UPDATED: 9:45AM
The Seahawks have officially announced the release of OT Wade Smith, CB Terrell Thomas, OT Cory Brandon, RB Demitrius Bronson, S Mike Dobson, DE Jackson Jeffcoat, WR Kevin Smith, and CB Thomas Wolfe. The team must release an addition seven players before tomorrow's deadline of 1PM.
I put together a prediction of which players would be cut below, and considering I published it about three minutes before the Seahawks made these announcements, I'll leave it up so you can see how I did. I missed on Bronson and Brandon (though noting that Brandon was possible), but was correct with Smith, Dobson, and Wolfe. We'll see how I do with the rest of the seven.
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The Seahawks will need to get down to 75 by tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1 PM PT. They may do so today, so this post won't be worthwhile for too long (note: about three minutes, yes).
Let's take a quick look at the roster and try and guess who those cuts may be.
QB:
QB1 Russell Wilson 5'10, 215
QB2 Tarvaris Jackson 6'2, 215
QB3 Terrelle Pryor 6'4, 233
QB4 B.J. Daniels 5'11,217
I think for now the Seahawks will stick with their four quarterbacks, particularly because of all the issues teams are having with theirs. Perhaps Seattle can feature Pryor and Daniels on Thursday against the Raiders and drum up a little interest in the trade market. A player-for-player swap would probably make the most sense, because I'd guess a seventh-rounder would be the highest you'd see for either guy. If Seattle wanted to trade Tarvaris Jackson, that might be something that could get slightly more in return.
RB:
RB1 Marshawn Lynch 5'11, 215
RB Robert Turbin 5'11, 220
RB Christine Michael 5'10, 221
FB Derrick Coleman 6'0, 240
RB Spencer Ware 5'10, 225
RB Demitrius Bronson 5'10, 212
FB Kiero Small 5'8, 244
I would not be surprised to see one of Kiero Small, Demetrius Bronson, or Spencer Ware go in the next day. Right now I'd probably guess Small, because fullbacks, generally speaking, are the least attractive on the open market right now (only a handful of teams really use them, and even Seattle's frequency of use is decreasing). Kiero has looked great as a lead blocker and is a great practice squad candidate, though.
Cuts/IR?
1. FB Kiero Small 5'8, 244
WR:
WR Percy Harvin 5'11, 195
WR Doug Baldwin 5'10, 189
WR Jermaine Kearse 6'1, 215
WR Paul Richardson 6'1, 183
WR Kevin Norwood 6'2, 200
WR Ricardo Lockette 6'2, 211
WR Bryan Walters 6'0, 190
WR Arceto Clark 5'10, 180
WR Phil Bates 6'1, 230
WR Kevin Smith, 5'11, 208
WR Chris Matthews 6'5, 218
WR David Gilreath 5'10, 170
The wide receiver corps is rolling 12-deep right now so I'm guessing at least two get released. My guess is those two will be Matthews and Gilreath, neither of whom have really made a strong case for themselves in preseason games (it's tough to know how they've looked in closed practices, though). I'd say that there's a chance that Kevin Smith gets released as well, and considering he's already bounced around to several teams and ended up with the Seahawks as a street free agent, this bodes well for his odds to make it onto the practice squad.
Cuts/IR?
2. WR Kevin Smith, 5'11, 208
3. WR Chris Matthews 6'5, 218
4. WR David Gilreath 5'10, 170
TE:
TE1 Zach Miller 6'5, 255
TE2 Luke Willson 6'5, 260
TE Cooper Helfet 6'4, 240
TE Rashaun Allen 6'5, 250
TE Morrell Presley 6'3, 225
With Cooper Helfet's health coming into question now, I'm going to guess the Hawks take a longer look at each of their guys.
Cuts/IR?
None for now.
OL:
LT1 Russell Okung 6'5, 315
LG1 James Carpenter 6'5, 320
OC1 Max Unger 6'5, 305
RG1 J.R. Sweezy 6'5, 320
RT1 Justin Britt 6'6, 325
T/G Alvin Bailey 6'3, 320
C/G Lemuel Jeanpierre 6'3, 305
OT Eric Winston 6'7, 302
OT/TE Gary Gilliam 6'6, 306
T/G Caylin Hauptmann 6'3,305
G/T Stephen Schilling 6'5,312
OT Nate Isles 6'5, 348
OT Cory Brandon 6'7, 324
G/C Greg Van Roten 6'3, 303
T/G Wade Smith 6'3, 300
OG CJ Davis 6'3, 303
This is a tough know to really gauge, but I haven't really seen much, nor heard much, from Van Roten, Smith, or Davis. These cuts could easily be Cory Brandon and/or Nate Isles as well.
Cuts/IR?
5. G/C Greg Van Roten 6'3, 303
6. T/G Wade Smith 6'3, 300
7. OG C.J. Davis 6'3, 303
DL:
5T1b Tony McDaniel 6'7, 310
NT1 Brandon Mebane 6'1, 305
3T1b Kevin Williams 6'5, 311
3T/5T Michael Bennett 6'4, 275
3T1n Jordan Hill 6'1, 290
3T/NT Greg Scruggs 6'3, 310
3T1n Jordan Hill 6'1, 290
3T D'Anthony Smith 6'2, 300
NT2 Andru Pulu 6'1, 322
3T/5T Michael Brooks 6'3, 275
3T/5T Jimmy Staten 6'4, 304
Depth isn't great right now on the defensive line so I think the Hawks will try to take a long look at each of these guys. It sounded like Michael Brooks has to have knee surgery (per Pete Carroll), so I'm throwing him onto the injured reserve, unfortunately. Jimmy Staten could be a cut here too, with the option to head to the practice squad.
Cuts/IR?
8. 3T/5T Michael Brooks 6'3, 275 (IR)
EDGE:
LEO/DE Cliff Avril 6'3, 260
DE/TE Cassius Marsh 6'4, 265
SLB1b Bruce Irvin 6'3, 255
LEO/LB O'Brien Schofield 6'3, 242
LEO/DE Benson Mayowa 6'3, 267
Benson is on the roster bubble, I think, but he'll at least another week to prove he belongs.
Cuts/IR?
None for right now.
LB:
WLB1 K.J.Wright 6'4, 246
MLB1 Bobby Wagner 6'0, 241
SLB1n Malcolm Smith 6'0, 230
OLB Kevin Pierre-Louis 6'0, 232
MLB2 Brock Coyle 6'1, 235
OLB Mike Morgan 6'3, 226
OLB Korey Toomer 6'2, 244
OLB Marcus Dowtin 6'2, 230
OLB Horace Miller 6'0, 235
LB Heath Farwell 6'0, 235
The linebackers crew is turning out to be really interesting and competitive. I don't know the severity of either player's injuries, but I would make a guess that both Miller and Farwell could go to the injured reserve this year (with Farwell possibly getting an injury settlement). Obviously a lot of this depends on how severe Farwell's groin injury is.
Cuts:
9. OLB Horace Miller 6'0, 235 (IR)
10. LB Heath Farwell 6'0, 235 (IR)
DB:
CB1 Richard Sherman 6'3, 195
CB2 Byron Maxwell 6'1,2 07
FS1 Earl Thomas 5'10, 202
SS1 Kam Chancellor 6'3,232
NB1/GN Jeremy Lane 6'0, 190
NB A.J. Jefferson 6'1, 190
CB3 Tharold Simon 6'2, 205
FS2 DeShawn Shead 6'1, 225
SS2 Jeron Johnson 5'10, 212
NB2 Akeem Auguste 5'10, 185
CB Phillip Adams 5'11, 195
SS Terrance Parks 6'2, 218
FS Steven Terrell 5'10, 197
FS Michael Dobson 6'0, 191
CB Trey Wolfe 6'0, 193
CB/S Eric Pinkins 6'3, 220
Again, this is pretty tough, but I could see Wolfe, who came here as a street free agent, and Dobson, the same, let loose. I think that Pinkins is headed for the injured reserve (or at least the PUP, we'll see). Another cut here could be Steven Terrell, who hasn't done much to impress.
Cuts/IR?
11. CB Trey Wolfe 6'0, 193
12. FS Michael Dobson 6'0, 191
13. CB/S Eric Pinkins 6'3, 220 (IR)
SPEC:
P Jon Ryan 6'0, 217
LS Clint Gresham 6'3, 240
K Steven Hauschka 6'4, 210
Cuts/IR?
None.
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There, you're down to 75. I'm sure I won't be right about them all. How would you do it?