Seahawks EDGE Jamie Sheriff possesses clearer pathway to 53 man roster

Seahawks EDGE Jamie Sheriff possesses clearer pathway to 53 man roster

Seattle Seahawks rookie undrafted EDGE Jamie Sheriff has written one of the more heartwarming stories of training camp and the preseason. A regular standout, Sheriff put forth another eye-opening performance in Saturday’s preseason finale victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Sheriff recorded two sacks and three quarterback hits versus the Browns. One of Sheriff’s sacks occurred on fourth down to give Seattle possession back leading 34-26 with nine minutes remaining. He concludes the preseason with three sacks and multiple QB pressures.

Will Sheriff make Seattle’s 53-man roster? It’s one of the larger questions heading into Monday’s and Tuesday’s cut-down days around the league. Sheriff’s pathway to the roster became clearer following Darrell Taylor’s trade, but he’s not guaranteed to survive roster cuts.

“There might be an opportunity [for him] to come back, and hopefully the guys feel like we’re invested in their growth as well,” head coach Mike Macdonald said when asked about Sheriff post game.

The Seahawks could go extremely light at outside linebacker. Reps at the position this season are expected to be dominated by Dre’Mont Jones, Uchenna Nwosu, Derick Hall, and Boye Mafe. That expected usage could be what prevents Sheriff from making the roster, though the Seahawks would undoubtedly attempt to get him back on the practice squad, per Macdonald’s comments.

Nwosu’s injury status could also play a determining role on Sheriff’s roster spot. The former South Alabama standout has undeniably done enough to make John Schneider’s roster. Will the Seahawks reward his play, or will they cut a preseason darling?

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With Darrell Taylor traded, the entire Seahawks 2020 draft class is gone

With Darrell Taylor traded, the entire Seahawks 2020 draft class is gone

Darrell Taylor was the last man standing for the Seattle Seahawks. At least, from his draft class. On Friday morning, the Seahawks traded Taylor to the Chicago Bears for a sixth round pick. With his departure, it marked the end of an era of sorts:

The entire Seahawks 2020 NFL draft class is no longer with the team.

Here is the 2020 class, and where they are today:

  • LB Jordyn Brooks (Miami Dolphins
  • LB Darrell Taylor (Chicago Bears)
  • G Damien Lewis (Carolina Panthers)
  • TE Colby Parkinson (LA Rams)
  • RB Deejay Dallas (Arizona Cardinals)
  • DE Alton Robinson (free agent)
  • WR Freddie Swain (Chicago Bears)
  • TE Stephen Sullivan (free agent)

Hindsight being 2020 (pun intended) this certainly won’t be going down in Seahawks history as one of the more memorable draft classes. Jordyn Brooks was a fine starting linebacker, but hardly the difference maker you’d hope a first round pick and Bobby Wagner’s heir apparent to be.

The next best players in this class were Darrell Taylor and Damien Lewis. Also fine. Taylor was a decent pass rusher in the rotation, and Lewis was a serviceable starter.

But in all three cases, there’s a reason why the team let them walk in free agency or be traded.

Sometimes that’s just how the cookie crumbles in the NFL. You can’t figure out a draft class’s true impact until several years down the line.

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Seahawks LB Darrell Taylor to Bears for 6th round pick

Seahawks LB Darrell Taylor to Bears for 6th round pick

The Seattle Seahawks have made their second trade of the week in as many days. On Thursday they sent cornerback Michael Jackson to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for linebacker Michael Barrett. On Friday, they made another transaction.

Seattle is sending linebacker/pass rusher Darrell Taylor to the Chicago Bears for a sixth round pick in the 2025 NFL draft. The Seahawks get more ammo for Mike Macdonald to work with, and the Bears get another piece for their rebuilding defense.

Originally a second round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, Taylor missed his rookie season with injuries. But since then, he played in all games available from 2021-2023 as a quality roll player on defense.

Taylor ends his Seahawks career with 91 total tackles and 21.5 sacks. He set a career-best with 9.5 sacks and four forced fumbles during the 2022 campaign. Now, he heads to the Windy City where there is plenty of optimism, thanks to No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams at quarterback. It is clear Chicago is doing their best to build a defense to assist Williams, which was a luxury he did not have at USC last year.

As for the Seahawks, with the addition of Barrett and the return of Uchenna Nwosu, the pass rush was getting crowded. Similar to Michael Jackson, someone was going to be the odd man out.

Seattle will get a chance to see Taylor as an opponent this year when they travel to Chicago on December 26th for a Thursday Night Football showdown.

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To begin the overhaul, they’ll have to start by shedding some serious dead weight in the trenches.

We have many hopes for whoever comes in to replace Pete Carroll as the next Seattle Seahawks head coach. At the top of our list is a desire that he places a far greater priority on offensive line play than his predecessor ever did. Carroll has an unmatched eye for defensive back talent and a rare gift more motivating his players, but he always seemed to have a blind spot for the offensive line. The truth is this unit underperformed in practically every season during Carroll’s run as head coach – and it’s something that needs to change.

This offseason above all else we hope to see a genuine investment in this unit at a level that we never saw under Carroll. To begin the overhaul, they’ll have to start by shedding some serious dead weight in the trenches. Here are 10 pending free agents we believe Seattle should allow to walk.

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Seahawks OLB Uchenna Nwosu promises to come back even better

Nwosu thanked Seattle fans for their support and pledged to come back even better.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told reporters yesterday that outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu will require surgery for his strained pectoral. That means he will be out for the rest of the 2023 season.

Nobody is more disappointed than Nwosu. Last night on Twitter he thanked Seattle fans for their support and pledged to come back even better.

While Nwosu isn’t a big name on a defense that is as loaded as it’s been since the breakup of the Legion of Boom, this is nevertheless a pretty significant blow. Nwosu does a lot more than just get pressure on the quarterback and he’ll be missed in multiple ways. The worst will likely be in run defense, where Nwosu’s replacement has proven a liability.

Darrell Taylor is the next man up in the edge rotation, and we got the full experience after Nwosu went down against the Cardinals. While Taylor finally made a difference as a pass rusher for the first time this season, his inability to consistently set the edge popped up again in a bad way. The only touchdown Arizona scored was on a 25-yard option run from quarterback Joshua Dobbs. Taylor bit hard on the mesh and opened a lane for Dobbs, who took it the rest of the way.

Carroll says that the team isn’t looking to add another edge. Hopefully this is just a smokescreen, because their need for more options at that spot is even more urgent now that Nwosu is out.

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NFL fines 3 Seahawks players for penalties during Week 2 win

Yesterday, the Seahawks got hit with three following infractions during their overtime win last Sunday over the Lions.

The NFL changed their Friday news dumps to Saturday news dumps a couple years ago. That includes when they announce player fines from last week’s games.

Yesterday, the Seahawks got hit with three following infractions during their overtime win last Sunday over the Lions.

  • CB Tre Brown: $6,112 for unnecessary roughness
  • WR DK Metcalf: $10,927 for unnecessary roughness
  • OLB Darrell Taylor $11,957 for roughing the passer

Metcalf was also fined for two separate incidents in the team’s Week 1 loss to the Rams.

Today’s game is at home against the Panthers and kickoff is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Pacific time.

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Here’s a few injury updates we got from Carroll and the beat writers on Wednesday.

We won’t see the first Seahawks injury report of the season until next Wednesday, so for now we have to rely on what head coach Pete Carroll deems to share with the media after practice.

Here’s a few injury updates we got from Carroll and the beat writers on Wednesday.

Seahawks injury updates: Who’s out for preseason finale vs. Packers?

Here are a few key Seahawks injury updates going into Preseason Week 3.

The Seattle Seahawks will be playing their last preseason game of the year today on the road against the Green Bay Packers.

For most NFL teams, the preseason finale is generally all about giving as many snaps as possible to third-stringers, undrafted rookies and other players on the roster bubble as coaches determine who will make the initial 53-man roster. It’s anybody’s guess if we will see the starters play at all today, but we do know for sure some guys who won’t be out on the field. Here are a few key Seahawks injury updates going into Preseason Week 3.

Theo Jackson kicks off 2023 preseason with Minnesota

Former Vol Theo Jackson kicks off 2023 preseason with Minnesota.

Seattle defeated Minnesota, 24-13, Thursday in a preseason game at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.

Former Vol safety Theo Jackson recorded four tackles and one assist for the Vikings.

Jackson played at Tennessee from 2017-21. He was a second-team All-SEC performer as a senior in 2021.

Jackson was selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft by Tennessee (No. 206 overall).

Jackson did not appear in a regular-season game for the Titans in 2022. He signed with the Vikings in Oct. 2022

Former Vol linebacker Darrell Taylor did not play for the Seahawks on Thursday.

Minnesota will next play Tennessee on Aug. 19 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Pete Carroll says Boye Mafe ‘probably’ most improved player from last year

Looking ahead, Mafe should be seeing the field a lot more in 2023.

The Seahawks defense was atrocious last year in a lot of ways. While their secondary did a solid job locking down the back end, Seattle’s defensive front-seven struggled against the run, could not get pressure and only had one consistent high performer throughout the season.

Good news: Bobby Wagner is back in the center of the defense, and the entire interior defensive line has been turned over with an eye on improving against the run. If they can get a couple of their younger edge rushers to step up, it’ll go a long way towards boosting the pass rush, as well.

Perhaps the biggest x-factor on that score is second-year outside linebacker Boye Mafe. One of the most athletic players on the team, Mafe showed a ton of promise in his preseason debut last year but didn’t see many snaps during the regular season. Looking ahead, Mafe should be seeing the field a lot more in 2023.

For one thing, Alton Robinson is now out of the picture, having been waived just before training camp began. The Seahawks have added another second-round pick in Derick Hall, However, Mafe has a full year’s worth of experience on him and should be higher on the depth chart – at least at the start of the regular season.

Mafe has a fan in head coach Pete Carroll, who says he’s probably the most-improved player on the team from last year.

Mafe will likely not be part of the starting defense Week 1. Uchenna Nwosu is locked in as a starter on the other side, and for now Darrell Taylor is still ahead of Mafe in the pecking order.

While Taylor posted 9.5 sacks last season he’s been a liability against the run and his pressure has been inconsistent. If Mafe can show he’s a better run stopper and match Taylor’s potential as a pass rusher he could surpass him sooner rather than later.

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