Seahawks waive two players to make room for new talent

SEATTLE, WA - AUGUST 25: Guard Rees Odhiambo #70 of the Seattle Seahawks pass blocks against linebacker Dee Ford #55 of the Kansas City Chiefs at CenturyLink Field on August 25, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - AUGUST 25: Guard Rees Odhiambo #70 of the Seattle Seahawks pass blocks against linebacker Dee Ford #55 of the Kansas City Chiefs at CenturyLink Field on August 25, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /
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The Seahawks claimed two players from waivers, and I was quite surprised at the two players they released to make room for them.

The Seahawks picked up two players from the waiver wire today. Guard Jordan Simmons was waived by the Los Angeles Raiders, while defensive back Simeon Thomas was released by the Cleveland Browns. Seattle needed depth along the offensive line and in the defensive backfield, so the moves make sense.

When it comes to who Seattle released, I have to admit I was surprised. Versatile offensive lineman Rees Odhiambo was the first player waived. Odhiambo played both guard and tackle over the past two years. He filled in at left tackle when George Fant went down prior to the start of the 2017 season. He wasn’t quite up to the task, so Seattle traded for Duane Brown.

Odhiambo has too much experience to meet the league practice squad rules, so this is apparently it for him in Seattle. Simmons, the man replacing him, has zero regular season experience. Mike Solari must have loved what he saw from him in his last preseason game against Seattle.

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Seahawks release a preseason fixture

The second player Seattle released is defensive end Branden Jackson. He made a lot of noise early in the preseason. I can only assume that the sudden availability of end Dion Jordan gave the team the confidence to let Jackson go. Unlike his former teammate Odhiambo, Jackson could possibly make it back to Seattle via the practice squad.

Simeon Thomas is almost beyond the prototype Settle corner. Just a shade under 6′ 4″, Thomas has the length Pete Carroll loves. They apparently took a long look at him for the 2018 draft, but the Browns snapped him up first. As soon as Cleveland put him on waivers, defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. had his man.

Thomas is raw, but his height and 4.46 speed earned him a spot in Seattle’s defensive backfield rotation. Maybe they hope when opponents see the name stitched onto the jersey, they’ll change their game plans accordingly.