Seahawks OL Garry Gilliam, Photo Credit: facebook.com/OneDeliciousLife
The Seahawks have made their final cuts and the 53-man roster we currently hold (for now) is the group that will take the field in 5 days when the Seahawks host the Green Bay Packers. Here is a breakdown of the Seahawks transactions from Saturday.
Contracts Terminated
OT Eric Winston
CB Phillip Adams
Waived
QB B.J. Daniels
QB Terrelle Pryor
RB Demitrius Bronson (Bronson was re-added to the roster after the 75-man roster cut down)
RB Spencer Ware
FB Kiero Small
WR Arceto Clark
WR Chris Matthews
WR Bryan Walters
TE RaShaun Allen
TE Morrell Presley
OL Caylin Hauptmann
OL Nate Isles
OL Patrick Lewis
DL Benson Mayowa
DL Andru Pulu
DL Jimmy Staten
LB Korey Toomer
DB Akeem Auguste
DB Terrance Parks
DB Steven Terrell
Placed on Injured Reserve
DT D’Anthony Smith
The Seahawks also made a trade, trading a 2015 6th round draft pick to the Indianapolis Colts for cornerback Marcus Burley. Burley is in his second year after spending his rookie season on the practice squads of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles, and St. Louis Rams. Indianapolis signed Burley to a future contract following the 2013 season. With 5 other cornerbacks on the roster, I do not expect Burley to see much playing time right away and I could see him being waived and placed on our practice squad at some point this season.
To me, none of these moves are a shocking surprise. The only cut that slightly surprised me was that of offensive tackle Eric Winston who was signed during the first week of training camp as our potential starting right tackle. The dramatic improvement of rookie Justin Britt made Winston expendable and it is now clear that Britt will be our starting right tackle on Thursday night.
Among the players who made the Seahawks final roster here are some brief thoughts:
The decision to waive both Terrelle Pryor and B.J. Daniels opened up an extra roster spot at a talent-filled position such as wide receiver. The Seahawks kept 7 wide receivers on the active roster. Congratulations to Kevin Norwood and Phil Bates for snagging the final two spots.
I am surprised to see offensive lineman Stephen Schilling make the final roster. Schilling, a product of Bellevue High School, looked average at best during the preseason but he was also able to fill in at center, a position where the Seahawks are thinner than you would think. He will likely be a third stringer at both guard and center.
The Seahawks have the most talented roster from top to bottom in the National Football League. To make our final roster is impressive but making our final roster as an undrafted rookie is even more impressive. A huge congratulations goes out to offensive lineman Garry Gilliam and linebacker Brock Coyle for making the Seahawks roster. Both of these guys worked their butts off during training camp and their hard work has paid off big time. Gilliam will be a third string offensive lineman while Coyle will likely see playing time on special teams as well as being middle linebacker Bobby Wagner’s primary backup.
