6 bubble battles: Where Seahawks stand on final roster spots

Stop watching preseason offense and defense for clues: Special teams is what matters now

The Seahawks have to make their final cuts next Tuesday and that makes it very enticing to do a projected 53-man roster right now. However, I can’t tell you anything different or “more accurate” than many other 53-man rosters that are being written this week and after the final preseason games, so I’d rather dive deeper into the weeds of the MAJOR decisions being made by Mike Macdonald and his coaching staff in the coming days.

There aren’t a lot of debates going on behind the scenes about who will start. There are, however, arguments for who will be the last few players to make the roster and whether they contribute enough on special teams to justify their place as the “worst case scenario” on offense or defense. These are those roster bubble decisions.

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WR5/6

On the bubble: Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Jake Bobo, Steven Sims, Dareke Young, Cody White, Ricky White

Although coaching decisions and quotes would indicate a safe spot for Valdes-Scantling, I’m going to be as conservative as possible with these bubbles. Macdonald and Kubiak have also both said that MVS is “competing” and “battling” with Tory Horton, so it could be true that losing a job at X means losing his place on the 53-man roster.

This bubble section is called “WR5/6” but in actuality there are only three receivers of note not listed here (JSN, Kupp, Horton) so it’s more like these are six players competing for 2 or 3 spots, not just one. If MVS is the 4th and Bobo is the 5th, that really just means that the rest are out to prove that they will be valuable members on the special teams unit.

The position is called “receiver” so it seems illogical to say that receiving isn’t that important when it comes to making the team. But that is 100% the case for players like Young and the Whites: Receiving does not matter.

If the Seahawks get to a point in 2025 when Dareke Young is playing significant snaps at receiver, it must mean that the airplane has lost both engines, both wings, the tail, the cockpit, and the flaps. Oh dear god, the flaps. The sixth receiver is more like the flotation device under the seat…let’s pray we never have to use it.

Lucky for Young, he does have extensive special teams experience. Perhaps the only question left is whether or not the team needs to keep a receiver who is a returner (meaning Sims or maybe Ricky White) or if they find a player at another position to do those jobs and they want to keep Young for coverage. I put Cody White on the bubble but he’s at best a practice squad player who gets called up in an emergency, which could still be relevant given durability concerns for Kupp and Horton.

RB3/4

On the bubble: Damien Martinez, George Holani, Jacardi Wright

Holani definitely takes the lead in terms of preseason rushing stats:

• 12 carries

• 110 yards

• 9.2 yards per carry

• 1 TD

• 1 20-yard catch

• 3 KO returns for 73 yards (24.3)

It is his functionality as a kickoff returner that could give him the nod over Martinez, the pre-preseason favorite to land the job. I still wouldn’t get ahead of myself here to kick Martinez out because there are advantages in the long run. For example, Martinez doesn’t even turn 22 until just before the next Super Bowl. He is signed on a rookie contract through 2028. And just a few months ago, Martinez was praised as this absurd “steal” in the seventh round.

Should that be ignored because his first preseason game didn’t go as well as expected? What would have happened if Martinez, not Zach Charbonnet, was given first team carries on Friday against the Chiefs? We saw how much different the run game was when it had good run blocking. And Martinez is still an option on kickoff returns, which he handled against the Raiders.

Keeping three running backs is possible, especially given the certainty of Robbie Ouzts on the roster, but I wouldn’t rule out keeping four given the even-more-certainty that Kenneth Walker III isn’t going to make it through 18 weeks unscathed.

Holani’s outstanding preseason feels like worse news for Wright (and maybe Brady Russell?) than bad news for Martinez.

The Hangnail: Brady Russell

It’s hard to fit Russell into a positional bubble category because he’s neither tight end nor fullback. Yes, he’s playing with both position groups right now but is it fair yet to call him “versatile”? Versatility only counts when the player can actually start at all the positions for which he needs to be the understudy.

Russell’s versatility comes more in the form of being an important special teamer — Jay Harbaugh singles out Brady Russell as “the one” who best embodies what it means to be a great special teamer — and that’s really where he will earn his spot on the 53-man roster. But is that a guy who Macdonald thinks he can sneak past waivers more easily than he can do that for Martinez or Holani? And here’s another reason why I say that:

I’d be surprised if there are any teams out there thinking, “Oh boy we need a fullback like Brady Russell, gotta get me some fullback Brady Russell”. Only so many teams carry a fullback and Russell is not gonna standout there, so he’s only a tight end/special teamer. How many teams are willing to cut one of their own players to make room for a TE4? Because that’s what you have to do: You can’t just claim. You have to claim and cut somebody.

OL9/10

On the bubble: Bryce Cabeldue, Michael Jerrell, Sataoa Laumea, Mason Richman, Christian Haynes

It’s no longer controversial to put Haynes on the bubble. Yeah, he will probably make the roster but setting aside his 2024 draft status, is there any evidence yet that Christian Haynes is good enough to play on Sundays? Haynes won’t make it through waivers, he would get claimed, which makes him the perfect player to put on the trade block IF you’re going to cut him anyway.

There are five starters who make the team, plus probably Josh Jones, Jalen Sundell, and Haynes. That’s eight. Pulling from this group, Cabeldue and Jerrell likely make the most sense, followed by Laumea and Richman. This is a difficult decision to guess with much accuracy however and any combination is possible. If the team does part with Haynes, it would make it more likely to keep someone like Richman, an offensive lineman who is two years younger than Haynes and also under contract for a longer period of remaining seasons.

NT

On the bubble: Johnathan Hankins, Brandon Pili, Quinton Bohanna

Mookie Alexander’s decision to cut Hankins in his latest 53-man roster projection for Field Gulls makes sense to me. It is never easier to part ways with a player than when he’s not practicing. I know that Seahawks fans have seen enough from Pili to make the change, but do coaches agree?

The Hangnail: Mike Morris

Speaking of not practicing, Morris was the “M.I.A.” defensive lineman in 2023. The former fifth round pick who played for Mike Macdonald at Michigan then returned to the field in 2024, playing 70 snaps on defense and 287 on special teams. It is that second stat that increases his odds of a third season with Seattle.

Morris and Tyreke Smith have been called preseason standouts for defensive contributions, and having that depth is important, especially given the injury history of some of the vets.

Morris had a nice tackle for loss to stuff a Jeanty run in the backfield, and also had a good pass rush that, along with initial pressure from Smith, resulted in an intentional grounding call. Smith, meanwhile, had three tackles, a quarterback hit, a pass defensed, one special teams tackle, and a pass rush that drew a holding call.

But the issue here is no different than at receiver: It’s unlikely Morris sees a lot of defensive playing time even if he does make the roster. Morris is another player who Harbaugh said he likes having on special teams, so that is probably his ticket to the 53. And you don’t get your ticket punched without taking it from someone else…

Roster spots are like helium…there’s a finite supply.

OLB5

On the bubble: Tyreke Smith, Connor O’Toole, Jared Ivey

With Uchenna Nwosu’s impending return after passing a physical this week, it is increasingly unlikely that the Seahawks care that much about the OLB5. I’ve seen a lot of hopes going up for these three players recently, and that’s perfectly okay, but is this really any different than “Sheriffmania” in 2024?

• Demarcus Lawrence will play a lot, with veteran rest breaks.

• Boye Mafe will play a lot.

• Nwosu will play a lot, with injury rest breaks.

• Derick Hall is kind of getting buried here already.

The Seahawks will play a lot of snaps with only one or two “edge rushers” at the traditional spots here. When they go dime, Nick Emmanwori plays the WILL linebacker position to the boundary side. I can’t stop saying this: The bubble players are competing for special teams roles because they can’t really see the field on offense or defense given the depth chart.

So when we see an Ivey or an O’Toole do something cool like get a sack in the preseason, it just doesn’t really have as much of an impact as if they had NOT allowed the Chiefs to return a punt for a touchdown last week.

Last week, Saturday Morning Inspection had a video calling Ivey “literally unblockable” so we do need to exercise a little more caution in the age of hyperbole. This week, O’Toole is a “massive steal”:

The edge rusher who had the most special teams snaps last year was Hall and he only had 90. I would say that the addition of a fullback and third quarterback might actually be at the cost of an OLB5 this year. I could see none of these players making the final roster. Truth be told — and this happens almost every year — fans will worry that this means the Seahawks wil lose them to the waiver wire but it’s not hard to imagine all of these players going unclaimed. It’s what would probably happen.

LB4

On the bubble: Drake Thomas, Patrick O’Connell, Josh Ross, D’Eryk Jackson, Jamie Sheriff

If Tyrice Knight isn’t ready for Week 1, and especially if he goes to PUP, we should be looking at Thomas and O’Connell as the most probable options to replace him on defense next to Ernest Jones. Both of those players are most certain to make the final 53-man roster, which would mean that we’re actually looking at Ross, Jackson, and Sheriff as competing for LB4.

The roster would be Jones, Thomas, O’Connell on the 53, then probably Knight on PUP and Ross. Even if Knight doesn’t go on PUP, then someone like Ross makes the final roster and Seattle temporarily keeps 5 linebackers because of Knight’s knee issue. Macdonald said he’s “optimistic” on Monday but will need to get some more tests back this week.

In my view, Jackson and Sheriff are super unlikely to make the 53. If the Seahawks need anyone else after Ross, they probably go into free agency and the waiver wire for options. Drake Thomas was once a waiver wire pickup himself.

Where do you see the bubble heading at these positions? Let me know:

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