Seahawks gamble with final cut, lose Williams to the Browns
The Seahawks hoped to sneak Williams through waivers to their practice squad. Unfortunately the Cleveland Browns were wide awake.
Wide receiver Kasen Williams is the player the Browns claimed off waivers. Many writers had projected Williams to make the 53 man roster, so it was a surprise to see the Seahwks waive him. That he was snatched up so quickly couldn’t have been too surprising to the Seattle brain trust. After all, Williams led the team in catches in preseason and had nearly double the receiving yards of any other player. So how exactly was he cut? Let’s have a few words about that from the brilliant Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times:
"Carroll cautioned several times during the preseason to remember that personnel decisions are not just based on games but also on practice and everything else that the team does.Despite those numbers [third in receiving yards in NFL preseason] Williams wasn’t considered one of the team’s top three receivers —- those spots go to Doug Baldwin, Paul Richardson and Tyler Lockett. And despite much conjecture about his status, it’s obvious there was never a question there’d be a spot for rookie Amara Darboh, a third-round pick and No. 106 overall."
As always with the Seahawks, it’s all about versatility
We’ve seen this time and again with Seattle. Pete Carroll loves players that can fill multiple roles. The best example is lineman Ethan Posic. First, Williams wasn’t good enough to supplant one of the three starters. So let’s look at his real competition.
Tanner McEvoy made some outstanding plays in preseason as well. He also excels in special teams. At 6’6″ McEvoy presents Seahawks quarterbacks with a completely different weapon from the rest of the receiving corps. J.D. McKissic can switch to running back as easily as I can switch my TV from Netflix to Hulu – and I doubt he even has to push one button. McKissic is no slouch in the return game either, as he nabbed eight punts and four kick returns in preseason. He’s excellent insurance for Tyler Lockett there as well.
Related Story: There could be another interesting move at wide receiver, eventually
Was Darboh over Williams the right call?
Williams, much like Mike Davis, didn’t show enough throughout camp to push either McKissic or McEvoy off the roster. Now the real debate begins. Who will be better, Williams or Amara Darboh? As Bob Condotta wrote – you did follow the link, right? – it’s tough to waive a third round pick who’s battled a couple injuries. There’s absolutely no way Schneider and Carroll were going to sneak Darboh through waivers. They gambled they could do it with Williams, and lost. The real contest between Williams and Darboh goes far beyond 2017. It’s important to keep that in mind.
And 12s, before we start a riot over losing Williams, let’s remember that in two seasons with the Seahawks he had one catch for eight yards. Again, it’s never a good sign when you spell out the numbers for career stats.