The Seahawks have to get from 91 players to 53 by 3 p.m. Sunday, and the cut that follows their 9-9 tie with Kansas City is the kind that can reshape the opening month of the season. For John Schneider, it means sorting out who stays, who hits waivers and who can be hidden on injured reserve or the practice squad.
That is why the Seahawks 53-man roster is being searched now: the deadline is immediate, the math is unforgiving and the rules are the point. Players with fewer than four accrued seasons go on waivers, and clubs have until 10 a.m. Monday to place claims. Players with more than four accrued seasons are released outright. The practice squad does not open until Monday, when teams can start building 17-man groups.
The clearest names in the projection are already on the board. Sam Darnold is the starter, Drew Lock played well in the second preseason game and Jalen Milroe turned in his best performance of the preseason on Friday night, enough to make him look like the clear third quarterback. That matters because a quarterback exposed on waivers would almost certainly be taken. The same logic applies across the roster: if a player can help another team, the waiver wire is not a safety net.
Several other spots carry that same pressure. Zach Charbonnet was expected to stay on the Physically Unable list and miss the first four games, which opens one path for the roster to flex. George Holani was projected to open as the third-down back. Emanuel Wilson did not play in the preseason because of a hamstring injury, while Velus Jones Jr. drew mention for a good camp, versatility, special teams value and needed depth. Brady Russell was viewed as a possible fourth tight end, though the top three at that spot were said to have been set from the first day of camp.
The receiver group also looks crowded in the projection, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed, Tory Horton, Cody White and Montorie Foster Jr. all listed. Jake Bobo was said to have been WR5 if he had not gotten hurt. That leaves Seattle with a choice that is more about timing than talent: whether to risk moving a player through waivers, where The Athletic reported 29 players were claimed after cuts last year and 27 were claimed in 2024.
Seattle may also use injured reserve at cutdown, and a player placed there then can return after missing four games. Teams are allowed to designate up to eight players on injured reserve to return during the season, which gives Schneider a few more levers before the final list goes in. Still, the deadline does not bend, and the roster will not be judged by projections for long. By Sunday afternoon, the Seahawks will have to choose their 53, and anyone left exposed will be rolling the dice against the rest of the league.
