3 Seahawks who could be surprise cuts before Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season

The Seattle Seahawks will have a lot of tough decisions to make on who makes the end of their 2024 roster. Some players who have been starters before might not even make the team. This is what happens when a franchise has a new coaching staff; a new set of eyes inherently sees things differently.

Some of the things that former head coach Pete Carroll let slide might down be viewed as well by new head coach Mike Macdonald. For instance, linebacker coverage has been horrible for several years now. If an LB cannot cover in Macdonald's scheme, that player likely won't be on the team.

What follows are three players who should be assumed to be on the 2024 roster but still need to prove themselves in training camp. If another player, especially a younger player, outperforms them, these guys are not guaranteed spots. Some surprise roster cuts could be made.

Seattle Seahawks could cut Jarran Reed

Reed got good interior pass rush for Seattle in 2024 but the production was inconsistent. Through Reed's first six games of the season, he had 4 sacks. He then went five straight games without much pressure. Meanwhile, he was consistently poor against the run, and that helped lead Seattle to rank next to last in rushing yards allowed per game. This might have been due to his being undersized for a nose guard as Seattle went with a 3-4 base quite often.

New head coach Mike Macdonald is also going to use a 3-4 front quite a bit, but he also will switch up to a 4-3 quite often. He will disguise his fronts so that a 3-4 might look like a 4-3. The issue for Reed would be if he cannot show Macdonald that he can help against the run because after Seattle drafted Byron Murphy II this offseason and signed free agent Johnathan Hankins, Reed could be expendable.

This is especially true as Seattle is still tight against the cap this season and might need to trim some to complete its active 53-man roster. Releasing Reed would save the team $4.87 million.

Seattle could release Riq Woolen

Seattle has far too many cornerbacks on the roster currently, especially after drafting Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James. The Seahawks already had Devon Witherspoon, Woolen, Mike Jackson, Tre Brown, and Artie Burns. Witherspoon is obviously safe but any of the rest could go when final cuts are made. Yes, Woolen made the Pro Bowl in 2022 and had 6 interceptions but he took a massive step back in 2023, especially in terms of run support.

In 2023, Woolen's quarterback rating when targeted was a solid 79.8 but that was 30 points higher than in 2022. He also missed 14.5 percent of his tackles. He has excellent athletic ability, but he also can't be decent in one part of his game. He seemed scared to challenge running backs last year and that won't wash in a Mike Macdonald defense.

Seattle could release Darrell Taylor

The Seahawks tendered several players this offseason. One was cornerback Mike Jackson who already reworked his deal so that the maximum he could earn would be less but he has more guaranteed. Taylor has not worked out the same kind of deal which means if the Seahawks release him before the season begins, Taylor gets nothing. He has no guaranteed salary this season.

Taylor might appear safe as the Seahawks did not draft an edge rusher this year. He has also been lousy against the run during his career. Macdonald requires some positional flexibility from his players and if Taylor can only do one thing consistently well then he might not be worth the $3,136,000 he is set to be paid.

Seattle could release Taylor, save all the money on his 2024 contract, and pick up a free agent that was released before Week 1. Likely, the contract would be cheaper and the edge rusher might be more well-rounded. Taylor needs to prove he can be more versatile during training camp.

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