The Seattle Seahawks announced a few surprising roster moves including the release of center Joey Hunt and defensive end Branden Jackson. Hunt became the Seahawks starting center in 2019 after Justin Britt was lost for the season.
He became expendable after the Seahawks signed B.J. Finney over the offseason who is projected to be Seattle’s starting center. Hunt’s job seemed to be safer after Britt was released, but it looks like this was not the case.
Jackson is also a surprising release given he was a key part of the Seahawks’ rotation on their defensive line. He played in 15 games last season on a unit that struggled to get to the quarterback.
According to Over the Cap, the roster moves now put the Seahawks’ available cap space at $17.2 million. It remains to be seen whether the Seahawks could use this space to make one final run at re-signing Jadeveon Clowney.
The Seahawks announced the following seven players were also released: RB Patrick Carr, WR Seth Dawkins, G Kahlil McKenzie, DB Josh Norwood, G Jordan Roos, LB Sutton Smith and TE Dominick Wood-Anderson. Jackson and Hunt were listed as terminated contracts rather than being waived.
The Seahawks Are Slated to Start Training Camp on July 28
After tense negotiations, the NFL and NFL Players’ Association came to an agreement that allows training camp to get started on time. As part of the agreement, NFL teams were required to get their roster down to 80 players at a much quicker pace. The Seahawks’ recent roster moves are likely a result of the new timeline.
As part of the agreement, the Seahawks along with the rest of NFL teams will not have any preseason games. The NFL is hoping that the additional time leading up to the regular season will allow teams to begin with as healthy of a roster as possible amidst the continued spread of COVID-19.
The Seahawks Added ‘Grown Men’ to Protect Russell Wilson
The Seahawks signed more offensive linemen than they will likely be able to keep on the final roster. Back in April, Seahawks general manager John Schneider noted that the team added “grown men” to the offensive line in an effort to protect Russell Wilson.
“We look for commonalities and fits and what’s important for our quarterback,” Schneider noted, per Sports Illustrated. “We love our quarterback, we want to keep him – we want to have as many grown men in front of him as we possibly can and it was important for us to be able to identify people early on. …We still have a lot of tough decisions ahead of us, but this is an area where we felt like we could make a difference in free agency playing by our rules, and what our philosophy is, trying to protect our quarterback in the best fashion that we possibly could.”
The Seahawks Recent Roster Moves Included a Blockbuster Trade for Jamal Adams
Training camp is clearly around the corner with the Seahawks making a flurry of roster moves over the weekend. None was bigger than trading three future NFL draft picks and Bradley McDougald in exchange for Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Seahawks were one of seven teams on Adams’ list of preferred trade destinations as he sought a long-term deal. The Seahawks are hoping that Adams can give the team enough of an edge to be a Super Bowl contender in 2020.
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Seahawks Cut Former Starting Center & 8 Additional Players