Several former Seahawks from 2022 team struggling for playing time elsewhere

With the Seattle Seahawks on a bye week, I figured it’s time to have a quick look at some notable former players who were on the 2022 squad and how they’re faring elsewhere. “Notable” can be pretty wide-ranging so I’m leaving out guys like Jonathan Abram and Laquon Treadwell, who were here for a brief period of time and only emergency options. I’m also not including players like Tanner Muse who were almost exclusively special teams unless it was an emergency.

RB Rashaad Penny (Philadelphia Eagles)

Penny has been a healthy scratch twice in four weeks, and even when the Eagles were down both Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell against the Minnesota Vikings, Penny’s touches were limited to 3 carries for 9 yards. It’s pretty wild that Penny is finally healthy, plays on a team with a great offensive line and dangerous rushing attack, and he’s not even the third option on the depth chart. It’s probably also worth noting that one of Penny’s snaps took a touchdown away for a holding penalty in pass pro, after which he didn’t see the field again, so that might be a hint.

DL Poona Ford (Buffalo Bills)

Ford was a multi-year starting defensive tackle in Seattle, but on a much deeper and better defense up in Buffalo, it’s a different story. Poona played 10 snaps on opening day, 13 snaps the following week, and has been a healthy scratch each of the past two weeks. On a D-line that includes Ed Oliver, Tim Settle, DaQuan Jones, and Jordan Phillips, it seems as if there’s no room for Poona in the rotation.

RB Travis Homer (Chicago Bears)

The former third-down/pass-protecting/receiving back in Seattle is on a bad Bears team and he has two offensive snaps to date. He’s been limited to special teams (where he was a key contributor for the Seahawks) and then when the Bears were decimated at the running back position on Thursday against the Washington Commanders, Homer wasn’t an option because he also got injured.

DL L.J. Collier (Arizona Cardinals)

As usual, he’s injured. Collier hurt his biceps in Week 1 and is on injured reserve, and Jonathan Gannon doesn’t know if he’ll be back this season.

G Gabe Jackson (Not in the league)

No one seems to be giving him a call, so that means 40 percent of the Seahawks’ starting offensive line from last season is not on an NFL roster right now. If you recall, center Austin Blythe is retired.

WR Marquise Goodwin (Cleveland Browns)

A very effective third receiving option in his one year with the Seahawks, Goodwin has just 34 offensive snaps played in Cleveland. His only reception went for 0 yards. I would cut Goodwin some serious slack given he had a major health issue earlier this offseason.

S Ryan Neal (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Finally we have someone who’s not rooted to the bench. Neal was essentially swapped out by the Seahawks for Julian Love, and he’s started every game for Tampa Bay thus far. Unfortunately, Neal is on the mend after getting concussed against the New Orleans Saints, but the Bucs are already on their bye week. Neal has 27 total tackles and a pair of tackles for loss, as well as a 4th down stop against the Philadelphia Eagles. His PFF grade isn’t as good as last season’s, for what it’s worth.

DL Shelby Harris (Cleveland Browns)

Harris was one of the several cap casualties along Seattle’s defensive line, but he’s on what is currently a top-5 defense by DVOA in Cleveland. His playing time is a modest 39% of all defensive snaps, and he’s picked up a 0.5 sack, a pass defensed, and two tackles for loss over four games.

DL Al Woods (New York Jets)

The Jets are quietly a middling defense by DVOA, so they’re not on pace to be the Legion of Boom 2.0. Big Al was actually a healthy scratch against the Kansas City Chiefs, which may have been strategic anticipating a lot of passing from Patrick Mahomes, but it backfired because KC rushed for over 200 yards. Woods did record a sack in Week 1 on the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen, so it’s not like he’s been anonymous.

DL Quinton Jefferson (New York Jets)

Probably the best performing former Seahawk from the 2022 team. Q-Jeff had a pair of sacks on Josh Allen and a 0.5 sack of Patrick Mahomes, and has five QB hits total. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his pass rush grade is considerably higher than his run defense grade.

LB Cody Barton (Washington Commanders)

Barton is starting and getting literally every snap in Washington’s defense, so he has an even bigger role than he did when he started in Seattle. He may not have been as bad as perceived by the Seahawks fans, but his PFF grade is atrocious this year. I’ll let the Commanders fans tell you what they think of him.

So all things considered, the Seahawks let several starters and regular contributors walk in free agency or release them outright, and the results on new teams are mixed at best and non-existent at worst. If there are any players I wish Seattle could have back from this list, I’d go with Harris and Neal, but so far the Seahawks run defense hasn’t suffered in the absence of those three defensive linemen. There’s also still time for Julian Love to turn things around and be a clear net positive after a shaky start.