The Seahawks were in better financial shape than most other teams as of Thursday, but they have opened up more cap space by moving on from a veteran member of their offense. Seattle has released guard Gabe Jackson, per the transaction wire. 
Jackson, 31, had one season remaining on his contract, and was due to count for just over $11.2MM on the Seahawks’ books this year. No guaranteed money remained on his pact, however, putting him at risk of being let go. This move will create $6.5MM in cap space for Seattle, while generating a dead money charge of $4.8MM.
Jackson spent the first seven years of his career with the Raiders. His time there included a five-year, $56MM deal being signed in 2017, a sign of his success as an immediate starter and an indication that he could remain with the organization for the duration of his career. However, he was traded to Seattle in 2021, an offseason in which he was expected to become a cap casualty.
Not long after acquiring the former third-rounder, Seattle signed him to a three-year, $22.58MM extension. The first two years of that pact included notable guarantees, an understandable point of emphasis for Jackson after the way his Raiders tenure came to an end. He agreed to a minor restructure of his deal in October, which inflated his 2023 cap hit slightly.
Jackson remained a full-time starter in both of his Seattle seasons, missing a total of three games due to injury across that span. He generated a career-worst PFF grade of 55 in 2022, continuation of a general decline in that regard in recent years. This past season was the second straight in which he allowed 31 or more pressures in pass protection, so it comes as little surprise that the Seahawks are parting ways and turning their attention to younger options. Still, Jackson will represent one of the most experienced o-line options in this year’s free agent class.
In addition to Jackson, Seattle has released linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven. The 25-year-old contributed on special teams in 2019 and 2020, but has been sidelined by a torn ACL since, spending the entire 2022 campaign on the PUP list. With these two moves, the Seahawks will head towards the new league year next week with nearly $30MM in cap space.