What stands out about Seahawks’ practice squad

Aug 29, 2024, 12:31 PM

Running back George Holani of the Seattle Seahawks runs against the Cleveland Browns during a 2024 preseason game. (Rio Giancarlo/Getty Images)

(Rio Giancarlo/Getty Images)

BY ZAC HERETH

Seattle Sports

After much anticipation, the Seattle Seahawks and the rest of the NFL released their initial 53-man rosters Tuesday.

Seattle Seahawks Position Preview: Is running back a strength for Seattle?

As is tradition in the league, a slew of moves followed as teams filled out their practice squads, which typically end up being comprised mostly by the players a team had just cut. That was the case for the Seahawks, whose current 15-man practice squad features 14 players who were with the squad before roster cutdowns.

Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob shared their thoughts on what stood out after Seattle’s practice squad signings were announced on Wednesday.

Seattle Seahawks keep strong depth at RB, WR

The Seahawks were able to retain most of the notable cuts they made, particularly in the competitive battles for the final roster spots at running back and wide receiver.

Undrafted rookie running back George Holani was brought back to the practice squad after he gave second-year pro Kenny McIntosh a solid challenge for the third spot in the backfield behind Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet.

“(I was) kind of excited to see his name on there,” co-host Bob Stelton said. “I thought there’s a chance somebody’s gonna pick him up. I thought he had some good moments to put on film for other teams to look at. I thought this kid’s going to get snapped up, but he did not.”

Holani on the move 🏃‍➡️

The 18-yard run that set up his second NFL touchdown. pic.twitter.com/7WDdf0Hb7B

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 25, 2024

The Boise State product may have been a solid candidate to be picked up by another team, but former NFL linebacker and Seahawks Radio Network broadcast Dave Wyman pointed out that many other teams probably had their own version of Holani in the preseason.

“I think there’s probably a lot of guys like that around the league that had the kind of preseason that he had, and it wasn’t anything notable to someone else that he did that in Seattle,” he said.

There was some thought that Seattle could roll with four running backs on their initial roster. However, Wyman sees the skill sets of wide receivers Laviksa Shenault Jr. and Dareke Young as factors that could have made a fourth running back a redundant add to the roster. Shenault saw a number of handoffs in the preseason, while Young has actually lined up in the backfield for the Seahawks before.

“I like that George Holani got back through,” Wyman said, “but that was kind of the thinking with just the three running backs, I think, because you have a couple of big receivers (who are threats running the ball).”

Speaking of wide receivers, Seattle was also able to retain pass-catchers Easop Winston Jr. and Cody White after impressive preseasons in the crowded wide receiver battle.

“We were kind of grinding over (getting those guys back),” Wyman said. “… It’s nice that they were able to get all of those guys back.”

Perfect placement. 💯 pic.twitter.com/bebh6aebdY

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 19, 2024

Other notable returners

Wyman was happy to see safety Marquise Blair make it back to the practice squad. The Seahawks brought Blair, a second-round pick by the team in 2019, back during training camp. He showed flashes as a rookie but has never really been able to find his footing in the league after tearing his ACL in 2020.

“I love the nastiness that he brings, and I still think that there’s something there with Marquise Blair,” Wyman said. “We saw in that Tennessee (preseason) game. He had a couple of plays and a hit or two. I just feel like there’s some value in Marquise Blair. I always liked him, but I don’t know, man, he got injured and then just kind of fell to the wayside. So hopefully he’s somebody that’s going to rejuvenate his career.”

One of the more perplexing moves made by Seattle to Stelton and Wyman was cutting and re-signing recently acquired linebacker Michael Barrett to the practice squad. The Seahawks traded cornerback Michael Jackson to the Panthers in exchange for Barrett – a 2024 seventh-round pick who played under head coach Mike Macdonald when he was the defensive coordinator at Michigan – last Thursday.

“You cut him and risk the chance that somebody picks him up,” Wyman said. “… I think that was interesting.”

Notable departures

Teams are always risking that a player they cut will be claimed by another team. That happened to a trio of players cut by the Seahawks this week.

Seattle parted ways with linebacker and key special-teams member Jon Rhattigan, edge rusher Jamie Sheriff and wide receiver Dee Eskridge on Tuesday. They all ended up on the 53-man rosters of other teams.

Rhattigan and Sheriff each landed with former Seahawks assistant coach Dave Canales and the Carolina Panthers. Rhattigan was thought to be a salary cap casualty as he was set to make nearly $3 million this season, but there was some hope the Seahawks could bring him back on a lesser deal. Sheriff, an undrafted rookie, was one of the standouts of the preseason with three sacks and five quarterback hits.

Eskridge, a former second-round pick that has never panned out due to a combination of injuries and inconsistent performance, went to the Miami Dolphins.

DEE FOR THE TD!

A 79-yard return to the house 🏡 pic.twitter.com/w6jiaZFcpz

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 25, 2024

But perhaps the most surprising move was that Seattle cut 2024 sixth-round draft pick D.J. James and elected not to re-sign the cornerback to the practice squad.

“I thought he’ll probably be a candidate for the practice squad. He’s not there,” Stelton said. “He seemed like a good tackler. Maybe the rest of his game was really struggling in practice that we didn’t see, but that was the one that was sort of interesting ones not to see.”

“Maybe he just made some good tackles in that last game,” said Wyman, referring to James’ six tackles and one sack against the Browns in the preseason finale. “I thought that’s what stood out about him, but some of the coverage skills (were) maybe not great. I feel like they probably feel pretty good about the guys that they got back.”

Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-6 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.