4 players the Seattle Seahawks might claim after final roster cuts in 2023

The Seattle Seahawks and every other NFL team have to announce their final roster decisions by Tuesday, August 29th. Seattle might have a couple of surprise roster moves of their own. The players that follow on this list have all been rumored to be cut candidates by their own teams, and they could be players Seattle can use.

I only have one offensive player on this list. Seattle still needs proven depth at wide receiver. Heck, they might need proven depth at running back as well.

But the Seahawks do need to find some more depth defensively. My focus here was mostly along the defensive line. None of the players here will be expected to be Pro Bowlers, but they certainly might help Seattle in run support.

Seattle Seahawks could sign defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw

Our friends at FanSided's 49ers site, Niner Noise, think Kinlaw is a lock to make the 53-man roster, and they know better than I do. But I have also seen various outlets say they think Kinlaw could be a surprise cut on Tuesday. Kinlaw hasn't done much since he's been in the NFL, and that is a little surprising in itself. He plays on a terrific defense and one might think he could put that to his use since he sees more one-on-one blocking.

Still, Kinlaw has been on a number of other lists as a surprising cut candidate. Kinlaw was a first-round pick in 2020, but he's had issues staying on the field. He's either been hurt or not as productive as hoped. In the last two years he has only played in 10 games. But he has excellent size at 6'5" and 320 pounds and fits a need the Seahawks currently have. That is that Seattle needs to find more depth along the defensive line.

Sometimes players simply benefit from a change of scenery. Plus, if the 49ers were to cut Kinlaw, he should be extra-motivated to ball out against his former team at least twice a season when the Seahawks play the 49ers. Kinlaw also has been healthy for most of training camp and the preseason and is in the final year of his rookie deal and will want to prove he deserves a big contract in 2024.

Seattle Seahawks could sign defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike

Onwuzurike missed 2022 due to a back injury, so yeah, that's a bit of a huge concern. But he has been healthy in training camp and the preseason. As a rookie in 2021, Onwuzurike flashed quite a lot of athletic ability in his 396 snaps. He didn't start a game but he still had a handful of pressures and graded decently in pass rush, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Onwuzurike is also capable of playing nose guard which he could either backup Jarran Reed or displace him if Reed needs to scoot over to defensive end. The Seahawks' defensive line is still a massive question mark. Is Dre'Mont Jones truly a transformative player? Can Reed really play nose guard? Is Mario Edwards the kind of end who should get the majority of snaps?

Myles Adams is a decent backup, Cam Young and Mike Morris are rookies who haven't shown they can do anything yet. At least Onwuzurike can play all three spots of the defensive line. But besides his injury concerns from 2022, he does seem to have been outplayed in Lions camp in 2023. Again, and like Kinlaw, maybe he just needs a change of scenery.

Onwuzurike probably hasn't shown all that he's capable, either. He's only played one season and should be better now that he had that experience. And there'd be no pressure on him to start but just rotate in.

Seattle Seahawks could sign wide receiver Marquise Goodwin

I recently wrote an article about three wide receiver trade candidates for the Seahawks to maybe add. None of these players were the WR1-type, but more like WR3. I realize that the Seahawks have DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett and that Jaxon Smith-Njigba should be good soon. But I did get some push back about the trade article because some people thought I was forgetting about Jake Bobo. I wasn't.

Like every 12 everywhere, I like Bobo too. I hope he legitimately has 700 yards receiving and 8 touchdowns this year. But I also have never seen Bobo play a down of regular season football and I haven't seen him consistently produce when the number ones are on the field for the Seahawks versus the number ones on the defense of an opposing team.

And while Jaxon Smith-Njigba appears to have route fulidity and the physical skill to be a very good receiver in the NFL, most rookie recivers have a difficult time adapting to the spped of the NFL in year one. Can Smith-Njigba and Bobo make good receivers one day? Hopefully. But Seattle could also use more depth right now.

Goodwin is a potential cut candidate with the Cleveland Browns and he wouldn't be expensive to add. Also, he was pretty decent for Seattle in 2022 so he knows the offense and knows how to work with Geno Smith. Goodwin wouldn't have to be WR3, either. More like WR4. He was recently activated from the NFI-list too, so he should begin practicing soon. That means he's available for Cleveland to cut.

Seattle Seahawks could sign nose tackle Rashard Lawrence

Taking a player off of another NFC West rival? Maybe. The Cardinals would probably give up their best players for a good song nowadays. But Lawrence isn't exactly one of their best players, but he has solid experience at nose tackle and has good size at 6'2" and 310 pounds. He isn't going to offer much in terms of pass rush but Seattle doesn't need him to. The Seahawks just need someone who can eat up blockers in run support.

According to Pro Football Focus, Lawrence graded out at a solid, but not great, 63.8 against the run last year. But he only played in five games. In 2021, he played in 11 and his run defense grade was even better. He also had 5 total pressures from his nose guard spot. Again, that's not a huge amount but anything is almost better than what Seattle got from their nose guards last year.

Lawrence is also just 25 years old so he has a number of years to get better. I wouldn't expect him to come in and be the starter, either. But again, if Reed has to slide over to more a defensive end role then Lawrence could take his spot and use his size and experience to hopefully help slow down the other team's run game.

Of course, it is possible that none of the players mentioned here are released. They all have been mentioned as cut candiates, however. And to be honest, the Seahawks might surprise us with a few roster cuts of their own.

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