Seattle Seahawks acquire cornerback Avery Smith, trim roster to 53-players for 2026 season

RENTON, Wash. - The Seattle Seahawks acquired cornerback Avery Smith in a trade with the Los Angeles Chargers, and made 38 roster moves to trim their roster to the 53-man limit for the 2026 season on Sunday.

The Seahawks had to reduce the roster from the preseason maximum of 91 players to just 53 by Sunday's 3 p.m. PT deadline. They'll be able to sign a (likely) 17-man practice squad after Monday's 10 a.m. PT waiver claim deadline.

"Just excited to continue this tonight as we get into the waiver wire coming out this evening and establishing our initial practice squad tomorrow," general manager John Schneider said. "A lot of moving parts over the next two weeks as we kind of figure out what the landscape looks like for our team as well as the rest of the National Football League as we prepare for the 2026 regular season."

The backstory:

Smith, 22, was a teammate of Seahawks' seventh-round pick Andre Fuller at the University of Toledo. Seattle sent a 2027 sixth-round draft pick to the Chargers in order to add him to their roster ahead of their 3 p.m. deadline. Meanwhile, Seattle released vested veterans Noah Igbinoghene and Trevon Diggs as part of their roster cuts.

"Phenomenal preseason," Schneider said of Smith. "Outside, nickel. Has played in our defense now. Coming out, we liked him. Smart, tough, reliable guy. Very instinctive."

Smith had 15 tackles, a pass defended, and a special teams tackle during the preseason with the Chargers. Los Angeles runs a similar defense to Seattle under defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary, which will make it easier for him to adapt to his new team.

With the Seahawks adding Terrion Arnold (placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List), Diggs and Smith in the last few weeks, fans uneasy about the state of the cornerback position would be understandable. However, Schneider said it comes down to always needing more help at cornerback.

"Feel solid about it, but that position is like you can never have enough guys all the way through," Schneider said. "We've been in spots before where we've been stuck where we're signing a guy, two weeks here, elevating (to play). We want to be able to have guys that are in the system for a long time that the coaches feel comfortable about playing in games."

Who made the roster? Who didn't?

The current 53-man roster can be found at the bottom of the page. There were no stunning surprises as all the big-name players you'd expect made the team.

Wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr., tight end Nick Kallerup, offensive lineman Bryce Cabeldue, and linebackers Patrick O'Connell, Chazz Surratt and Connor O'Toole were among the group of players to make it onto the bottom end of the roster.

Meanwhile, running backs Velus Jones Jr. and Jacardia Wright, wide receivers Cody White, Ricky White III and Emmanuel Henderson, linebacker Jared Ivey, cornerbacks Noah Igbinoghene, Trevon Diggs, Michael Dansby and Andre Fuller, and safeties D'Anthony Bell, Rodney Thomas II and A.J. Finley were among the notable players to miss out on roster spots.

Some of those cuts were strategic by Seattle. Vested veterans do not have to go on waivers and immediately become free agents when released. John Schneider is hopeful that many of those players will be open to re-signing to practice squad roles.

"Having the six (potential) veterans on the practice squad has enabled us to not expose certain players to the waiver wire," Schneider said. "It's a strategy for the initial 53 cut, and then as well as what we're going to look like in the middle of October, and then trying to be as strong as we possibly can, and as deep as we possibly can with a combination of older and younger players down the stretch."

Eight players meet those criteria: Bell, Diggs, Igbinoghene, Thomas II, Jones Jr., tackle Bobby Hart, tight end Nick Vannett, and wide receiver Cody White.

With Seattle only carrying three safeties through roster cuts – and Nick Emmanwori's status for Week 1 still in question – it seems highly likely that Bell, Thomas II and Finley could be re-joining the practice squad come Monday.

Schneider also said they intend to re-sign Diggs to the practice squad as well.

Emmanwori took part in the warm-ups for practice on Sunday as he works back from ankle surgery just prior to training camp. Emmanwori was activated from the physically unable to perform list midway through camp, but hasn't practiced fully yet. 

Running back Zach Charbonnet was not activated from the PUP list and will miss at least the first game of the season as he continues to recover from a torn ACL. Charbonnet didn't have surgery until after the Super Bowl, which makes him a little more than six months removed from the procedure.

A rule change this season allows for players on injured reserve or the physically unable to perform list to return to practice just two weeks after being placed on their respective list. It would allow for Charbonnet to begin working out with the team as early as Week 3 on a 21-day return to practice window.

The Terrion Arnold plan.

Though not on their official announcement list, cornerback Terrion Arnold was placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List one day after officially signing with the team.

Schneider spoke on the plan for Arnold for the first time publicly since the agreement to sign him was reached earlier in August.

"There's a ton of different factors that went into it," Schneider said. "Obviously, the legal stuff has to take care of itself, and I totally respect that. there's like you know, tons of different buckets to this situation."

Schneider said the plan is for Arnold to be around the team, train with their staff, and be a part of team meetings while his legal process plays out in Florida. 

One of the character references Schneider relied on when making a decision to sign Arnold was former Seahawks running back Leon Washington. Arnold is reportedly the half-brother of Leon Washington Jr., and Leon Sr. was a significant figure in Arnold's life.

"He's basically like his father," Schneider said of Washington's relationship with Arnold. "Leon will always be a legend here and has a great relationship with the organization. The character just didn't really fit with the allegations and everybody we've talked to, but yes, there's a long-term play. This isn't like let's see how quickly we can get this done. Let's get him in the building and see how it goes."

Schneider also had several more connections with Arnold with the Seahawks. Fullback Robbie Ouzts (on injured reserve), quarterback Jalen Milroe, and cornerback Josh Jobe played with Arnold at Alabama, and defensive backs coach Karl Scott helped recruit him to Tuscaloosa.

Notes:

– John Schneider said there was no consideration of putting wide receiver Tory Horton on injured reserve to begin the season. Horton has missed the last two weeks of practice, but that indicates they do not expect a lengthy absence.

– Schneider said third-round pick Julian Neal has been battling a quadriceps injury, which has kept him out for the majority of training camp. He was taking part in warm-ups with the team on Sunday ahead of practice.

– Wide receiver Irvin Charles Jr. was placed on injured reserve and is designated to return. Charles has been out a significant portion of training camp with injuries, but Schneider made it clear that they see a significant special teams role for him this season.

"He's a dominant gunner,' Schneider said. "He came in today and we talked. I forgot how big he was. ... He's running 22 miles per hour. He's just a monster special teams player so it's definitely worth the wait."

The Seahawks acquired Charles from the New York Jets in exchange for a conditional 2028 seventh-round draft pick this offseason. It's notable that Schneider was willing to use a designated to return spot on Charles as the team only gets eight through the regular season, and used all eight last year. A team also gets two more designations in the playoffs.

Last year, fullback Robbie Ouzts, guard Christian Haynes, safety Julian Love, nose tackle Jarran Reed, center Jalen Sundell, wide receiver Dareke Young, tight end Eric Saubert, and tight end Elijah Arroyo were the eight in the regular season, and linebacker Chazz Surratt and running back George Holani returned in the playoffs.

– Center Federico Maranges counts as an international player pathway program member and would allow Seattle to carry 17 players on the practice squad, just as they were able to carry 91 players on their training camp roster. 

Seahawks 53-man roster:

Offense (26):

Quarterback (3): Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Jalen Milroe.

Running Back (4): Jadarian Price, George Holani, Emmanuel Wilson, Brady Russell (FB).

Tight End (4): A.J. Barner, Elijah Arroyo, Eric Saubert, Nick Kallerup.

Wide Receiver (5): Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Rashid Shaheed, Tory Horton, Montorie Foster Jr.

Offensive Line (10): Charles Cross, Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell, Anthony Bradford, Abe Lucas, Josh Jones, Olu Oluwatimi, Christian Haynes, Bryce Cabeldue, Beau Stephens.

Defense (24):

Defensive Line (6): Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, Jarran Reed, Rylie Mills, Mike Morris, Brandon Pili.

Edge (5): Demarcus Lawrence, Uchenna Nwosu, Derick Hall, Dante Fowler Jr., Connor O'Toole.

Linebacker (5): Ernest Jones IV, Drake Thomas, Tyrice Knight, Chazz Surratt, Patrick O'Connell.

Cornerback (5): Devon Witherspoon, Josh Jobe, Nehemiah Pritchett, Julian Neal, Avery Smith.

Safety (3): Julian Love, Nick Emmanwori, Ty Okada.

Special Teams (3): Jason Myers, Michael Dickson, Chris Stoll.

Injured Lists (5):

Physically Unable To Perform (1): RB Zach Charbonnet.

Injured Reserve (5): WR Jake Bobo, S Bud Clark, FB Robbie Ouzts, OL Mason Richman. WR Irvin Charles Jr. (DTR).

Waived/Injured (4): LB Power Echols, OT Amari Kight, FB Brock Lampe, LB Aaron Smith.

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