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The Seattle Seahawks are entering their first season in ages without Pete Carroll at the helm. Seattle parted ways with their long-time head coach this offseason and replaced him with Baltimore's Mike Macdonald. The winds of change are finally coming to the Seahawks.
Macdonald has a solid roster to work with, but he will likely want to sculpt the roster with players who fit his vision. This means that the Seahawks may have to cut a good number of players who have been mainstays on the roster during the Carroll years.
As a result, the Seahawks will have some tough decisions to make following training camp. The roster includes several players who could find themselves as cut candidates or trade pieces at the deadline.
Below, we will explore three players who could become Seahawks cut candidates before or after training camp later this summer.
Does Dee Eskridge still have a role with the Seahawks?
The Seattle Seahawks drafted Dee Eskridge in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Eskridge played college football at Western Michigan and got the NFL's attention thanks to his absolutely blazing speed. However, he has not come close to living up to his second-round expectations.
Eskridge has never translated his blazing speed into something useful at the NFL level. In his short time in the NFL, Eskridge has logged 17 catches (on 34 targets!) for 122 yards and one touchdown. Crucially, none of these stats came from the 2023 season. This shows that Eskridge hasn't been able to show that he is more valuable than his teammates in the last regime.
Speaking of regimes, the Mike Macdonald coaching staff did not overdraft Eskridge in 2021. This could make Eskridge even more vulnerable, as he's making a second-round picks salary and hasn't produced nearly enough to show for it.
Not to pile on Eskridge too much, but he is also 27 years old. If he hasn't proved that he can be a useful part of an NFL team by now, I fear he never will.
Will Jarran Reed fit Seattle's new defensive scheme?
Mike Macdonald is the new head coach in Seattle. He is bringing his defensive system from the Baltimore Ravens over to the Seahawks.
Reed is a successful interior pass rusher, which has helped him come back to the Seahawks in the latter part of this NFL career. However, that may not be enough to earn him a spot on the final roster.
The Seahawks have made a few significant moves on the defensive line that should make Jarran Reed concerned. They brough in Johnathan Hankins, someone who is very familiar to defensive coordinator Aden Durde. Hankins has the potential to play nose tackle for the Seahawks and act as a stout run stopper, something that isn't exactly Jarran Reed's best feature.
There is also the fact that the Seahawks drafted Byron Murphy II in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
This fits with Macdonald has previously said about wanting to “build a wall up the middle” on defense. Murphy II is an excellent interior defender who brings both the ability to collapse the pocket and hold up in the run game.
The investment in these two players could push Reed out of his starting job sooner rather than later.
His best bet to remain a Seahawk could be a move to defensive end — but he'd have to compete with Leonard Williams and Dre'Mont Jones for snaps.
Jon Rhattigan is not what the Seahawks are looking for in a linebacker
The Seahawks signed Jon Rhattigan as a UDFA in 2021 out of Army. Rhattigan is a 6'0″ 236lb linebacker who fit the archetype that Pete Carroll wanted on defense. However, Mike Macdonald likely wants linebackers who have a bit more coverage ability.
As a result, the Seahawks added both Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson in free agency. These players are solid inside linebackers who bring some good coverage ability to the table. There is no guarantee that either player will be a long-term answer for the Seahawks, but they look to have a stranglehold on the starting lineup in 2024. That doesn't leave a lot of room for Rhattigan to prove that he deserves a roster spot.
Rhattigan has also suffered with injuries during his brief NFL career. He was placed on injured reserve during his rookie season and was moved to the PUP list during that summer. He was eventually waived and re-signed to the practice squad. The Seahawks elevated him a few weeks into the 2023 season and he stayed on the active roster.
Rhattigan feels like an outside chance to make the practice squad, considering his injury history and the scheme changes coming to Seattle.
