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3 Biggest Snubs From the Seahawks' Initial 53-Man Roster

The Seattle Seahawks have put together their initial roster for the 2026 season, and some fairly notable players have been left off for now.
Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore.
Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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When you have a very good team, you have a very good roster of players. And when you have that very good roster of players, sometimes you can’t fit everyone worth keeping onto the roster.

For these Seattle Seahawks, coming off a Super Bowl championship, that is most certainly the case. Which waived players stand out as the most glaring right now?

CB/S D’Anthony Bell

This one really stands out given how thin the Seahawks are at safety at the moment. Other than starters Julian Love and Ty Okada, the only one they kept is Nick Emmanwori, who is currently rehabbing and also more of a slot cornerback right now. Bell has experience in both safety spots and was purposefully brought back after last season, so you’d figure the team likes him.

Bell can play multiple positions, which the Seahawks need.
Seattle Seahawks safety D'Anthony Bell (23) during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rodney Thomas II, Maxen Hook, AJ Finley, and Tysheem Johnson were also let go, which has left the team quite shallow at safety, but Bell was the most striking. Before the Avery Smith trade yesterday morning, I would have even assumed that Bell would be the starting nickel cornerback until Emmanwori returns. We’ll see if he finds his way back.

LB Jared Ivey

I wondered if the Seahawks might keep a fifth edge rusher, which they did. But I would have picked either Ivey or Jamie Sheriff, rather than Connor O’Toole. Admittedly, Ivey has a large club on his hand right now, which might be reducing his immediate value, but his versatility should stand out. Ivey can play on the outside as a rusher, but also has the size to slide inside.

Club hand or not, Ivey has some real ability.
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Jared Ivey (51) and linebacker Jalan Gaines (47) celebrate against the Kansas City Chiefs after a play. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Perhaps the Seahawks feel like they have enough of such a player with Mike Morris. I’ve been largely happy with Jared so far this preseason, and he’s been developing nicely over the last couple of seasons. Admittedly, O’Toole’s game in Tennessee was better than any one game from Ivey, but I still felt like his versatility would push things his way.

WR Cody White

I didn’t have White making the roster until after the Kansas City game, where he finally made some plays on offense and put in some work on special teams. So in a vacuum, I’m not overly shocked White didn’t make it. The more surprising thing to me is that White and Emmanuel Henderson Jr both didn’t make it, given both have similar special team roles.

Surely White finds his way back to help on special teams.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis (8) and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cody White (82) pose for a photo post game at Nissan Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One of the tasks the Seahawks had this offseason was to find a replacement for Dareke Young as a gunner. I would have believed either White or Henderson would be that. Perhaps they return on the practice squad, same for the above players, but for now, it’s a bit of a mystery.

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Brendon Nelson
BRENDON NELSON

Brendon Nelson has been a passionate Seattle Seahawks fan since 1996, and began covering the team and the NFL at large on YouTube in 2007. His work is focused on trending topics, data and analytics. Brendon graduated from the University of Washington-Tacoma in 2011 and lives in Lakewood, WA.

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