The Seahawks sent Gary Jennings Jr. the clearest message possible
The Seahawks added safety Adrian Colbert by cutting Gary Jennings. Then they didn’t by cutting Bryan Mone instead in what was actually a clear statement.
The Seahawks played a fun round of musical chairs this week with their roster. A week ago, Seattle signed free agent safety Adrian Colbert to the practice squad. Then on Wednesday, the team announced they had assigned Colbert to the 53-man roster and waived underperforming wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr. The fun started when the next day when it was announced that the Hawks decided to waive defensive tackle Bryan Mone instead. So how, and more importantly why, did this happen?
How it happened is the easy part. The Seahawks submitted the waiver request on Wednesday afternoon, after the 1 pm Pacific time deadline for roster moves. That timing was crucial, as the league wouldn’t actually process the move until the following day at the same time. Someone changed their mind overnight, as the Hawks rescinded the transaction on Thursday and waived tackle Bryan Mone in his place.
Like I said, explaining how it happened was the easy part. Why is a bit trickier. After all, the defensive line has only produced six sacks and ten tackles for a loss in three games. Meanwhile, the receiver corps has hauled in 41 passes for 626 yards, an average of 15.3 yards per catch. Doesn’t the line need more help than the wideouts?
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Well, yeah. But Mone isn’t a pass rusher by any means. His job is to clog the middle and stop the run. In 71 snaps he registered two assists, both of those in his first game. Compare that to Poona Ford, who has the same role as one of the Hawks starters. Ford has three solo tackles, an assist, and a tackle for a loss in 70 snaps. It’s a small sample size, but Mone was clearly the low man in the rotation as he averaged 24 snaps per game. Ford and Al Woods will get nearly double those snaps. Quinton Jefferson has moved inside as well and has been excellent.
Still, Mone got those 71 snaps. If you clicked the link above for Jennings, you found his stats at West Virginia. That’s because he has no stats with the Seahawks yet. He doesn’t have single snap yet, let alone a stat. Jennings has done very little to warrant Seattle even keeping him on the roster.
He avoided the practice squad only because it would be very likely for a team to snap up a fourth-round pick as a reclamation project. Maybe three games into the season are too early to use that term. Considering his one catch on six targets and two penalties, I think it fits.
So why did the Seahawks change their mind? The same reason Jennings wasn’t sent to the practice roster. There’s no way he’d clear waivers, allowing them to pick him back up and stash him on the practice squad. I believe the real reason was that this was an elaborate statement meant for one person. That person, of course, is Gary Jennings Jr.
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The statement is that scoring 13 touchdowns as a senior is cool and all, but you’re in the NFL now. Being a fourth-round pick is pretty sweet, but there have been undrafted players who became some of the league’s best players ever – we’re looking at you, Doug Baldwin. You have to play through injuries, and you definitely have to get your head in the game. Was this really the intent? I have no idea. Deliberate or not, I hope Jennings gets the message.