3 Seahawks who could be surprise cuts after training camp

Surprise cut 3: Seahawks defensive lineman Shelby Harris

Let me remind you, this article is an experiment. Do I think the Seahawks should or will release Harris? No. But goodness would Seattle save a bunch of money if they did. Plus, if the team is truly looking more towards 2023 than 2022 (without admitting it) then Harris is a player who could be moved on from while the team doesn’t suffer too much.

Harris has a cap hit of $7.97 million in 2022 and a dead cap hit of $5 million. By 2023, his dead cap hit is zero. He is entering his age 30 season and has never had more than 6 sacks in a season and has been inconsistent in his production. Harris isn’t a young Bronco who could be good for the Seahawks for years. He began his career with the Raiders and played for Las Vegas for two years.

He has always been a player with more potential than high-end production. He is a solid player but he isn’t a game-changing one. At least, he hasn’t been one yet. Why keep an aging Harris when his snaps could go to more inexpensive and younger players like L.J. Collier.

And I am not trying to say Collier is as good as Harris because Collier hasn’t been. But Seattle still needs to figure out what they have in Collier who is entering the final year of his deal. Releasing Harris and playing Collier could mean freeing up cap space in 2023 if Collier doesn’t work out.

If the Seahawks aren’t rebuilding but just re-tooling then they need to find out which tools can help them in 2023 and beyond and Harris isn’t likely to be helping much past 2023.