Seahawks Announce Second Wave of Roster Cuts, Roster Sits at 78
With less than 24 hours until the NFL's deadline to reduce rosters to 53 players for the regular season, the Seattle Seahawks announced the release of five players on Monday afternoon with no unexpected surprises being revealed yet.
Among the quintet waived as part of the cut down process, the Seahawks let go of undrafted rookie receiver Tyjon Lindsey, tight end Griffin Hebert, and cornerback Arquon Bush, who each signed in May. In addition, second-year tackles Liam Ryan and Jalen McKenzie also hit the waiver wire after primarily working with the third-team offensive line during training camp and the preseason, leaving the team with 78 players on the roster.
On Monday, Seattle made its first wave of cuts jettisoning tight end Sal Cannella, running back Wayne Taulapapa, receivers Justin Marshall and Malik Flowers, defensive end Jordan Ferguson, and cornerbacks Chris Steele and Benjie Franklin.
Signed undrafted out of Oregon State, the speedy Lindsey finished the preseason on a strong note, catching five passes for 64 yards and also returning a pair of punts for 36 yards, including a 27-yard return in a win over the Cowboys. But with plenty of depth at the receiver position ahead of him, he wasn't able to crack the rotation to push for a roster spot.
After converting from receiver to tight end late in his college career at Louisiana Tech, Hebert reeled in three passes for 21 yards as a reserve during the preseason. Generating a crucial special teams turnover, he also recovered a muffed punt deep in Seattle territory in the exhibition opener against Minnesota, helping lead to a comeback victory at Lumen Field.
Dressing for two of the three preseason games, Bush only played 37 defensive snaps for the Seahawks, allowing two catches for nine yards in coverage and missing a pair of tackles in limited action. Playing in arguably the deepest position group on the roster, he seemed like a long shot to push for a roster spot and wasn't able to impress enough to stick around, though a practice squad spot may still be a possibility.
In the trenches, McKenzie only played 37 offensive snaps in three games, yielding two pressures on 19 pass blocking plays according to Pro Football Focus. Signed midway through camp after spending time on Seattle's practice squad last year, Ryan fared well splitting time at center and right guard, giving up no pressures on 19 pass blocking reps. Both could potentially return as members of the practice squad.
All 32 NFL teams must have their rosters cut to 53 players by 1 PM PT on Tuesday, leaving plenty of work left to do for Seahawks general manager John Schneider, coach Pete Carroll, and the rest of the front office with 25 players remaining to trade, cut, or place on injured reserve to meet the limit. After that point, teams may place claims on waived players from other teams and starting on Thursday, 16-man practice squads can be formed.
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