Seahawks Training Camp Battles: Safety

The depth chart at safety for the Seattle Seahawks seems fairly set, but there’s one rookie that appears ready to crash this party.

If you look at the safety position for the Seattle Seahawks, you’ll notice that all four of the guys that were on the roster at the end of 2015 are back. Throw in a pair of CBs who also add to depth at safety, and the depth chart is just about set.

While all of that is true, don’t count out the chance that an undrafted rookie will come in mix things up. The Seahawks signed just the guy who can do that.

The Starters

Earl Thomas

The all-pro free safety is arguably the best safety in the NFL. He really needs no introduction, even in an article like this.

Kam Chancellor

Following his “contract injury” last season, there was a good chance that Chancellor was going to be playing in another uniform in 2016. An important meeting between Kam and Pete Carroll in early March put those fears to rest. Kam is back, and he’s actually going to show up to training camp this time.

Kam now needs to have a bounce-back year. Not just to help repair his image, but also to show that he can get back to being an elite strong safety.

The Backups

Kelcie McCray

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The Seahawks traded for McCray just before the season began last year. He was a special teams contributor right away, and then covered for Chancellor at the end of the year when Kam was dealing with a tail bone injury.

McCray played well in that spot. So well, that it played into the “Will the Seahawks trade Kam?” narrative at the start of the offseason.

McCray’s ability to play special teams and both safety positions is exactly the type of versatility the Seahawks love in their backups.

Steven Terrell

If McCray is the backup SS, then Terrell is the backup FS. (Not really, since McCray can play both spots.) Really he was the 4th safety on the roster at the end of the season last year. McCray’s versatility means that the official position of the 4th safety isn’t particularly important.

Terrell is a special teams regular, which is essential for someone on the back end of the roster. He’s had to fight for his spot of the roster that last two seasons, and he isn’t going to give it up easily.

Tyvis Powell

Remember Dion Bailey? He’s the 2014 UDFA that started in Week 1 of the 2015 season when Chancellor was holding out. He was undersized and not particularly athletic, but the coaches loved him. Well, at least until they cut him after Week 2.

Powell is a bigger and more athletic version of Bailey. He was also an UDFA, which surprised many draft pundits, including me. Powell will push for a roster spot. It might come down to him vs. Terrell for the final spot on the roster.

Don’t forget these guys

DeShawn Shead and Brandon Browner

This duo are both listed as CBs on the roster. Shead can, and has, played safety in the NFL. Browner isn’t a CB anymore, and the team says he’ll play in a hybrid role that will essentially make him a safety. Both of these guys will allow the Seahawks to perhaps keep one less safety than they normally would on the roster.

Tanner McEvoy

Honestly, I don’t think there’s a player on the roster I know less about that McEvoy. That doesn’t mean anything from his point of view though. I just don’t like to comment on players I’ve never scouted.

Next: Seahawks Roster Battles: Cornerback

Where McEvoy fits into the roster battle is unknown right now. What we do know is that at 6 ft. 6 inches, he’s one of the tallest DBs in the NFL. That makes me think the Seahawks view him as a backup for Browner in the “bandit” role, but that is simply speculation at this point.