The Seahawks are a bit over two months away from having to finalize their 2023 roster, but some new Seattle players might already be at risk of being released. There are various reasons why this might happen whether it be Seattle drafted a player who can take a veteran's spot or maybe there simply isn't room for the vet with Seattle already having a player to take their spot.
I am not saying any of the players on this list should be released, only that they could be. So if I happen to mention your new favorite Seahawk, please don't be mad. This is nothing personal. Plus, if these players are released and the player who takes their spot is good then that is best for the greater good, right?
I also don't have a surprise player like Bobby Wagner here. Why would I do that? Wagner is going to be a Seahawk at this point for likely as long as he wants to be. But who might not be with the Seahawks in 2023? The following three players.
No. 1: Seahawks cut candidate Mario Edwards, Jr.
Edwards has bounced around quite a bit in his eight-year career. Beginning this season, the Seahawks would be his fifth team. It's not that Edwards is bad, but he is limited. He won't chase down many quarterbacks from his defensive end position - he has a career-high of 4 sacks which came in 2020. He did have 11 quarterback hits in 2022, but that was two better than his previous high so one shouldn't expect the same kind of production in 2023.
So Edwards is basically a decent run-stopper as a DE. But according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), every other season since 2018 Edwards has either been good against the run or bad. He graded at a solid 72.7 in 2022 against the run, but an atrocious 47.4 stopping the run in 2021. With Seattle adding Mike Morris through the draft, Edwards might have a short stay in Seattle.
No. 2: Seahawks cut candidate Devin Bush
Why would Seattle possibly release Bush when he is one of the very few experienced inside linebackers the Seahawks have? There are potentially several reasons. One of the biggest reasons is that Bush isn't exactly a Pro Bowler, and wouldn't have been welcomes back by the Pittsburgh Steelers because Bush just hasn't been good in a couple of years.
Maybe Bush was just a bad fit in Pittsburgh and the Seahawks won't be asking him to attack quarterbacks on blitzes like the Steelers love to do. Having Bush simply take down running backs and do decently in coverage would make Pete Carroll happy. There is a flaw, however.
Bush isn't good in coverage so this basically makes him a stop-the-run-only linebacker. Seattle has depth with Jon Rhattigan and Rhattigan, though still needing more reps to get accustomed to playing every down, could be just as efficient stopping the run as Bush. That is until the return of another linebacker Seattle has on the roster who is better than Bush to begin with.
Bush will likely make the team as the one-year deal he signed with Seattle this offseason is mostly guaranteed. But if Jordyn Brooks can return from injury sooner than expected, maybe even near the beginning of this coming season, Bush doesn't have a spot to play and is simply a slightly overpriced backup. Brooks' return early in 2023 is still in doubt, of course, but once training camp gets underway we will probably know a lot more.
No. 3: Seahawks cut candidate Evan Brown
This is the most obvious potential veteran cut candidate, right? Brown isn't a bad player and he would bring veteran experience to the middle of the Seahawks offensive line. But Pete Carroll will play the players he thinks gives the team the best chance to win, and Seattle might have drafted a player who is already better than Brown.
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Michigan's Olu Oluwatimi has nearly every accolade a former-college center could want. In 2022, Oluwatimi won the Rimington award (nation's top center) and the Outland Trophy (nation's best interior lineman). He is smart, has good size (OK, may his arms are a little short but whatever), and is versatile.
Oluwatimi was fantastic early in his college career at Virginia but decided he wanted to test himself against better competition and ended up at Michigan where he was even better. Evan Brown was very good in one year at center for the Detroit Lions (2021), but then he was asked to move to guard to fill a greater need. If Brown was simply too good to not play at center, he would have stayed at center, it seems.
Either way, there is a very good chance that by the time training camp begins Oluwatimi would have had enough time to learn the Seahawks playbook and line adjustments. Brown is due to make a max of $2.250 million in 2023, but if Seattle releases him the team only is out $1 million of dead cap. That's not a lot of job security for a veteran who a rookie might beat out to start at center for Seattle.