Why the Seahawks traded Michael Jackson for a practice squad player

Seahawks make another trade, start to formulate the final 53-man roster: Seaside Joe 2000

Today is the 2,000th day in a row that I’ve mailed out at least one newsletter about the Seattle Seahawks. In the past, such a milestone would compel me to write a post strictly about the streak, especially for a number as clean as 2000. I mean, when I hit 1,000 I nearly quit the newsletter because it felt like such a good number to go out on, but instead I moved to Substack and that’s when it felt like Seaside Joe was only at the beginning.

Part of the reason that I do stuff like this is that I just want to find out what it feels like to complete and/or experience a personal challenge. What does it feel like to send and write an article every single day? How does it change my writing, how does it change me, how does it change the audience? There’s nobody (that I know of) that I can go to to talk about the experience of writing a newsletter for 2,000 days in a row, so I had to find out for myself.

And the answer, for me at least, is that now that I’m at 2,000, it sort of feels like nothing. In the sense that we all have things that we do every day and I just happen to be one of the few people whose everyday habit is writing a newsletter.

I chose a discipline that I was already comfortable with to begin with, as I have been writing almost-daily for a long time anyway. To get “2000” in the books is a nice number and it’s easy to share with people, “Hey, did you hear about the Seahawks newsletter that has gone out for the last 2,000 days in a row?”, but at this point it’s just blade of grass on the field of Substack.

It’s long enough by now that sending Seaside Joe is as second nature (second natural?) as brushing teeth.

None of this would matter without subscribers, so thanks for reading and continuing to subscribe whether that’s been for the 2,000 days or 2 days.

But it wouldn’t count as a daily Seahawks newsletter if I didn’t focus on the Seahawks, so what can I say about Seattle’s trade on Thursday that you didn’t already read or here somewhere else?

Seahawks make their first ‘cut’ of camp

Yes, the Seahawks have cut other players and they didn’t technically cut Michael Jackson, but Thursday’s news very much feels like Seattle’s first big move with regards to notable players who did not make the 53-man roster. The fact that they traded him is just a technicality because I don’t see the player coming back to Seattle being more than a practice squad addition.

On Wednesday’s Seaside Joe, Largentium asked a question on whether or not the Seahawks could trade for a linebacker and my answer could now be construed as “misleading, motion to hold Seaside Joe in contempt for lying.”

Sustained!

The Seahawks traded cornerback Michael Jackson to the Carolina Panthers for linebacker Michael Barrett, proving that I was wrong about how complicated it would be to make a player-player trade at this time of the year. That being said, my initial read on the trade is that Seattle didn’t trade a 53 player for a 53 player, but instead parted with a 53 player in return for a practice squad player.

This feels like a move to cut down on the competition at cornerback at the same time as the Seahawks tipping their hand that they had no plans to keep Jackson, but now they have an extra linebacker on the practice squad who has prior experience with Mike Macdonald from Michigan.

Seattle probably would not have been able to get Barrett on the practice squad if they had not made this trade: Clearly the Panthers were not going to keep Barrett, but if the Seahawks had claimed him off of waivers then they would have needed to put him on their 53-man roster. Now they can waive Barrett—he’d almost certainly clear waivers—and stash him on the practice squad in case they need a linebacker call up this year.

To be fair to Barrett, and any fans wanting to keep Barrett, the ongoing injury problems at linebacker including with number one starter Jerome Baker could compel Macdonald to keep Barrett on the 53 if there’s been no progress with Baker’s hamstring injury.

I could give you Barrett’s bio (or you could just read Bob Condotta’s at The Seattle Times) but I’d rather just contextualize the level of rookie that the Seahawks acquired on Thursday because I think we tend to overrate any player who is the newest player:

Barrett spent six years at Michigan, he barely played for Macdonald in 2021 even though he was a senior, he didn’t have a significant impact on the defense until his fifth and sixth college seasons, and accomplishments like “most games in Michigan history” are good for alumni but not indicative of someone who would have been projected to have an NFL career. The Panthers selected Barrett with the 240th pick of the draft and no matter what you hear about his preseason performances, it’s not as though Carolina is so deep at linebacker that they could have afforded to part ways with one who they expect to contribute to an NFL defense, especially one as cheap as Barrett is going to be for the next four years.

Even if the Panthers are getting back a potential starting cornerback.

Because the Seahawks were going to cut or trade Jackson no matter what they got in return. I bet the Panthers could have traded a seventh round pick for Jackson, but it could be that John Schneider and Macdonald conferred on the best return and decided that having Barrett on their practice squad was better than a 2025 or 2026 pick swap.

Seventh round picks who don’t make the cut with the team that drafted them do not typically have roles on other teams unless it’s as a special teamer, like a kicker or a kick returner or a very good coverage specialist/gunner.

I can’t imagine that Barrett is a better kicker than Jason Myers and I’m not even sure if “gunner” is a position anymore under the new kickoff rules, so the most logical outcome for Barrett would be that he’s the emergency shut-off valve should the Seahawks find themselves needing their sixth or seventh linebacker option this season. Baker, Tyrel Dodson, and Tyrice Knight represent three we all expect to make the team, while Jon Rhattigan, Drake Thomas, Patrick O’Connell, and Blake Lynch were the four “veterans” who at least aren’t having their first career training camps.

Even if Rhattigan and O’Connell don’t inspire a ton of confidence, I wouldn’t think that a seventh round pick who didn’t make his team would jump the line over them. And I’ve never been wrong before.

Overruled!

Cornerback Situation?

Without Michael Jackson, the Seahawks are down to nine cornerbacks, but only three that seem very locked in: Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, Tre Brown.

Artie Burns is the most experienced having started his career in 2016 (although surprisingly, because he’s been injured so often, Woolen has almost caught up to Burns in career snaps already: 2,659 to 2,073), so that could be an advantage over the other five: Four rookies and Lance Boykin, who has two career snaps on defense.

If the Seahawks keep six cornerbacks, including the first four mentioned, that leaves two jobs for Nehemiah Pritchett, D.J. James, Dee Williams, Carlton Johnson, and Boykin.

The one in the best situation is the one who isn’t even a cornerback half of the time: Williams is probably in a lead position for a returner job, especially if the Seahawks decide to part ways with Dee Eskridge. Boykin or Johnson would be huge surprises based on the lack of reports that would make you think that one of them is impressing coaches enough to make the roster. So it could be a showdown of college teammates and day three picks, Pritchett and James.

Most would say that Pritchett is in the lead right now. Having officially cleared a path by trading Jackson, perhaps it’s not too late for both to make it. I would be really surprised however if either of them were claimed on waivers because what reason would other teams have to believe that Pritchett or James could have a role on their defense if they don’t have a role on Seattle’s defense?

Then again, just because you don’t make the team as a day three rookie, apparently that’s no reason to think that you can’t be traded for someone who does have a place on your team’s defense.

Some long overdue thank yous to subscribers:

THANK YOU: Arizona Hawk! Stay cool out there, what a wild place to live! You’re brave! Forrest H., Daniel O., Jennifer B., thank you for supporting Seaside J.! Thank you Nelly “RunMarshawnRun”! Thanks to Bob Thomas, Gemunger, Lee Bod., AstroView, Ronald Bay!, the one and only Village Idiot, and Richard North! Thank you for your support! Thank you Robin Hay and David Hag.! Thank you Matt Miller (not the ESPN one, I don’t think), Tahoe (not the resort getaway incarnate), 227227 (not the famous number, I don’t think).

THANK YOU: Tony C., Jerry, Gavin, R. Amos D’Amours (what a cool European name!), Jake Manny, J. Plummer, Raymond D., Allison K., James DJ., and Jessica J.!

Thank you longtime Seasider Defjames and for your message/testimonial: “"I've love Kenneth's writing and insights, I happily pay for his content! Best Seahawks newsletter ever!”

Thank you longtimer David Lind… and for your message as well, don’t be sorry and YOU are the brilliant one!:

"Sorry so late in re-upping Brother ,Love the letter ,love you its like chatting with a brilliant friend ...Keep up the great work....Go Hawks."

Super Joes Thank You: Donald! 10fold Jake! And if you’ve upgraded from Regular Joes to Super Joes recently and wonder, “Hey, where’s my thanks?”, I totally understand and apologize, I just don’t get notifications from Substack when it happens unless it’s a new subscription. So I’ll see if I can rectify that because I am very thankful for your upgrade!

I’m catching up but not caught up, so if you didn’t see your name today, it’s coming soon!