3 players who made the Seahawks 53-man roster but didn't deserve to

When the Seahawks made their cuts to the final 53-man roster, they kept a few players who should have been released instead. Take that statement with several grains of salt, 12s, because this is a pretty solid roster.

The Seahawks brain trust, GM John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald, had several difficult choices to make when the time came to pare the roster down to the final 53 players. Unlike past seasons, Schneider has the final say on personnel decisions now. So if you have any complaints, direct them accordingly.

In my mind, it's a lot easier to name the players who shouldn't have been released, rather than the guys who needed to be given a ticket out of town. That's not to say it's easy to write that article, or even to limit the choice to just four players. I'd add linebacker Michael Barrett and safety Ty Okada to that list. I'm sure you have your own favorites that you'd include too. But

Seattle Seahawks should have cut these three players instead

Offensive tackle Michael Jerrell

Just as with every other player here, I'm not saying that Jerrell isn't worth a roster spot, or that he doesn't belong on the Seahawks. It's simply that other players may have been able to make bigger contributions to the team. Yeah, as if I know more than John Schneider, right? In this case, I think it would have been more likely that the Hawks would have been able to sneak him through to the practice squad.

Seattle selected him with the 31st pick of the sixth round, so it's not like Jerrell was at the top of the draft charts throughout the league. Yes, the fact that Abe Lucas will start the season on the PUP list makes a tackle that much more valuable. But the Seahawks already have Stone Forsythe as a capable backup, along with rookie Satoa Laumea and swingman Jalen Sundell, who can step in anywhere on the line. I like Jerrell, but they should have taken the chance that he'd clear waivers to stash him on the practice squad.

Linebacker Drake Thomas

Thomas is another example of a player that belongs on the Seahawks, but on the practice squad, not the 53-man roster. This is his second season in Seattle, so he does have experience in his favor. On the other hand, he only got into seven games last year with just four snaps on defense. As with Jerrell, it isn't so much that he can't contribute, but that I expect there are other players who could do more.

In this case, I was very surprised that the Hawks didn't keep rookie linebacker Michael Barrett on the main roster. After all, they had just traded away Mike Jackson to shore up their linebacker corps to bring Barrett to Seattle. With just two days in camp, he stepped onto the field against the Browns and played 25 snaps, third on the team among the LB group. As a fifth-round pick - and one who was just traded for a former starting cornerback - I imagine Barrett is a much more attractive target among the other 31 teams than Thomas.

Wide receiver Dareke Young

I have a funny feeling that I'll get more pushback on this choice than Blake Lively got for her promotional tour for "It Ends With Us". 15 bonus points for you if you have any idea what I'm talking about. This will be Young's third season with the Seahawks, so that's one factor in his favor above someone like running back George Holani.

Young has an additional advantage over players like Easop Winston. Young has proven to be exceptional on special teams, with over 300 snaps on the Hawks unit in the past two years. Then again, that's also a fairly good reason that they could have risked waiving him today. He isn't exactly the best special teams guy in the league but had a good chance of making it through waivers to return on the practice squad. But as I said earlier, there's a very good reason I have this job, and John Schneider has his.

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