Field Gulls
Free agency and the draft are in the rear view mirror, and the offseason program is quickly winding down, meaning it’s time to start looking ahead to training camp and roster cuts.
It’s a holiday weekend with the slowest part of the annual NFL news cycle just over the horizon, meaning it’s time for the annual way-too-early 53 man roster projection.
No point wasting time with foundational fluff, because the debate that will rage will be about the content below, so it’s right to the projections on which members of the roster will survive through final roster cuts at the end of training camp.
Defensive End (3):
Keep: DeMarcus Lawrence, Leonard Williams, Rylie Mills
Cut: Mike Morris
Williams and Lawrence aren’t going anywhere as long as they stay healthy.
The Seahawks kept just three players who carried the defensive end position designation on the initial 2024 roster, and if that proves to be the case again in 2025, as of right now it’s either Morris or Mills. Morris turned 24 in April, and Mills will turn 24 during training camp, so there is meaningful difference in age between the two. Morris comes in having played just 96 defensive snaps during his two seasons in the NFL, but logged the third most special teams snaps of any player on the roster in 2024, so could have an advantage there.
Of course, the third most special teams snaps may not be a great selling point given the struggles of the group in 2024, which means Morris may need to put himself far enough ahead of Mills to justify two fewer seasons of team control.
Interior Defensive Line (3):
Keep: Jarran Reed, Byron Murphy, Johnathan Hankins
Cut: Quinton Bohanna, Bubba Thomas, Brandon Pili, Demeco Roland, J.R. Singleton
Reed and Murphy are locks, while Hankins showed enough on his 390 defensive snaps in 2024 that as long as he can continue to keep father time at arm’s length, he should be a member of the roster.
Bohanna and Pili each spent time on the practice squad in 2024, so come in with the advantage of knowing the coaching staff and system, but displacing any of the three veterans could prove an uphill battle.
Linebacker (9):
Keep: Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu, Jared Ivey, Ernest Jones, Tyrice Knight, Josh Ross, Drake Thomas, Connor O’Toole
Cut: Seth Coleman, Jalan Gaines, D’Eryk Jackson, Patrick O’Connell, Jamie Sheriff, Tyreke Smith
Hall, Mafe and Nwosu aren’t going anywhere and as long as they stay healthy should provide a very solid foundation on the edge. On the interior, the starting roles likely belong to Jones and Knight, while Ross and Thomas established themselves as significant enough members of the special teams that they should have a step up on the competition for their roster spots.
That effectively means the rest are competing for a pair of spots, with the final decision most likely coming down to which of them are able to best contribute on special teams. With that...
