The Seattle Seahawks must make all their roster cuts official by 1 pm PT on Tuesday, August 27. Cut decisions will be a bit different this season because, for the first time since 2010, former head coach Pete Carroll will not be in charge of the final roster. General manager John Schneider is.
The chaos comes in when teams make their cuts and other teams wait 24 hours (most of the time) before claiming the new free agents. Many of those players might go to practice squads instead of active rosters. This is one way how Seattle will fill its own practice squad.
Seattle, of course, will choose to bring back to the practice squad a lot of the players they release. But Schneider will keep an eye out for players released by other teams. The four players below, the Seahawks might want to think of adding to the team.
4 potential cut candidates Seattle Seahawks should reach out to
Quarterback Bailey Zappe
Spoiler alert here: There are two quarterbacks on this list. The reason is that while Geno Smith and Sam Howell should be fine as QB1 and QB2, PJ Walker should in no way stick on the practice squad. Walker has been terrifically inaccurate in preseason games after looking somewhat decent in training camp. That proved to be a lie.
Seattle would not want to claim Zappe (or Huntley) off waivers and would want to wait until they clear waivers to sign them (as with all the players on this list). The Seahawks are not going to keep three quarterbacks on the active roster, but do need one on the practice squad who can be on the sidelines on game days.
Zappe was thrown to the wolves last year for the New England Patriots and was sometimes good and sometimes looked like a college quarterback. He doesn’t have an extremely strong arm, but he can be accurate. He should never be a starter, but he would be a reliable QB3.
Defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk
The Seahawks should have a fairly loaded defensive line with Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, and Jarran Reed. The question comes in with Dre’Mont Jones. He’s been banged up during the preseason, but he might also see more snaps at edge rusher which means Seattle might need more depth along the defensive line.
Loudermilk has been underwhelming for the Steelers overall, but after Week 4 of last year, he was stout against the run. He won’t get many quarterback pressures, but he could be an early down player who rotates out with veteran Johnathan Hankins.
Quarterback Tyler Huntley
Adding Huntley – again, only after he clears waivers and can be added to the practice squad – makes almost too much sense. He spent his first four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and started nine games. The last two years he was with Baltimore, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald was the defensive coordinator. Therefore, there is already a natural rapport between the player and the coach.
Huntley is probably going to be pushed out in a crowded Cleveland Browns quarterback room, but that does not mean he is not worthy of playing in the league. He has already proven he would be a quality backup. Being QB3 for Seattle would be almost like getting a Christmas present in place of PJ Walker.
Safety Richie Grant
Grant was terrible in coverage in 2023 with the Atlanta Falcons. He allowed five touchdown passes and had just one interception while giving up a 128.9 passer rating when targeted. He also allowed 14.8 yards per reception.
All that said, maybe last year was just one-off awfulness. In 2022, he had a solid 93.8 quarterback rating allowed when targeted and was solid against the run. Grant also has some ability to send on blitzes and he had 11 total pressures in 2023. Plus, presumed starter Rayshawn Jenkins could be out for a while and Grant would add veteran experience as a backup.
