NFL Roster Cuts, Seahawks 53-man roster prediction 4.0: Preseason Week 4 edition

The roster cuts are already rolling in, so I figure that in the interest of fairness, I better get my 4th edition roster prediction in before Seattle gets down to 75 players.

You can check out 1.0 from Week 1, 2.0 from Week 2, and 3.0 from Week 3 if you like, and this week there are a few additional changes.

Let's do this.

OFFENSE (25):

QUARTERBACKS (2):

Keep:

QB1 Russell Wilson 5'10, 215
QB2 Tarvaris Jackson 6'2, 215

Cut:

QB R.J. Archer 6'2, 220

Comments: No changes, no surprises. Rush James has done a nice job in his capacity as a third-string quarterback, but I'm still rolling with Jackson as the primary backup here.

RUNNING BACKS (4):

Keep:

RB Marshawn Lynch 5'11, 215
RB Robert Turbin 5'11, 220
RB Christine Michael 5'10, 230
FB Derrick Coleman 6'0, 233

Cut:

FB Will Tukuafu 6'4, 285
FB Rod Smith 6'3, 231
FB/TE Brandon Cottom 6'2, 262
RB Thomas Rawls 5'11, 215

Comments: Christine Michael is frustratingly hot and cold, but he's still got a high enough ceiling to roll with as the 3rd string running back. I feel like many of the issues that we're talking about with Michael (immaturity, simple scheme screwups, lack of focus, attention to detail, etc) were the same things we were talking about with regard to Golden Tate after two seasons. Here's to hoping he makes a big jump in 2015 in the "professional football player" department.

I think that Rawls, Smith, and Cottom have a shot at the practice squad (probably two of the three at most). Rawls could get plucked off of waivers.

WIDE RECEIVERS (6):

Keep:

WR Chris Matthews 6'5, 230
WR Doug Baldwin 5'10, 189
WR Jermaine Kearse 6'1, 215
WR Tyler Lockett 5'10 185
WR Ricardo Lockette 6'2, 211
WR Kevin Smith 5'11, 215

PUP:

WR Paul Richardson 6'1, 183 [PUP]

Cut:

WR Kasen Williams, 6'1, 210
WR B.J. Daniels 5'11, 218
WR Kevin Norwood 6'2, 200 (traded)

Comments: Last week, I had B.J. Daniels on here as the sixth receiver, but after seeing Kevin Smith make a few very nice returns vs. the Chargers, I'm suddenly very intrigued with him again. I think he's more sudden of an athlete and has better upside as a receiver.

Of course, the receiving production isn't exactly eye popping (2 receptions for 36 yards in Week 1). However, from what I'd heard, he had a very strong training camp prior to getting hurt in Preseason Week 1, so we'll see if he can leapfrog Daniels for the final spot on that.

He still needs to show a little bit more in the receiving part of things this week, I think, but I see him as a superior return man than Daniels, which should carry a lot of weight after last year's returns debacle. The sixth receiver on the roster likely won't see a ton of playing time in the offense anyway.

Of course, the factor that could make Daniels more valuable than Smith is his ability to play quarterback. If that's a big deal to the Seahawks, Daniels could make the cut instead of Smith.

Kasen is the darkhorse to sneak into this group.

TIGHT END (3):

Keep:

TE Jimmy Graham 6'7, 265
TE Luke Willson 6'5, 260
TE Anthony McCoy 6'5, 275

Cut:

TE Rashaun Allen 6'5, 250
TE Cooper Helfet 6'4, 240

Comments: The third tight end spot is like a carousel. You put in the quarter, you get on the horse, you get on, you go up and down, and around. Circular. Circle. With the music. The flow.

I think I've had a different guy on here in every iteration so far, first Allen, then McCoy, then Cooper, now McCoy again. I don't know who the hell the third tight end will be, but today I'm going with McCoy.

OFFENSIVE LINE (10):

Keep:

LT1 Russell Okung 6'5, 315 
LG1 Justin Britt 6'6, 325
C1 Drew Nowak 6'4, 300
RG1 J.R. Sweezy 6'5, 320
RT1 Gary Gilliam 6'6, 306
OT Alvin Bailey 6'3, 335
OL Lemuel Jeanpierre 6'3 300
G/T Mark Glowinski 6'4, 307
T/G Terry Poole 6'5, 315
G/C Kristjan Sokoli 6'5, 300

Cut:

OT Jesse Davis 6'6, 309
OG Keavon Milton 6'4, 324
OL Will Pericak 6'4, 296
OC Patrick Lewis 6'1, 305

Comments: I'm still super torn about this position group. I still think that the starting five will be Okung-Britt-Nowak-Sweezy-Gilliam, then Alvin Bailey will be the swing tackle and Lemuel Jeanpierre will be the swing interior lineman. Past that, it gets really murky.

Terry Poole hasn't particularly impressed, but neither have Milton nor Pericak. Poole does have the slight advantage of being able to play tackle ("able" is relative, of course), which I think helps his cause. Past that, Glowinski feels like a solid bet as a backup developmental interior lineman, but Kristjan Sokoli is definitely on the bubble. Will the Seahawks keep nine here? Will Patrick Lewis replace Sokoli as an interior lineman? Will they pick someone up on waivers? Will they make a trade? The offensive line depth is impossible. I'm just keeping the draft picks because of age and club control factors.

DEFENSE (25)

DEFENSIVE LINE INTERIOR (4)

Keep:

NT1b Brandon Mebane 6'1, 305
NT1n Ahtyba Rubin 6'2, 325
3T1n Jordan Hill 6'1, 305
NT/3T T.Y. McGill 6'0, 300

Cut:

3T D'Anthony Smith 6'2, 300
3T/NT Jesse Williams 6'3, 320

Comments: I will be very curious to see what the team does with T.Y. McGill, because to my eye, he has played very well. He can play both at the nose and at three-techinque, and has a nice little Mebane-esque burst up the field to him. I don't know if the Seahawks would prefer to keep a more experienced guy like D'Anthony Smith here -- potentially -- but I really like McGill's upside.

I think that Jesse Williams has looked good in spots, but he's on the ground a lot (too much) and I don't know if the health factors will be a detriment to his case for the roster. Seattle has to factor in that Williams' knees have been a constant issue in his two seasons in the NFL, and the recent cancer diagnosis and treatment is obviously a concern. However, he's a highly inspiring person with amazing personal resilience and positive attitude, and I know that Pete Carroll finds these attributes attractive as well. Will his infectious attitude help him find a spot? Possibly, though his play on the field is obviously the number one thing. We shall see.

DEFENSIVE LINE EDGE (4):

Keep:

LEO Cliff Avril 6'3, 260
5T/3T Michael Bennett 6'4, 275
5T/3T Frank Clark 6'3, 271
LEO Cassius Marsh 6'4, 255

Cut:

3T/5T Greg Scruggs 6'3, 275
LEO Obum Gwacham 6'5, 245
5T/DE David King 6'4, 270
5T/3T Demarcus Dobbs 6'2, 280
5T/DE Julius Warmsley 6'2, 285

Comments: I like what I've seen from Scruggs and Warmsley. They both have potential for the roster if Seattle rolls with five edge guys, which is definitely possible. I don't know what to think of Demarcus Dobbs -- he's a core special teams guy but hasn't really done much this preseason to stand out.

David King and Obum Gwacham feel like practice squad players, but it wouldn't be a complete shock if either snuck onto the roster. I see them more as long shots though.

LINEBACKERS (7):

Keep:

OLB1 K.J.Wright 6'4, 246
MLB1 Bobby Wagner 6'0, 241
LEO/DE Bruce Irvin 6'3, 263
OLB2 Kevin Pierre-Louis 6'0, 232
MLB2 Brock Coyle 6'1, 235
SLB Mike Morgan 6'3, 226
OLB Eric Pinkins 6'3, 230

Cut:

LB Tyrell Adams, 6'2, 228
LB Alex Singleton 6'2, 242
LB Quayshawn Nealy 6'0, 236

Comments: No changes. Pinkins is on the bubble -- and the Seahawks may roll with Adams or Singleton over him, or simply go with six at the linebacker position.

DEFENSIVE BACKS (10)

Keep:

CB1 Richard Sherman 6'3, 195
CB2 Cary Williams 6'1, 190
FS1 Earl Thomas 5'10, 202
SS1 Kam Chancellor 6'3, 232
NB Will Blackmon 6'0, 204
FS/SS Dion Bailey 6'0, 215
SS/FS Ronald Martin 6'2, 220
CB/FS/SS DeShawn Shead 6'1, 225
CB Tharold Simon 6'2, 205
CB/NB Tye Smith, 6'0, 190

PUP:

CB Jeremy Lane 6'0, 190 [PUP]

Cut:

FS/NB Steven Terrell 5'10, 197
NB1 Marcus Burley 5'10, 189
SS Ryan Murphy, 6'3, 214
CB Douglas McNeil 6'3, 212
CB Mohammed Seisay 6'1, 202
FS Triston Wade 5'11, 185
SS Keenan Lambert 6'0, 209
SS Tyrequek Zimmerman 5'11, 213
SS Keelan Johnson 5'11, 210

Comments: A few changes here, again. First off, I think Kam reports. I could be wrong, but hey, this is my guess.

Past that, I am going with Will Blackmon as the primary nickelback after what I thought was a strong performance on Saturday (outside of one play where he got beaten by Stevie Johnson, he looked good). I still haven't seen anything from Steven Terrell -- other than raw speed -- to warrant putting him above Dion Bailey and Ronald Martin. At some point, it comes down to making plays, and I haven't seen Terrell make any, save for a nice blitz and quarterback-hit on Phillip Rivers on Saturday. That's not enough. Obviously, the team has access to All-22 and may like what he provides in practice, but I'm just going off of what is available to us.

Past that, I feel good about the defensive back position. Burley and Seisay have a shot to sneak on the roster, and McNeil, Wade, Lambert, and Murphy are ideal practice squad candidates.

SPEC (3):

Keep:

P Jon Ryan 6'0, 217
LS Clint Gresham 6'3, 240
K Steven Hauschka 6'4, 210

Comments: No one to cut.

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4.0 is in the books.