Field Gulls
The Seattle Seahawks have trimmed their roster to 53 players, preseason is in the books, and the 2025 regular season is finally here. On this episode of The Hawks Eye Podcast, I was joined by Rob Staton of Seahawks Draft Blog to break down where the team stands heading into Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers.
The show kicks off with an in-depth discussion of the Seahawks’ final roster decisions. We examined which players earned their spots, which surprise cuts stood out, and where the roster still feels thin. From young rookies cracking the lineup to established veterans proving their value, the roster conversation sets the foundation for Seattle’s season outlook. While the Seahawks moved on from Marquez Valdes-Scantling, which Rob didn’t expect, he has a positive view of Seattle’s receiver group, which is led by Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
All eyes this week are on the Week 1 showdown with the San Francisco 49ers. Seattle opens the season against its toughest divisional rival, and Rob breaks down key matchups — including the battle between Seattle’s offensive line and San Francisco’s vaunted pass rush. With the 49ers entering the opener with a banged-up wide receiver corps, the Seahawks’ defense has a real opportunity to take advantage and tilt the matchup in their favor. An early win would be a statement, but at the very least, this game will be a true measuring stick for Macdonald’s team.
“I think it’s a very important game,” Staton said. “I think if you lose, like, you’ve you’ve had a big reset, you had a bad home record last year. I think if you lose your opening game at home to an NFC West opponent, it’s a setback. Now, it’s one game. It’s doesn’t mean the season’s going to be over, but if they lose, I know as I’m leaving Lumen Field, I’m going to be wondering, ‘Are they ever going to get the home field advantage back? Are they ever going to get to this point where they can make teams fear coming here again?
“And I also think they’re getting the Niners at a decent time because they’re they’re quite banged up at receiver. They’ve got a young defense that might be a bit more settled in in a few weeks time. I know on the other hand that, you could argue, well, Christian McCaffrey may well be hurt in a few weeks and you’re getting him fresh and ready to go and all of that, but I just think it’s vital that they start off with a win. And it doesn’t have to be a spectacular performance because it very rarely is. Like even in the sort of the peak Russ years there were often—remember that Miami [Dolphins] game where he was hobbled and they just about won, and there was a game I think against the [Cincinnati] Bengals where they just about won on the opening day.
“There was all sorts of games like that where they just scrape through against teams...
