Joey Blount waived with injury, undrafted rookie Jake Bobo makes Seahawks 53-man roster

RENTON, Wash. - Safeties Joey Blount and Jonathan Sutherland were waived with injury designations, all 10 members of the team's draft class and two undrafted rookies in Jake Bobo and Chris Stoll made the initial 53-man roster of the Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday.

The release of Blount is perhaps the most surprising move made by the Seahawks during the cutdown process. Blount was a key special teams piece on last year's team and showed well both last preseason and this preseason on the defensive side of the ball when able to perform. However, a shoulder injury suffered in Saturday's preseason finale against the Green Bay Packers appears to have been significant enough to change plans at the position.

Sutherland had a strong offseason and was in competition for a roster spot at safety as well, but he was unable to practice over the last week due to a calf injury. Sixth-round pick Jerrick Reed II gets the nod over Blount and Sutherland for the final roster spot at safety, though cornerback Coby Bryant now has the flexibility to play in the back end as well.

Linebacker Vi Jones was also waived with an injury designation due to a high-ankle sprain that was set to keep him out for a few more weeks at least.

Blount, Sutherland and Jones will move to Seattle's injured reserve list if they clear waivers and will be unable to play this season unless they later take an injury settlement to be released.

Wide receiver Cody Thompson makes the initial roster for Seattle despite a shoulder injury sustained in the second preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys. Thompson seemed to be the clear favorite for the final receiver spot before the injury occurred. He gets the spot over Cade Johnson and Easop Winston Jr.

Bobo had an outstanding preseason and cemented his place on the roster heading into the season. With first-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba potentially out to start the year, Bobo could see significant playing time in the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.

"The ‘More Bobo’ thing king of started happening on OTAs and guys were like ‘oh, wait until the pads come on.’ And then it started happening when the pads came on and it was ‘oh, wait until the game," linebacker Bobbby Wagner said of Bobo. "Each moment or each challenge he got faced with he just stepped up to the plate more and more and did a really, really good job. I’m happy for him, excited for him."

Dareke Young is also a part of the initial 53-man roster. However, Young has missed time due to an adductor muscle injury in his core that was being debated over whether he needed surgery to address last week. Young could be moved to the injured reserve list on Wednesday – which would preserve his ability to return to the team after a minimum four-week absence. That would free up an additional roster spot that could go to Johnson or Winston if they clear waivers.

Similarly, rookie defensive lineman Mike Morris had a procedure last week on an old lingering shoulder issue. If it's going to force him to miss multiple games, he could also be moved to injured reserve to clear another roster spot.

Stoll takes over as the team's long snapper after a five-year run from Tyler Ott and a fill-in season from Carson Tinker last year.

Nose tackles Bryan Mone and Austin Faoliu were moved to the reserve/physically unable to perform (PUP) list and will miss at least the first four games of the season due to ongoing recoveries from knee injuries.

Veteran cornerback Artie Burns played well enough to earn a spot throughout training camp and preseason action as well. He saw some time as a nickel cornerback over the last week with top draft pick Devon Witherspoon still sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Veteran center Joey Hunt and linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven had their contracts terminated. The rest of the players released were placed on waivers. That list includes: quarterback Holton Ahlers, running back SaRodorick Thompson Jr., tight end Tyler Mabry, wide receivers Cade Johnson, Easop Winston Jr., Matt Landers and John Hall, tackle Greg Eiland, guard Kendall Randolph, defensive ends Roderick Perry and Jacob Sykes, nose tackle Matt Gotel, linebackers Patrick O'Connell and Christian Young, cornerback Lance Boykin and safety Ty Okada.

Wide receiver Dee Eskrdige officially moved to the suspended list. He will miss the first six games of the season due to a domestic violence incident this offseason. He can rejoin the team after the team's Week 7 game against the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, October 23. Eskridge had been sidelined with a knee injury sustained on the opening kickoff of the first preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings. 

Players that clear waivers can be added to a 16-man practice squad beginning on Wednesday.

Seahawks 53-man roster:

QB Geno Smith
QB Drew Lock
RB Ken Walker III
RB Zach Charbonnet
RB DeeJay Dallas
RB Kenny McIntosh
TE Will Dissly
TE Noah Fant
TE Colby Parkinson
WR Tyler Lockett
WR DK Metcalf
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
WR Jake Bobo
WR Dareke Young
WR Cody Thompson
OL Charles Cross
OL Damien Lewis
OL Evan Brown
OL Phil Haynes
OL Abe Lucas
OL Olu Oluwatimi
OL Jake Curhan
OL Anthony Bradford
OL Stone Forsythe

DL Dre'Mont Jones
DL Jarran Reed
DL Mario Edwards Jr.
DL Myles Adams
DL Mike Morris
DL Cameron Young
EDGE Uchenna Nwosu
EDGE Boye Mafe
EDGE Darrell Taylor
EDGE Derick Hall
EDGE Tyreke Smith
LB Bobby Wagner
LB Jordyn Brooks
LB Devin Bush
LB Nick Bellore
LB Jon Rhattigan
CB Riq Woolen
CB Michael Jackson
CB Tre Brown
CB Devon Witherspoon
CB Coby Bryant
CB Artie Burns
S Quandre Diggs
S Jamal Adams
S Julian Love
S Jerrick Reed II

K Jason Myers
P Michael Dickson
LS Chris Stoll

PUP:

DL Bryan Mone
DL Austin Faoliu

Suspended:

WR Dee Eskridge