Seattle Seahawks got it right keeping these 3 players on the final 53-man roster

We now know who is on the initial 53-man roster for the 2023 Seattle Seahawks. The team still has some units - interior defensive line - that seem thin and/or unproven, but let's just trust the way head coach Pete Carroll and the coaching staff put the team together. They've done a pretty good job of that since 2010.

There weren't any huge surprises really on who was cut. I mean, it's not like 12s are fans of the New England Patriots and New England does all kinds of funky things with its quarterback room. For the most part, unless you are a player being waived, Seattle keeps their roster decisions fairly stress-free.

But who are three players that should have made the team and did? (Yes, one is obvious and is the header photo of this article.) Thankfully, the three that follow.

Seahawks made the right move keeping linebacker Devin Bush

I don't mean to imply that Devin Bush was a cut candidate, although maybe he was. The one-year deal he signed with the Seahawks this offseason didn't really leave much room for him not to be on the roster. His deal pays him $3.5 million and waiving him would only save the team about $600,000. But there were rumors that Seattle could possibly trade Bush and get something else - a nose guard? - in return.

Bush also became more expendable when fellow linebacker Jordyn Brooks proved to be some kind of superhero and bounce back from a major knee injury near the end of 2022 in just eight months after surgery. Brooks is expected to start in Week 1 and this means Bush won't be starting. Seattle should go with a 3-4 base which means that two of the four part are inside linebackers. That means Brooks along with Bobby Wagner, not Bush.

Bush, however, is likely to be very valuable this season. He provides excellent depth at ILB and expecting both Wagner and Brooks to always be healthy might be asking for too much. Bush has some speed and tackles well. Not only will this be put to good use on defense, but he could be a force on special teams.

Seahawks made the right move keeping receiver Jake Bobo

You wanted more Bobo and you got more Bobo! Jake Bobo needed to be on this list, right? As we neared the end of the preseason, the question wasn't really any longer whether Bobo would and should make the team but whether he would be WR3 when Week 1 rolled around. First-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba, however, was surprisingly back at practice on Tuesday and looks ready to go against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Seahawks don't really need Bobo to be WR3, though. They just need him to be the same player that he was this preseason, find occasional holes in the middle of the defense, and break off a few 20-yard completions. Plus, Bobo could possibly be more productive in the regular season since he will have DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett next to him instead of other receivers trying to make the team.

One thing should be made clear, though. As good as Bobo was this preseason, and as easy at times that it seemed for him to get open and/or separation from the defensive back trying to cover him, we do not know he can do anything once the real games start. He hasn't yet experienced the speed of elite NFL defenses so it remains to be seen how well he acclimates.

Still, the only reason Bobo didn't get drafted, it appears, is because he ran a relatively extremely slow 40 time. He can catch, he runs great routes, and, so far, he's gotten open. Let's hope he has a fantastic season in 2023.

Seahawks made the right move keeping safety Jerrick Reed II

I really like Jerrick Reed II, so I'll just leave that there. He reminds me of former Seahawks safety Marquise Blair in that both aren't overly big but played with a physical ferocity that could lead to them creating turnovers and putting a bit of boom back into the secondary. The one big difference I have seen so far from Reed compared to Blair, though, is that Reed seems to know when to not go too far.

Blair was a bit of a mess. He could hit hard, but he also didn't always have great technique which led to him being hurt a lot and him losing his on-field assignments. He would produce some decent raw numbers, but then he could also cost the team and explosive play or two. He also didn't seem to accept coaching as well as he should have.

Reed seems to be the complete opposite. He will tee off on an offensive player, sure, but he doesn't do so in a way just to inflict harm on someone but not stay in the basic scheme of the defense. In fact, Reed seems to have a lot of Quandre Diggs in him. Diggs wasn't expected to be as good as he has been when he came into the league in 2015, either.

Reed shouldn't get many defensive reps to begin with. If everyone stays healthy, Reed has Diggs, Julian Love, and eventually, Jamal Adams in front of him. Plus, Coby Bryant could get more reps at safety than Reed. But Reed is going to likely be excellent on special teams and keeping Reed on the roster means he could earn many more snaps at safety in 2024.

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