3 players the Seahawks should cut before the season
By Lee Vowell
The Seattle Seahawks appear to be building towards greatness in 2023. They might be a quarterback short of being really good but the rest of the roster is young and appears talented.
The question is whether the Seahawks keep some players around in 2022 thinking that 2023 is the year they complete the team. That shouldn’t the thought, however. Seattle needs to have young players play now and make mistakes and then learn from those mistakes.
So which players should be gone before the season begins in Seattle? Maybe the three that follow should be in the group.
Seahawks who should be cut before the beginning of the 2022 season
Player 1: Seahawks right guard Gabe Jackson
Jackson was far from the worst offensive lineman Seattle had last season. And that’s saying something because Jackson wasn’t that good either. In fact, Seattle trading for Jackson last offseason actually seemed to hurt Damien Lewis. Lewis started at right guard as a rookie in 2020 and was pretty good. But he was flipped to the left side after Jackson came to the Seahawks and Lewis was worse.
Seattle’s offensive line will likely be very young in 2022 and that could be a reason to keep Jackson. The Seahawks could have a rookie starting a left and right tackle and the third-year pro Lewis at left guard. The center will probably be Austin Blythe and Blythe is a solid center with a lot of knowledge about how to block in Shane Waldron’s offensive system. But Jackson would provide another veteran presence.
Still, Phil Haynes was healthier last year and played well at left guard when needed. He should play on the left side and Lewis could move back to the right side. This, of course, if Jackson is released. But he won’t be because his dead cap is $12 million. If he were, however, Seattle could clear him from the books next offseason while finding out if Haynes is a long-term starter for years to come starting this season.