The Seattle Seahawks’ addition of Trevon Diggs came at the expense of a player who barely had time to unpack.
Seattle waived wide receiver Julian Hicks on Wednesday, August 19, just two days after signing him, clearing the necessary spot on its 90-man roster for Diggs. The Seahawks announced both the Diggs signing and Hicks’ corresponding departure.
It makes Hicks’ stay one of the shortest of Seattle’s summer.
The Seahawks had signed Hicks on Monday as part of a series of post-preseason roster moves. By Wednesday, a chance to add a two-time Pro Bowl cornerback changed the calculus.
For Hicks, that is the unforgiving reality of the bottom of an NFL training-camp roster. For Seattle, the transaction says considerably more about its interest in Diggs than it does about a receiver who had only been in the building for two days.
Julian Hicks’ Seahawks Stay Lasted Just 2 Days
Hicks arrived in Seattle on August 17 along with linebacker Power Echols and running back Anthony Hankerson.
He never got much of a runway.
The 26-year-old went undrafted out of Albany in 2024 before signing with the Green Bay Packers. Hicks spent his rookie season on Green Bay’s practice squad, then returned to the Packers for training camp and the preseason the following year.
There was some production behind that NFL opportunity.
Hicks caught passes for 820 yards and 11 touchdowns during his final season at Albany in 2023, earning second-team All-CAA honors.
Seattle nevertheless viewed his roster spot as movable almost immediately.
That shouldn’t necessarily be read as a dramatic evaluation of Hicks after a couple of practices. August roster spots routinely turn over quickly, and Seattle suddenly had the opportunity to use one on a much more accomplished player at a position where the team was actively seeking help.
Diggs had worked out for the Seahawks on Tuesday. One day later, he was on the roster and Hicks was not.
Trevon Diggs Gives Seahawks Another Option at Cornerback
The name makes Seattle’s gamble particularly interesting.
Diggs was one of football’s most dangerous ballhawks at his peak. He intercepted an NFL-leading 11 passes in 2021, returning two for touchdowns while earning first-team All-Pro honors. According to the Seahawks, it was the highest single-season interception total by an NFL player since 1981.
Seattle isn’t getting that version of Diggs without questions attached.
A torn ACL ended his 2023 season after two games, and injuries limited him again in 2024. He appeared in eight games for Dallas last season before the Cowboys waived him late in the year. Green Bay claimed Diggs, but his Packers stay ultimately lasted only through the end of the season and playoffs.
ESPN reported that Diggs agreed to a one-year deal with Seattle. Financial terms were not immediately disclosed.
So this isn’t simply Seattle handing a starting job to a former star. It is a late-summer bet that a 27-year-old cornerback with elite production on his résumé can still give the Seahawks something useful.
And with every addition at this point of the calendar, somebody else loses his chair.
This time, that was Hicks.
Seahawks Roster Moves Are Getting More Costly
That’s the part of the transaction worth watching as Seattle moves deeper into August.
Hicks was expendable enough to lose his spot after two days. Future decisions won’t necessarily be that simple.
The Seahawks are moving closer to the point when coaches and general manager John Schneider have to settle competitions rather than merely cycle through them. Adding a recognizable veteran like Diggs increases that pressure in the secondary while Hicks’ quick exit trims one option from the wide-receiver competition.
There are no guarantees attached to Diggs’ résumé or to anyone fighting for the final handful of roster spots.
But Seattle saw enough after Tuesday’s workout to make room immediately.
Hicks found out just how quickly that room can disappear.
Seahawks Cut Ties With WR 2 Days After Signing Him Following Trevon Diggs News