Jacob Sykes

Seahawks Set 53-Man Roster

A new-look running backs room and the continuation of one of the best stories of the preseason underline today’s announcements. The Seahawks had made some cuts in the days leading up to the deadline, but here are the remaining moves the team made to get down to 53 players:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

While not a shock, the established running backs group looks a bit different from last year. The sole returners, Kenneth Walker III and DeeJay Dallas, will be joined on the 53-roster by rookie draft picks Zach Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh.

Undrafted rookie wide receiver Jake Bobo gets rewarded for his outstanding preseason performance and will be suiting up in Week 1 of the regular season. The UCLA standout could even earn some significant playing time early as rookie first-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba deals with a fractured wrist and Dareke Young and Cody Thompson also deal with injuries.

Veteran former first-round pick Artie Burns survives the final round of roster cuts. Finally healthy, Burns played well in the slot, moving inside as rookie first-round pick Devon Witherspoon dealt with injuries and Coby Bryant played a bit at safety.

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/5/23

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

New England Patriots

  • Signed: WR Ed Lee

Pittsburgh Steelers 

Seattle Seahawks

Borders worked out for the Falcons on Monday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets. This will be team No. 11 for Borders, who is moving toward Josh Johnson journeyman territory — at least for volume. A former Raiders UDFA, Borders played in one game last season — with the Bears — after a 12-game 2021 (in Chicago and Arizona). Borders’ most notable NFL stint came when he started five games for the eventual AFC South champion Titans in 2020. Borders has also caught on with Buffalo, Houston, Jacksonville, Washington, Pittsburgh and Miami.

A 2019 UDFA, Crockett had been with the Broncos since 2020. He served as backfield depth in Denver, but all of his playing time came in 2021 — mostly on special teams. Crockett’s career encountered a speedbump during training camp last year; the Missouri alum suffered a torn ACL.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/15/23

The first of this year’s spring leagues to debut, the XFL’s third effort, finished its season Saturday. XFL players are now free to sign NFL contracts, and several agreed to terms Monday. Here are those agreements, along with the other transactions from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: T BJ Wilson

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: RB Tyreik McAllister, RB Jacques Patrick
  • Waived: WR Dallas Daniels, DB Darrious Gaines, TE Kris Leach, RB Emanuel Wilson

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

After seeing the pandemic nix its second effort in 2020, the XFL concluded its season Saturday. The Broncos signed the league’s second-leading rusher, in Patrick, while the Browns and Cowboys offered Barqoo contracts, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. Barqoo, who played for the Jaguars in 2020 and XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas this year, opted for the Steelers’ offer. Patrick, whom the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson notes passed a Broncos physical Monday, finished with 443 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He joins XFL passing leader Ben DiNucci as a Broncos May addition.

Seeing time for the St. Louis BattleHawks, Jones-Smith played in three games apiece with Raiders and Ravens, respectively, from 2020-21. Thompson will join the Dolphins after a spring tour of duty with the Seattle Sea Dragons, while fellow XFL alum Brewer played in two games for the Bills last year. Heflin played five games for the Packers in 2021; the new Saint spent the XFL season with the Houston Roughnecks.

The Raiders gave Johnson a reserve/futures deal in January. The young wideout collected a ring with the 2020 Buccaneers and totaled 360 receiving yards for Tampa Bay’s 2021 iteration. While the Texans claimed him on waivers ahead of last season, he played in just two games with the team.

Jackson suited up for national championship-winning Georgia last season. The new Titans wideout finished with 514 receiving yards in 2020 and totaled 320 for last season’s Bulldogs edition. A Division II Quincy alum, Wilson received an East-West Shrine Bowl invite but tore an Achilles tendon late last season.

Seahawks Add 25 UDFAs

Much like their division rivals in LA, the Seahawks signed a gigantic undrafted free agent class about two weeks after drafting 10 rookies in Kansas City. Here is the group of rookies looking to earn a roster spot this summer:

Adding Ahlers gives Seattle three quarterbacks on the roster. He started five games for the Pirates as a true freshman before starting every game for his hometown school for the next four years. The lefty left an indelible mark on Greenville, setting 10 school records and six conference records. He gives the Seahawks a strong third-string option behind Geno Smith and Drew Lock.

First-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba is likely to start alongside D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, but behind them, the Seahawks felt the need to bolster the receiving corps with some undrafted talent. Bobo had a standout year for the Bruins as a grad transfer from Duke. Landers also had a breakout year as a transfer after bouncing from Georgia to Toledo to Arkansas. He brings elite size at six-foot-5, 200 pounds. Johnson was one of Ahlers favorite targets at ECU, especially in the redzone, as evidenced by the 10 touchdowns between them last year.

The Seahawks have three strong contributors at safety after seeing Julian Love deliver a strong performance in relief of Jamal Adams last year. Still, Seattle felt the need to draft New Mexico safety Jerrick Reed II in the sixth round and sign four more safeties after the draft. All four bring some sort of versatility. Osling III covered a variety of roles over his six years in Los Angeles. Young and Sutherland can both shadow Adams as players who can split the difference in the hybrid role between safety and linebacker. Okada on the other hand can double in a nickel role, if needed.

With Carson Tinker and Tyler Ott‘s contracts expiring, the Seahawks didn’t have a long snapper on the roster. Stoll comes in as the de facto starter with about four months to show he can handle the job. He’s one of 35 rookies on the Seahawk’s 90-man roster (which currently holds 89 players). They should all have strong opportunities to find a roster spot with the chance they’ve been given this summer.