Justin Coleman, Freddie Swain, Marquise Blair among Seahawks roster cuts
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 28: Seattle Seahawks corner back Justin Coleman (28) waits for the play during a regular season game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Detroit Lions on October 28, 2018 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. G
RENTON, Wash. - The Seattle Seahawks released veteran cornerback Justin Coleman and waived wide receiver Freddie Swain and safety Marquise Blair as part of their cuts to get to the NFL's 53-man roster limit on Tuesday.
The emergence of rookie cornerback Coby Bryant as an option in the slot gave Seattle another option to use in their nickel position over Coleman.
Swain had a nondescript training camp and preseason with rookie Dareke Young bringing more potential to the table. And with Dee Eskridge back healthy and able to help in the kick return game, Swain became expendable.
Blair had a really poor second preseason game against the Chicago Bears with many missed tackles. A second-round pick in 2019, Blair had his last two seasons derailed due to injuries.
Wide receiver Bo Melton was the only member of the draft class not to make the 53-man roster. Linebacker Tyreke Smith, a fifth-round pick, was placed on injured reserve and will miss the season due to ongoing hip issues.
Former first-round pick L.J. Collier making the roster on the defensive line may have been somewhat surprising as he'd missed the entire preseason with an elbow injury. Collier could be moved to injured reserve and remain eligible to return to the roster after four weeks if the elbow injury has him in doubt for the start of the season.
There were no real surprised on offense. More of the uncertainty surrounded the decisions on defense.
Undrafted rookie pass rusher Joshua Onujiogu and safety Joey Blount each made the initial 53-man roster. Defensive tackle Myles Adams also earned a spot with his play in the preseason.
Seattle is only carrying three off-ball linebackers at the moment in Jordyn Brooks, Cody Barton and Nick Bellore. This is a position group that could still see turnover with waiver claims or free agent signings in the coming days.
Roster Moves:
Terminated Veteran Contract
CB Justin Coleman
Waived
WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
S Marquise Blair
LB Joel Dublanko
QB Jacob Eason
T Greg Eiland
WR Aaron Fuller
DT Jarrod Hewitt
WR Cade Johnson
LB Vi Jones
WR Kevin Kassis
TE Tyler Mabry
WR Bo Melton
LB Tanner Muse
S Scott Nelson
T Liam Ryan
C Dakoda Shepley
WR Freddie Swain
RB Darwin Thompson
LB Lakiem Williams
S Deontai Williams
Waived/Injured
RB Josh Johnson
Placed on Injured Reserve
LB Tyreke Smith
53-man roster:
QB (2): Geno Smith, Drew Lock.
RB (4): Rashaad Penny, Ken Walker III, DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer.
TE (3): Noah Fant, Will Dissly, Colby Parkinson.
WR (6): Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Marquise Goodwin, Dee Eskridge, Dareke Young, Penny Hart.
OL (9): Charles Cross, Damien Lewis, Austin Blythe, Gabe Jackson, Abe Lucas, Jake Curhan, Phil Haynes, Kyle Fuller, Stone Forsythe.
Edge (5): Darrell Taylor, Uchenna Nwosu, Boye Mafe, Alton Robinson, Joshua Onujiogu.
DL (7): Poona Ford, Bryan Mone, Al Woods, Shelby Harris, Quinton Jefferson, L.J. Collier, Myles Adams.
LB (3): Jordyn Brooks, Cody Barton, Nick Bellore.
CB (6): Sidney Jones IV, Artie Burns, Coby Bryant, Tariq Woolen,, Michael Jackson, John Reid.
S (5): Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams, Josh Jones, Ryan Neal, Joey Blount.
ST (3): Jason Myers, Michael Dickson, Tyler Ott.
PUP (2): Tre Brown, Jon Rhattigan.
IR (2): Cody Thompson, Tyreke Smith.