The Seahawks are changing almost everything for their Chiefs Game in Kansas City on Friday night, and the biggest shift is simple: the starters will not play. Jalen Milroe is expected to take the field for the entire game, giving the younger Seahawks one last stage to make a case before roster decisions arrive this weekend.
That makes Friday night at Arrowhead Stadium less about the score and more about what comes after it. The Seahawks are down to their preseason finale, the last chance to sort out who belongs on the roster and who might stay in the practice squad mix before the team starts making cuts.
Mike Macdonald said the approach is consistent with what the Seahawks have already done in the previous two preseason games, when the starters also sat. This time, though, the attention shifts to Trevon Diggs, who has been with the Seahawks for a little over a week and is set to make his debut after arriving as a former first-team All-Pro and two-time Pro-Bowler.
Macdonald said Diggs will get a look on Friday, calling the opportunity exciting and saying he has done a good job. He pointed to Diggs’ attention to detail and said the veteran has been doing what the Seahawks have asked of him. That sounds like praise, but it is not the same as a guarantee. Macdonald also said the team is making independent decisions on individual players, based on health and depth, and that those calls are not a declaration of status.
That is the split running through the night. Younger Seahawks players are fighting for roster spots and practice squad spots, while veterans are being measured on a different scale, one that depends on how the staff reads fit, health and depth rather than reputation alone. Milroe’s extended workload fits that plan. The rookie or young quarterback gets the full test. The starters get the seat on the bench.
By the end of Friday night, the Seahawks should know much more about which players can help them now and which ones are still on the edge. What remains open is how much value the team will place on one preseason finale when the decisions it makes this weekend will decide who gets the next step and who has to wait for another chance.
