Cutdown Questions: Which Seahawks would be subject to waivers

The preseason is over for the Seattle Seahawks, and now it’s time for the team to trim the roster from 80 to 53 in advance of the 4 PM New York time Tuesday deadline. With that in mind, one of the questions fans always pose is which players would be subject to waivers if they are released. Thus, here is a look at all 80 players on the roster and whether they would hit waivers if the Hawks decide to move on.

For those fans unfamiliar with waivers, the way they work is that players with three or fewer accrued season are subject to waivers, while those players with four or more accrued seasons do not go on the waiver wire upon release. If a player is waived the other 31 teams in the league have the opportunity to put in a claim on that player and the team with the highest priority that puts in a claim then gets the waived player. During the early part of the season, waiver order is determined by the final standings of the prior season, or basically draft order.

So, say the Seahawks waive someone like Alex Collins, the other 31 teams have the opportunity to put in a waiver claim. Say, for example that both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs put in a waiver claim. Since Jacksonville finished 2020 with a worse record than Kansas City, the Jaguars would be awarded Collins and then would need to free up another roster spot Wednesday in order to fit Collins on the roster.

Quarterback:

Not subject to waivers: Sean Mannion, Geno Smith and Russell Wilson

Subject to waivers: None

Running Back:

Not subject to waivers: Chris Carson

Subject to waivers: Alex Collins, DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer, Josh Johnson and Rashaad Penny

Explanation: Many will likely question why Collins is subject to waivers. The simple answer is that he has only three accrued seasons. He earned accrued seasons in each of 2016, 2017 and 2018, but was waived by the Baltimore Ravens and out of football during the 2019 season following a one car accident that resulted in felony drug and gun charges which were reduced to misdemeanors when he plead guilty. He returned to Seattle to play for the Seahawks in 2020, however, because he was not on the Week 1 roster he did not qualify for the accrued season exemption of the COVID Amendment and was not on the 53 man roster for a sufficient number of games to earn an accrued season. Thus, he has just three accrued seasons.

Tight End:

Not subject to waivers: Gerald Everett

Subject to waivers: Ian Bunting, Will Dissly, Tyler Mabry, Colby Parkinson and Cam Sutton

Wide Receiver:

Not subject to waivers: Tyler Lockett

Subject to waivers: Dee Eskridge, Aaron Fuller, Penny Hart, Cade Johnson, DK Metcalf, Darece Roberson, Freddie Swain, Cody Thompson, Travis Toivonen and Connor Wedington

Tackle:

Not subject to waivers: Duane Brown, Cedric Ogbuehi and Brandon Shell

Subject to waivers: Jake Curhan, Stone Forsythe, Tommy Champion, Greg Eiland and Jamarco Jones

Interior Offensive Line:

Not subject to waivers: Ethan Pocic and Gabe Jackson,

Subject to waivers: Kyle Fuller, Brad Lundblade, Phil Haynes, Jared Hocker, Pier-Olivier Lestage, Damien Lewis and Jordan Simmons

Defensive Tackle:

Not subject to waivers: Al Woods

Subject to waivers: Myles Adams, Poona Ford, Jarrod Hewitt, Bryan Mone and Robert Nkemdiche

Explanation: Nkemdiche is in a situation somewhat similar to that of fellow 2016 draftee Alex Collins. Nkemdiche earned accrued seasons with the Arizona Cardinals in 2016, 2017 and 2018, but was waived in 2019. He then signed with the Miami Dolphins, however he spent the majority of his time in South Florida on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and was released just eight days after being moved to the 53 man roster. As such, he did not earn an accrued season in 2019, and then spent the 2020 season out of football. Thus, he has just three accrued seasons and is subject to waivers.

Defensive End:

Not subject to waivers: Carlos Dunlap, Kerry Hyder and Benson Mayowa,

Subject to waivers: L.J. Collier, Rasheem Green, Alton Robinson and Darrell Taylor

Linebacker:

Not subject to waivers: Nick Bellore and Bobby Wagner

Subject to waivers: Darrell Taylor, Cody Barton, Jordyn Brooks, Aaron Donkor, Jon Rattigan and Lakiem Williams

Cornerback:

Not subject to waivers: Damarious Randall and Ahkello Witherspoon

Subject to waivers: Tre Brown, Tre Flowers, Gavin Heslop, D.J. Reed, John Reid, Will Sunderland

Safety:

Not subject to waivers: Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams

Subject to waivers: Ugo Amadi, Marquise Blair, Aashari Crosswell, Joshua Moon and Ryan Neal

Specialists:

Not subject to waivers: Jason Myers and Tyler Ott

Subject to waivers: Michael Dickson

Obviously, there are a good number of the names above that will not be cut or released, but this post is not designed to be a prediction in any way, and is simply informational.