Seahawks sign cornerback Bless Austin to 53-man roster

The Ahkello Witherspoon trade did not yield a player in return, so the Seattle Seahawks entered the weekend with a vacant spot on the active roster. Well late Saturday night we got some breaking news from Seahawks radio analyst Dave Wyman that the team has added cornerback Blessuan Austin aka Bless Austin, formerly of the New York Jets.

Austin’s recent release from the Jets came as a surprise to teammate Marcus Maye, as he started 16 games for the team from 2019-2020 and was projected to be a starter this season. He has yet to record an interception but did have four passes defensed in each year along with a forced fumble. If PFF grades are your thing then he did not perform well on a team that is known for not performing well. On the plus side, at least he knows Jamal Adams.

It seems more than telling that of their additions at cornerback prior to the start of preseason, only rookie Tre Brown will have a place on this team whether on the active roster or practice squad. Brown is injured and probably won’t be on the field playing meaningful snaps any time soon. Meanwhile you had Witherspoon, Jordan Miller, Pierre Desir, Will Sunderland, Damarious Randall, and Gavin Heslop (who had the best preseason among this group) all getting cut or traded.

This is how we end up with trading for John Reid (now on practice squad), Sidney Jones (active roster), and now signing Bless Austin just days out from the start of the regular season. D.J. Reed and Tre Flowers are expected to be the starting corners for Week 1, but the coaching staff and management are otherwise cleaning house as far as the depth below those two.