With Seattle’s roster cutdown looming, Sunday night’s preseason game against Tennessee offered a pretty clear snapshot of who helped themselves and who slipped behind. The Seahawks’ backups made plenty of noise against the Titans’ starters, and a few younger players did enough to strengthen their case for the 53-man roster - even if the final math is going to be brutal.
Two linebackers, Chris Paul Jr. and Chazz Surratt, stood out for all the right reasons, even if their future likely isn’t in Seattle. Both were active, always near the ball, and quick to finish tackles.
The problem is the depth chart ahead of them. They remain behind Tyrice Knight and Patrick O’Connell, and they are not passing them.
Still, they looked like players who could draw interest from other NFL teams after cutdown day.
For Seattle, though, the real roster winners from Week 2 start with wide receiver Montorie Foster, Jr. Foster nearly delivered a highlight touchdown on a diving catch, but he couldn’t quite finish the play.
He also had a false start that stood out for all the wrong reasons. None of that outweighed what he did on special teams.
Foster was excellent on coverage units, made the first two tackles on kickoffs, and worked aggressively as a punt gunner. With Jake Bobo out, that kind of special teams value is exactly what Seattle needs from him.
Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene also helped his cause in a big way. He was flagged for defensive pass interference, but the call was described as ridiculous, and the penalty shouldn’t erase the bigger picture.
Igbinoghene showed he can handle work on the perimeter, which matters because he had started to look more and more like a slot-only corner in recent years. A player who can line up inside and outside is a far more useful piece for Mike Macdonald, especially with Devon Witherspoon and Nick Emmanwori both dangerous in the slot.
On the edge, Connor O’Toole made a loud case for himself. He was disruptive throughout the night, finishing with four tackles, two for loss, and one-and-a-half sacks.
He spent plenty of time in the Tennessee backfield and looked far more active than the box score numbers some of Seattle’s other young rushers posted. That matters in a rotation where the Seahawks are counting on Dante Fowler, Jr. to be a major piece.
Not everyone took a step forward. Jared Ivey is still a good player, and Seattle was smart to bring him in as an undrafted free agent last year.
But the path ahead is crowded, with Demarcus Lawrence, Uchenna Nwosu, Derick Hall, and Dante Fowler all sitting ahead of him. Ivey has been solid against the run, but his pass rush has stayed quiet, and both Connor O’Toole and Jamie Sheriff looked more dangerous getting after the quarterback on Sunday.
The other player in a rough spot was offensive tackle Logan Brown. He was called for a false start on Seattle’s first offensive snap of the second half, then later got bowled over on a Jalen Milroe sack.
Brown already faced an uphill climb before the game, and this outing did nothing to improve his standing. With Amari Kight sidelined by injury for more than a week, the fourth tackle job had become more open, giving Brown and Bobby Hart a chance to sneak onto the roster.
But with both Brown and Hart struggling, Kight’s place may be secure if he gets back to full health.
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For Seattle, that makes Price worth keeping an eye on in a backfield that still feels like its sorting itself out. Training camp is where these things begin to take shape, and when a quarterback is already talking about a young backs adaptability, it usually means the player has done enough to get noticed. The next question is whether that early buzz turns into something more concrete once the pads stay on and the rotation starts to narrow. [Read more 🡒]