NFL teams (that includes your Seattle Seahawks) have been plotting their offseason strategies for several months now, but with the start of the Scouting Combine, we have officially begun the roster-rebuilding phase of the NFL season. There will be a tremendous flurry of activity over the next two months as teams continue to evaluate players.
Soon, they will begin negotiating and signing free agents, and by the end of April, they will have added a host of new rookies in the draft and its immediate aftermath.
Even teams with quality rosters generally see a double-digit turnover from season to season. For bad teams, the number will be much higher. The Washington Commanders went 4-13 in 2023, prompting the new management team to jettison more than 50 percent of the ’23 roster. The Commanders responded with a 12-5 2024 season.
Seattle Seahawks might need to say goodbye to these five players
The changes in the Seahawks' roster will not be quite so drastic. Seattle is one of those teams caught in the amorphous middle of the league. They have enough quality players to hover around .500, and with a few breaks, they can contend for the playoffs. If they have one or two bad injuries, they could plummet.
Barring some kind of blockbuster maneuver that brings in an elite playmaker – which seems highly unlikely given the Hawks salary cap position and draft capital – GM John Schneider will have to continue to tinker. He needs to make smart moves to build every part of his roster so that when that playmaker does become available, Seattle is ready to take advantage.
Schneider obviously needs to draft well – far better than he did in 2024 – and make smart free agent signings. He also needs to trim away players who have not produced. That obviously applies to older, high-priced players, but it is true for the youngsters as well. If a player simply is not producing, the fact that he is on a team-friendly contract or was a Schneider draft pick should not save him.
With that in mind, here are five Seahawks who are in serious danger of being released before the start of the 2025 season. And just for fun, today we’ll go in reverse alphabetical order. Sometimes, it helps to flip things upside down.
Nehemiah Pritchett, Cornerback
Schneider chose two Auburn cornerbacks on day three of the 2024 draft. D.J. James did not make the roster, nor was he signed to the practice squad. His college teammate Nehemiah Pritchett did stick and was viewed as a developmental backup to Seattle’s boundary corners Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen.
Pritchett was impressed at last year’s combine with a blistering 40. Everyone knew that his run support was questionable, but the hope was that at 6’ tall, his speed and instincts would allow him to be a good coverage corner. He was relegated to special teams for most of the year, which is not surprising for a rookie. What was most distressing was the way he seemed to sink further and further on the depth chart as the season went on.
After filling in for an injured Woolen in a week seven blowout win over Atlanta, he barely saw the field again as a defender. As expected, his tackling was a problem. Even worse, he didn’t seem to have the physical ability to stay with NFL receivers. This was reflected in an atrocious Pro Football Focus (subscription required) grade – among the lowest in the league.
Mike Macdonald may have already concluded that Pritchett’s slim physique simply isn’t strong enough to play at the NFL level. His cap hit is minimal, and his length and speed are undeniable, so perhaps, with a pro season under his belt, he will show enough improvement to stick. If he doesn’t, Seattle may decide to cut the cord early.
Mike Morris, Defensive End
Entering his second season last year, Mike Morris was a very popular pick amongst Hawks fans to be a breakout star. The tea leaves seemed to line up just right. Morris has the kind of size Mike Macdonald likes in defensive ends. Everyone has always praised his attitude and coachability. He had shown steady improvement throughout his college career at Michigan.
And best of all, while a Wolverine, he had played under Macdonald. He had been injured for much of his rookie campaign in ’23, but a strong second season seemed to be fated.
Didn’t happen. The Seahawks had good play from Leonard Williams and Jarran Reed in ’24, but Morris should have developed into a solid rotational piece. Instead, when they were looking to fortify their roster after a difficult mid-season stretch, they traded for veteran journeyman Roy Robertson-Harris. Morris barely got on the field. Like Nehemiah Pritchett, as the season went on, his defensive snaps decreased.
Also, like Pritchett, Morris is a young player on a good contract, and there is no financial need to cut ties with him. But NFL teams can pick up proven commodities like Robertson-Harris cheaply during the off-season and even into the regular season. Morris should have shown more in his second year. The fact that he didn’t, even playing under MacDonald, might suggest that the Hawks have decided there are better options available.
Rayshawn Jenkins, Safety
Of all the players Seattle is likely to release this offseason, Jenkins appears to be the most obvious. Unlike the two youngsters mentioned above, he is a veteran with a more cumbersome contract. In reality, his $4.8 million price tag for 2025 is not all that big. Were Jenkins a productive starter, it would be a bargain.
But Jenkins was not productive in 2024. By the midpoint of the season, he wasn’t even a starter. Seattle seems to have a solid pair of safeties in Julian Love and Coby Bryant. There isn’t much behind them right now, but Schneider will be able to find cheaper veteran options in free agency and developmental players in the draft.
Jenkins’ dead cap hit is $2.5 million for ’25, so he won’t save the Hawks a lot of money. But Schneider has little room to maneuver. Trimming a million here and million there will be essential.
I liked Jenkins a lot when he played for the Chargers in his first four years. His play began to fall off when he signed with Jacksonville in 2021. Schneider took a chance on him last year, giving the veteran a two-year deal in hopes that he could be part of a rebuilt safety room. The safety room did begin to improve, but Jenkins was not a part of it. Time to cut the losses and move on.
Sam Howell, Quarterback
This one stings. I thought trading for Howell was a smart move. Not too long ago, during the middle of his college career, Howell was projected to be a potential first-round draft pick. He regressed in his senior year at North Carolina and ended up going in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. But the talent remained.
He has a good arm and is tough. He can run a little bit. For a young player, he already has a fair amount of experience at the NFL level. Entering 2024, his floor seemed to be a “solid backup,” and his ceiling was… no one really knew.
Rarely has a single game influenced my opinion about a player as much as Howell’s performance against Green Bay did last year. Coming in for an injured Geno Smith in the third quarter, he looked entirely unprepared to play. The Seahawks were not playing very well in that game, but they were still alive when Howell entered.
The game was vital to Seattle’s playoff chances. He went 5-14 for 24 yards and threw one interception. He was sacked four times. The performance was not all his fault, but he did not look like he belonged on an NFL field.
Most tellingly, Howell did not get the start – he didn’t even get a mop-up time snap – in the season finale. There were no playoff implications. It would have been the ideal chance to allow him to rebound from the Green Bay disaster and end on a positive note. Macdonald chose to play Geno Smith the entire game.
Seattle has a new offensive coordinator and new quarterback coach for 2025, so it is impossible to predict how they will view Howell. But in terms of low-cost, low-end backups QBs, there are always options.
George Fant, Offensive Tackle
The role George Fant plays – swing tackle – has become arguably the most important backup role on an NFL team, apart from quarterback. And even as he turns 33, I think Fant could be reasonably effective in the role. But he has not been able to stay healthy, and that may be more important than talent for a swing tackle. You need to be able to rely on someone to step into a game at a moment’s notice and not get devoured by opposing defenses.
Fant was unavailable when Seattle desperately needed him. Early in the season, when they were waiting for the return of right tackle Abraham Lucas, Fant’s injury forced the Hawks to use Stone Forsythe and Michael Jerrell. Neither was ready. Forsythe is a pending free agent and could well be gone.
Perhaps Jerrell can grow into the swing role. Whether he can or can’t, there doesn’t seem to be much logic in holding onto a backup who has had significant injury issues in two of the last three years.
Fant’s salary for 2025 is $3.4 million, and he carries a dead cap hit of $1.8 million. As with Rayshawn Jenkins, cutting him would not save a ton of money, but it would help. More importantly, they need a swing tackle they can rely on.