4 players who need to perform well during Seahawks Preseason Week 3

With the third and final preseason game before the Seahawks' 90-man roster is trimmed down to 53 quickly approaching, many players are literally fighting for their jobs. There will be 37 cuts on Tuesday, August 27, and these Seahawks only have one more game to make their case for a roster spot.

The Seahawks host the Cleveland Browns at Lumen Field this Saturday night, and for many, it will be the last chance they get to prove their worth to Mike Macdonald and company.

There are well over three players who are fighting for their roster spot, but it's worth looking at the three players who have the most on the line Saturday night. Undrafted free agents essentially have nothing to lose in these games, but those players who have been given chance after chance to earn a spot on the team certainly have much to lose.

Four Seahawks who must perform well in the third and final preseason game

Marquise Blair

Blair, a 2019 second-round pick by the Seahawks, is back for his second stint in Seattle. After playing mostly a reserve role in his rookie season, Blair was poised for a big 2020 season. Unfortunately, Blair ruptured his ACL in the third game of the season and his sophomore season was officially over. After rehabbing back for this third season, yet another injury cut his 2021 campaign short. In 2022, Seattle released Blair as he bounced from practice squad to practice squad before eventually landing back in Seattle just last month.

So far in preseason, Blair has stayed healthy, which is a fantastic sign. However, he simply looks a step slow. Two major knee injuries will do that to a player. However, in his limited preseason action, Blair has been beaten in coverage, caught out of place, and just looks sluggish. Unfortunately for Blair, Seattle's starting safeties have looked sharp this offseason, and the two immediate backups in K'Von Wallace and Coby Bryant also look good.

If Blair wants to make the roster, it is admittedly a long shot at this point. Injuries and the simple fact he hasn't played meaningful snaps since the start of the 2022 season has made him rusty and flat-out lost on the field in the preseason. It would take a huge game, including tight coverage, sideline-to-sideline speed, and the bone-crushing hits he was always known for to secure a roster spot for the 27-year-old Blair.

Kenny McIntosh

Unlike Blair, I think McIntosh is one of the fringe players closer to a roster spot than he is to being cut. However, with the flashes rookie George Holani is showing and the tough running of Kobe Lewis, I think Kenny McIntosh needs a productive game against Cleveland to solidify his spot on the official roster. The two feature backs are obviously Ken Walker and Zach Charbonnet, but the third running back spot looks pretty wide open.

McIntosh, a seventh-round pick last year, suffered a season-ending injury in the Seahawks team scrimmage just weeks before the season started. This is essentially his rookie season, but both Holani and Lewis are also rookies. The Georgia product has looked good in preseason, running through contact and gaining yards he really had no business gaining.

However, the same could be said for the other two backs vying for a roster spot. Additionally, wide receiver Laviska Shenault has a history of lining up as a running back, further complicating matters for the fringe running backs.

McIntosh needs some good carries on Saturday night. He doesn't need to light up the box score by any means, but if he can continue to pass the eye test and show the coaching staff he can run hard, run fast, and maybe even catch the ball out of the backfield, it'll certainly help his chances. Ultimately, I think Seattle could hold onto all three of the promising young backs, but I think two of them will be stored on the practice squad, and ultimately one of them will earn a permanent roster spot.

Dee Eskridge

A repeat offender on lists of this nature, Dee Eskridge simply can't get over the hump. He's not a terrible football player by any stretch of the imagination, he just hasn't given Seattle enough for him to be close to a lock for this season. Another second-round pick fighting for his NFL career, Eskridge has gotten in his own way for most of his four years in Seattle. Whether it's constant injuries, penalties, off-the-field issues, or just mediocre play and little effort, Eskridge has not earned his spot yet.

Seattle has a three-headed monster at wide receiver, and with the emergence of Jake Bobo, Laviska Shenault, and the head-turning play of Easop Winston Jr. this preseason, is there even really a spot for Eskridge? Shenault, a free agent acquisition this offseason, essentially does everything Eskridge does, but better. He's a RAC monster, a kick returner, and a Swiss army knife on offense -- exactly the reasons Seattle drafted Eskridge.

For the troubled young player to carve out a roster spot, we need to see a lot from Eskridge on Saturday night. We need explosive kick and punt returns, we need speedy routes and yards after the catch, we need the ability to block on runs without being flagged for holding, and most importantly, we need to see him get through one singular game without jogging to the sidelines with an apparent injury.

If those don't all become apparent Saturday night, I think it's a foregone conclusion the team will be moving on from the 27-year-old Eskridge, or at least relegating him to the practice squad.

Jason Myers

Honestly, what is going on? Myers has missed two extra points in the Seahawks' two preseason games after going 100 percent in his 30+ PAT attempts last season. Myers has drilled his actual long-range field goals this preseason, but he's missing the short gimmes after touchdowns. One would hope it's not an issue for the regular season, and yes, I am aware "it's preseason for kickers too", but it's still a slightly alarming issue.

Myers isn't in jeopardy of losing his roster spot come Tuesday, which is why he's not included on this list. However, I need to see some extra points actually go through the uprights on Saturday night.

For a kicker on a $21 million deal, I would really love to see him knock through every PAT because while kickers are people too and do absolutely matter, with that kind of contract, I think Myers is ultimately expendable if kicking extra points becomes an issue.

More Seahawks news and rumors: