The Seattle Seahawks are moving on from a key offensive starter over the past two seasons.
As reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Seahawks are releasing offensive guard Gabe Jackson. The 31-year-old started all 31 of his appearances for the Seahawks over the past two seasons, starting at right guard.
“The #Seahawks released veteran guard Gabe Jackson, per the wire,” says Pelissero. “The move clears $6.5 million in cash and cap space.”
The veteran offensive lineman was initially traded to the Seahawks in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick back in 2021 from the Las Vegas Raiders. Jackson was due to earn a base salary of $6.5 million with a cap hit of $11.3 million. The Seahawks will absorb a dead cap hit of $4.8 million from moving on from Jackson, who had one year left on his deal.
Why the Seahawks Are Releasing Gabe Jackson
Jackson was due to be the 13th-highest paid offensive guard in the league for the 2023 season and the seventh-highest paid member of the Seahawks.
As ESPN’s Brady Henderson pointed out, the move was expected due to Jackson’s age and his knee injury woes during the 2022 season.
“The move was long considered likely given the combination of Jackson’s age, knee troubles and his high salary cap number for 2023,” says Henderson. “Jackson, who turns 32 in July, was entering the final year of his contract with a scheduled cap charge of nearly $11.3 million.”
Jackson’s knee issues actually led the Seahawks to utilizing a rotation at right guard alongside Phil Haynes during the 2022 season. After appearing in 923 offensive snaps during the 2021 season — 99% of the team’s offensive snaps that season — Jackson appeared in just 670 offensive snaps, 70% of the team’s snaps during the 2022 season.
Phil Haynes Will Take Over Starting Guard for Seahawks
Haynes’ re-signing in February painted the writing on the wall that the Seahawks would likely move on from Jackson.
“Jackson started 31 of a possible 34 regular-season games over two seasons with Seattle, missing three with knee injuries,” says Henderson. “He shared time at right guard in 2022 as part of a planned rotation with Phil Haynes. The Seahawks viewed it as a way to get Haynes playing time while also easing the burden on Jackson, whose knee issues caused him to regularly miss practice. The Seahawks gave Haynes a one-year deal on Feb. 21 to keep him from hitting free agency, a move that further portended Jackson’s release.”
Jackson initially began his career as a third-round draft pick of the Las Vegas Raiders back in 2014. He has started 130 of his 131 career appearances in the NFL. Prior to the 2022 season, Jackson had never appeared in less than 93% of offensive snaps for his team in a single season.
Other than releasing Jackson, the Seahawks are also releasing linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven, a former fifth-round draft pick of the team back in 2019. Burr-Kirven hadn’t played since the 2020 season after suffering a torn ACL during the preseason back in 2021. During his two years on the active roster with the Seahawks, the 25-year-old appeared in 32 games during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
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Seahawks Release $22 Million Starter Before Free Agency: Report