Speedy Noil, Troymaine Pope ousted; Seahawks add secondary in latest roster moves

The Seattle Seahawks Wednesday got lighter on offense and added two defensive backs in a swivel of roster moves during their day off between organized team activities. Fan favorite Troymaine Pope, who rushed 12 times for 44 yards in 2016 for the New York Jets and Seahawks after raising eyebrows with 162 yards on 24 attempts against reserves during preseason action for Seattle, is one of the casualties along with undrafted free agent wide receiver Devante “Speedy” Noil, who Seattle signed earlier this month, two weeks after the draft. Taking their spots on the provisional 90-man roster (for now) are Marcus Cromartie, formerly of the Buffalo Bills, and Jordan Simone, who went to Washington State before transferring to Arizona State and rehabbing a torn ACL during a year out of football.

As Bob Condotta reminds us, Simone is the third Seahawk now on the extended roster from Skyline High School in Sammamish, after Simone’s prep teammates wide receiver Kasen Williams and quarterback Jake Heaps. Seattle’s front office listed Cromartie as a free safety on the transaction report even though he played cornerback for Buffalo last year; Simone is listed as a strong safety.

The addition of further two more depth safeties presumably does not reflect concerns about the Seahawks recent signee Bradley McDougald or draft picks Delano Hill and Tedric Thompson after just one day of summer sessions—rather, the coaching staff most likely wanted to add some competition and insurance in the position group since, as Corbin Smith discussed Monday with Ben B and Field Gulls’ Mike Bar on the Legion of 12 podcast, all of those five safeties (with Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor) were highly likely to make the September roster if healthy.