The Seattle Seahawks gambled that they could expose offensive lineman Bryce Cabeldue to waivers while addressing an immediate need elsewhere on the roster. The Las Vegas Raiders reportedly made sure he did not get back to Seattle.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on September 10 that the Raiders claimed Cabeldue, one day after the Seahawks waived the second-year guard to make room for safety AJ Finley on their 53-man roster.
“The Raiders have claimed G Bryce Cabeldue off waivers from the Seahawks,” Garafolo reported.
The departure costs Seattle a developmental offensive lineman the team selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft and kept on its initial 53-man roster in each of his first two seasons. It also sends Cabeldue to a familiar coach: Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak was Seattle’s offensive coordinator during its Super Bowl LX championship season.
Bryce Cabeldue Won Super Bowl With Seahawks Before Raiders Claim
Cabeldue, 25, entered the NFL as the No. 192 overall selection out of Kansas in 2025.
Seattle projected the longtime college tackle inside to guard. Cabeldue had started 45 games over his final four seasons at Kansas, including 12 at right tackle in 2024, when he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 recognition.
His rookie role was much smaller.
Cabeldue appeared in eight regular-season games for Seattle without making a start. Pro Football Focus charted him with only 24 offensive snaps, illustrating that his value was primarily as developmental depth rather than as a significant piece of the starting unit.
He was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on January 23, before Seattle completed its postseason run, but remained a member of the Seahawks team that won Super Bowl LX. Seattle’s own biography credits him with playing eight games “during Seattle’s 2025 Super Bowl LX-winning season.”
Cabeldue returned this summer and appeared in all three Seahawks preseason games. He then survived Seattle’s final roster reduction, earning one of 10 offensive-line spots on the initial 53-man roster.
That made his release after only one week particularly notable.
Seahawks Sacrificed OL Depth to Address Injury Problem
Seattle’s decision to waive Cabeldue was driven by circumstances elsewhere on the roster.
The Seahawks signed Finley from their practice squad before their opener against the New England Patriots because of injuries in the secondary. Starting safety Ty Okada was ruled out with a hamstring injury, while Nick Emmanwori was still working back from ankle surgery.
Seattle also elevated Rodney Thomas II, giving head coach Mike Macdonald additional options at safety. Cabeldue was the corresponding casualty when Finley needed a place on the 53.
The risk was that another team could claim him before Seattle had an opportunity to bring him back.
According to Garafolo, that is exactly what happened.
Cabeldue’s exit leaves the Seahawks with one fewer developmental option behind their starting interior line. Seattle entered the season with Grey Zabel, Anthony Bradford and its other interior options ahead of Cabeldue, so this is not a loss expected to alter the starting five immediately. But offensive-line depth can disappear quickly over a 17-game season, and Seattle no longer controls a player it spent a draft pick developing for more than a year.
Klint Kubiak Reunites With Former Seahawks Lineman
Las Vegas is also a particularly sensible destination.
Kubiak spent the entire 2025 season working with Cabeldue in Seattle. The Seahawks went 14-3, won Super Bowl LX and finished third in the NFL in scoring at 28.4 points per game before Kubiak left to become the Raiders’ head coach in February.
That familiarity means Las Vegas is not making a blind waiver claim on an inexperienced lineman.
Kubiak already knows how Cabeldue practiced, how he fit within an NFL offense and what Seattle’s staff saw in him as a developmental guard. Cabeldue, meanwhile, gets a fresh opportunity with the coach who oversaw his rookie season rather than having to learn an entirely unfamiliar offensive philosophy.
For Seattle, the sequence underscores the cost of early-season roster juggling. The Seahawks solved an immediate problem in the secondary by promoting Finley, but the price was losing a recent draft pick before they could get him back into the organization.
Seattle Seahawks Lose Super Bowl Champ to Raiders, Klint Kubiak: Report