BRADY HENDERSON

Seahawks waive Kristjan Sokoli as roster trimming continues

Aug 29, 2016, 8:54 PM

Kristjan Sokoli, a sixth-round pick in 2015, couldn't make the switch from defensive tackle to the ...

Kristjan Sokoli, a sixth-round pick in 2015, couldn't make the switch from defensive tackle to the O-line. (AP)

(AP)

Add offensive lineman Kristjan Sokoli’s name to the list of players the Seahawks are parting ways with as they continue to trim their roster from 90-75 ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.

Sokoli’s agent, Brett Tessler, announced via Twitter Monday night that his client has been waived.

It does not come as much of a surprise. Seattle drafted Sokoli in the sixth round last year out of Buffalo, where he played defensive tackle. The Seahawks hoped his athleticism would help him convert to the offensive line, and they thought so highly of his potential that they kept him on their 53-man roster all season last year even though he was hardly ever so much as active on game-day.

Seattle tried Sokoli at center and more recently at guard, but he’s been buried the depth chart all offseason, typically taking reps in practice with the Seahawks’ third-team offensive line.

And so ends Seattle’s latest attempt to take a college defensive tackle and mold him into an offensive lineman, an experiment that worked with J.R. Sweezy. Seattle tried unsuccessfully to do the same with Jared Smith, a seventh-round pick in 2013. Tessler said in his announcement of Sokoli’s release that Sokoli “needs to switch back to defensive line.”

Waiving Sokoli is the seventh known move the Seahawks have made before Tuesday’s deadline to get down to the league-mandated 75-man roster limit. Seattle also released defensive back Brandon Browner, placed defensive tackle Sealver Siliga on Injured Reserve and waived four players: wide receivers Deshon Foxx (with an injury designation) Montario Hunter, fullback Kyle Coleman and defensive tackle DeAngelo Tyson.

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