The Seattle Seahawks may have seen enough from Trevon Diggs to make one of their tougher roster decisions in the secondary.
Less than two weeks after Seattle signed the former All-Pro cornerback, Diggs made his Seahawks debut in Friday’s 9-9 preseason tie with the Kansas City Chiefs. And he only played three drives, but his night included an interception that produced Seattle’s lone defensive takeaway.
On the heels of Friday’s game and Diggs’ noteworthy debut, FOX 13 Seattle’s Curtis Crabtree released his final 53-man projection and left Igbinoghene off the roster, instead keeping Diggs among five cornerbacks.
Crabtree projected Igbinoghene to return on the practice squad and wrote that Diggs “has made a strong early impression” while carrying more upside if healthy.
For a former first-round pick who had drawn praise throughout camp, Igbinoghene suddenly finds himself on the wrong side of a cutdown decision.
Diggs Makes Immediate Impression in Seahawks Debut
Diggs didn’t need many snaps to remind Seattle why it took a late-preseason chance on him.
The veteran joined the Seahawks on Aug. 19 and had only two practices with the team before suiting up in Kansas City. According to Seahawks.com, Diggs played three drives before the coaching staff decided it had seen enough. His interception gave Seattle its only takeaway.
Head coach Mike Macdonald said afterward that Diggs had come up to speed quickly and “did some great things” in his first game with the team.
“Hopefully I showed that I can still play,” Diggs told Seahawks.com. “I’m ready to go.I’m ready to help this team win.”
The performance also represented a quick swing in the outside projections surrounding Seattle’s cornerback room.
Before the finale, Field Gulls’ Mookie Alexander projected Igbinoghene to make the 53 while Diggs was cut. Alexander wrote that Igbinoghene had looked “really good” throughout the preseason and during the training camp practices he attended.
By late Friday night, Crabtree’s postgame projection flipped those two names.
That doesn’t guarantee the Seahawks will make the same decision by Sunday’s 3 p.m. PT deadline, although Diggs could’ve hardly made a better first impression with one preseason opportunity.
Igbinoghene Had Been Pushing for Bigger Seahawks Role
Igbinoghene being squeezed out would be notable considering how competitive he made the No. 3 cornerback battle this summer.
Macdonald said earlier in August that Igbinoghene and Pritchett were having “really good camps” while competing for snaps behind Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe, via to Seahawks.com.
Seattle signed Igbinoghene in March after he spent the previous two seasons with the Washington Commanders. The 26-year-old entered the league with much greater expectations. The Miami Dolphins selected him with the No. 30 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after his college career at Auburn.
He has since played for Miami, the Dallas Cowboys and Washington, totaling 17 starts over his first six NFL seasons.
Seattle appeared to afford him a legitimate chance to revive his career with the open third-corner job, and his summer performance kept him in the race for that spot.
Diggs’ arrival altered the viewpoint.
Crabtree projected Seattle to keep Witherspoon, Jobe, Pritchett, rookie Julian Neal and Diggs. Because Igbinoghene is a vested veteran, he wouldn’t have to pass through waivers before potentially returning to the practice squad, giving the Seahawks some flexibility.
That could make him easier to move off the initial 53 even after a productive camp.
At the moment, Igbinoghene remains in the mix. But Diggs entered the lineup Friday and made the game’s only interception before Seattle has to make its final call.
Seahawks’ Former 1st-Round Pick Projected to Be Cut After Diggs Debut