton, Helfet, Kearse, Tuinei, Bates, Fanaika, Johnson, O’Dowd, Barbre, Allen, Brandford, Knox, Lisowski, Parker, Snead