Seahawks waive long snapper Nolan Frese, leaving open spot on 90-man roster

The Seahawks announced on Wednesday that they have waived Nolan Frese, who was the team’s long snapper back in 2016. Frese was in competition for the job with Tyler Ott, who took over for him in the playoffs after Frese injured his ankle in the regular season finale.

Right now, Seattle has 89 players on its active roster, so there’s one spot open for anyone to take. It’s a near-certainty that rookie defensive lineman Malik McDowell will occupy that space. McDowell is currently on the reserve/did not report list as a result of his recent ATV accident, thus he doesn’t count against the 90-man limit.

We should know more about McDowell’s health on Thursday, when the Seahawks resume training camp sessions. McDowell is currently in Seattle, and once he officially reports to camp, he’ll be on the active roster. As the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta notes, “it was expected he would likely be placed on the non-football injury list, which counts against the 90-man roster. Players on the NFI can be activated at any time. A player on the NFI to start training camp is also then eligible for the regular season version of the NFI, which means a player is eligible to return after six weeks.” If McDowell goes on Injured Reserve, then he’s definitely out for the year, as “IR designated for return” only applies to injuries in the regular season.

Circling back to the long snapper situation, Ott is now the only “official” long snapper on the team, so for now it’s his job to lose. Tight-end Steve Donatell also has experience at the position, for what it’s worth.