Seahawks 90-Man Roster Primer: Phil Haynes

Injuries have kept Haynes off the field for most of his first two seasons in Seattle. With a starting spot no longer in reach, can he stay healthy long enough to maintain a roster spot as a swing guard behind Gabe Jackson and Damien Lewis?

Author:
Henry Curi
Publish date:
Jun 20, 2021 5:30 PM EDT

With the calendar flipping to June and offseason programs recently wrapping up, NFL training camps will begin around the league in less than two months. To celebrate the new incoming season, we will be breaking down the Seahawks' 90-man roster over the next several weeks, exploring best and worst case scenarios and what to expect from each player entering the 2021 campaign.

Phil Haynes, Offensive Guard

Height/Weight: 6-foot-4, 322 pounds

2020 Stats: Two games played

After not playing in a single regular season game as a rookie due to a sports hernia surgery, Haynes again struggled with durability in 2020. The former fourth-round pick out of Wake Forest found himself sidelined with a hip injury throughout training camp and wound up missing the first nine games of the year on injured reserve, continuing to limit his chances of contributing for the Seahawks. Although he was able to get back on the field and play in two games, he suffered a season-ending groin injury shortly after, concluding his sophomore year in disappointing fashion. To this point, his biggest challenge has been to simply stay healthy. But Haynes did play well when he checked in during a divisional round loss to the Packers as a rookie and the organization isn't quite ready to write the mauling blocker off yet entering his third NFL season.

Best Case Scenario: Finally fully healthy and able to participate in all three preseason games, Haynes puts a difficult first two years behind him with a dominant showcase in August, edging Jamarco Jones and rookies Jared Hocker and Pier-Olivier Lestage for a roster spot and positioning himself to be the primary backup behind Damien Lewis and Gabe Jackson.

Worst Case Scenario: The injury bug bites again and Haynes is unfortunately focused more on rehabilitation than contributing to his team in August. Unable to see the field, Seattle decides to move on from the injury-prone former fourth rounder in favor of Jordan Simmons and Jones, cutting him after the third preseason game with an injury designation and choosing not to bring him back on the practice squad.

What to Expect in 2021: Although Haynes has barely gotten a taste of regular season football in two years, he remains talented enough to be able to help the Seahawks if he can stay healthy. He showed himself capable of moving defenders off the ball as a run blocker in his brief outing against the Packers two years ago and can play either guard spot in a pinch. But with Jackson arriving as the new starter at right guard, Simmons re-signing on a one-year deal, and Jones returning from his own injury, he can't afford to miss any time in camp this time around. If he does, he's liable to drop down the depth chart behind Simmons and Jones and could even be bypassed by Hocker and/or Pier-Lestage. The team could be running out of patience and not being available to play would surely lead to a pink slip. If he avoids the injury bug, however, he offers enough upside to warrant a roster spot.