Three Seahawks who could be surprise cut candidates this summer

The Seattle Seahawks have continued adding to their roster as training camp quickly approaches. This includes eight draft picks this offseason and over 20 undrafted free agents signed. It is to be expected that most of the UDFAs will be cut, and maybe one or two of the later draft picks could be released, but who are some established players that could find themselves on the chopping block?

Seattle does need to make some choices, unfortunately, based on cap room. This is not for just 2024 but 2025 as well. One of the players below affects next offseason's cap.

Training camp, with a new coaching staff, is likely going to flush out some veterans. The new coaching staff will see players with fresh eyes. Hopefully, this is a good thing.

Three Seahawks who could potentially be surprise cap casualties this summer

OLB Darrell Taylor

With the emergence of edge rusher Boye Mafe, the pending return of Uchenna Nwosu, along with Dre'Mont Jones' move to outside edge rusher, there may not be room for Darrell Taylor's $3.1 million cap hit in 2024. Taylor, soon to be a fourth-year player taken in the second round in 2020, experienced a 5-sack drop-off from 2022 to 2023.

The Tennessee product also has glaring issues in containing the run, an issue that has seemingly gotten worse as his career has progressed. In 2022, Taylor recorded a career-high 9.5 sacks but has never recorded more than 6.5 sacks in either of the other two years.

Releasing Darrell Taylor allows for someone like another second-round pick, Derick Hall, to see more playing time after a disappointing rookie season in which Hall didn't see much of the field. Mike Morris, also in his second year, missed all of last season with a shoulder injury and could find a spot in the rotation if Taylor is cut. New head coach Mike MacDonald knows Morris from their time at Michigan, and MacDonald could possibly get some solid rotational production from the 6'6", 290 lb defensive end.

DT Jarran Reed

With the 16th overall pick in last month's draft, the Seahawks selected defensive tackle Byron Murphy, which does not bode well for Jarran Reed, who is set to make north of $6 million in 2024. The signing of Johnathan Hankins, who has a history with new defensive coordinator Aden Durde, doesn't help Reed's case either. Seattle is looking to revamp their defense, specifically the unit that was absolutely gashed on the ground in 2022 and 2023. While Jarran Reed is a productive interior pass rusher, he may not fit with what Mike MacDonald wants to do with his new unit.

Reed is coming off a fantastic 2023 campaign in which he recorded 7 sacks and a career-high (54) in tackles, but is on the wrong side of 30 and is making significantly more than both Hankins and Murphy with a $6.3 million cap hit in 2024. It wouldn't necessarily be ideal if Reed was a cap casualty due to his production recently, but unfortunately, with the depth of Murphy, Hankins, and even 2023 rookie Cam Young, Jarran Reed could end up waived to free up some cap space this summer.

K Jason Myers

Sorry, Evan Hill.

If you are going to pay a kicker over $5 million annually, they better be one of the best and most reliable kickers in the league. Jason Myers has had his moments, including a stellar season in 2022 in which the kicker netted through 34 out of his 37 attempts. However, 2023 was a bit of a rollercoaster for Myers, only hitting 35 of his 42 attempts, good for a mediocre 83%, and multiple key missed field goals in late-game moments.

To put that number into perspective, there were 22 qualified kickers who had a higher percentage than Myers did in 2023. Only four kickers in the NFL make more money than Jason Myers - all four of whom had vastly better numbers in 2023. The biggest issue in dumping Myers' salary is the question of who takes over as the starting kicker in Seattle. And the (5) million dollar question is if unloading his cap hit, which is the 13th largest cap hit on the roster, is worth the hassle of finding a new reliable kicker.

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