After Monday’s practice,
Mike Holmgren confirmed that the Seahawks had indeed cut 12 players to get
down to their league-mandated roster limit of 75. They’ll have to get down
to 53 on September 1st, though all teams can add eight players
to their practice squads by September 2nd. The Thursday game against
the Oakland Raiders will be the last chance for those on the bubble to impress.
“It’s never
easy,” Holmgren said. “The young guys we had to let go, most of them were
the young guys we played in Europe, the free agent guys
who came in to help us. They thanked us for the opportunity. They talked to
a few coaches. I told them if there (was) anything I can do for them in the
future, don’t hesitate to phone. They were good guys and they came and worked
very hard. The tough part about this is that they all can’t make it. They
handled it very professionally and I appreciate what they did for us.”
Here are those 12 players:
QB Erik Meyer – Payton Award winner at Eastern Washington University and NFL Europa standout who didn't get a lot of time to show what he could do, but Meyer could impress some pro scout with his mobility and effeciency.
WR Robert Ortiz – The young man from San Diego State was a long-shot to make the final roster, but he has the talent
and size to be a solid possession receiver if he’s able to locate the right
situation. His speed is average, so he needs to become a better route-runner
and learn to read defenses, because the NFL is littered with guys who have
the same physical attributes as Ortiz.
WR Chris Jones – A gifted athlete, Jones was caught
up in the numbers game this year as the Seahawks have at least seven receivers
who are legitimate threats to make the final roster and the team is likely
to only keep six…possibly five. Jones has the physical tools to be a successful
receiver in the league.
RB A.J. Harris – Harris may have had a better chance
of making the final roster if Marquis Weeks hadn’t stepped up with one of
the best pre-seasons of all the backs (as Weeks generally does). Harris is
a solid runner, but he got very few chances to show what he can do. Special
teams, especially kickoff returns and coverage, are where he’ll need to find
a home with another team.
TE Andy Stokes – With the depth issues the Seahawks
had heading into camp, you had to believe that any tight end who
could block and catch the ball would have a chance. However, Stokes didn’t
get much of an opportunity to show what he could do, and the team decided
to stick with a more talented youngster in Joe Newton for now. Newton’s size and hands make him a more intriguing target than Stokes
at this point.
OG Jason Murphy – Murphy has interesting potential,
but the Seahawks have a ton of experienced players who can play inside and
one of their youngsters, Mansfield Wrotto, showed himself to be much more
ready for game-action than was originally thought. With Murphy’s mauling style
and his experience against top notch talent in the ACC during his college
career, expect him to eventually catch on somewhere. Teams in need are always
looking for tough interior linemen.
C Austin King – The Seahawks have had the luxury of
an experienced center for the past several years, but the retirement of Robbie Tobeck and the promotion of third-year C Chris Spencer means there’s an opening
in the backup pivot position, but King just isn’t strong enough at this point
to allow him to handle the 320-pounders who inhabit the middle of the defensive
lines across the league.
OG Jonathan Alston – Alston is a great athlete and he was
with the Washington Redskins’ training camp the past two years. He’s just
not physical enough in his play and didn’t have much of a chance to make Seattle’s roster.
LB Marcus Rucker – Rucker is a solid athlete, but Seattle is loaded at linebacker with two perennial
Pro Bowlers and an underrated player at weakside linebacker in Leroy Hill.
Rucker has to find a home on special teams with someone. Since he just switched
to linebacker for his senior season at Rice, he’s got a lot of catching up
to do as far as technique is concerned.
CB Dennis Davis – Davis is talented enough to play in the NFL, but he hasn’t found the
right situation yet. Seattle has some talented young players already on the roster in Kelly Jennings and Josh Wilson, who were their top draft choices the past two years,
and an established veteran in Marcus Trufant on the other side. Also complicating
matters for Davis is the fact that Kevin Hobbs a rookie himself, has had an excellent camp.
S Patrick
Ghee – Ghee is a big hitter, but struggles
in coverage and will be a liability on that side of the ball. He has to hope
to catch on as a special teams demon somewhere.
K Kurt Smith – I doubt Smith had any illusions as
to making the final roster with the presence of Josh Brown, so it’s more likely
he used his time during training camp and the preseason as a showcase of his
talents to the other NFL squads. Teams are constantly looking to replace kickers
and get better in their kicking game so Smith will likely have ample opportunity
to make a name for himself sometime in the near future.
Scott Eklund writes for Seahawks.NET and Dawgman.com. Feel free to e-mail
him here.