GREEN BAY, Wis. — Rookie quarterback Jalen Milroe starting and projected to play the entire game figures to be the main talking point during the Seahawks’ preseason finale here against the Packers on Saturday.
But a full game for Milroe isn’t all there is to watch for the Seahawks on Saturday.
Here are four other things to keep an eye on:
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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe (6) throws a pass during an NFL preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Seattle.
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Draft picks vying for roster spots
Six draftees are assured of roster spots — left guard Grey Zabel, safety Nick Emmanwori, tight end Elijah Arroyo, Milroe, fullback Robbie Ouzts and receiver Tory Horton. Another, defensive end Rylie Mills, is on the non-football injury list rehabbing a knee injury and will begin the season there.
The fates of four others appears uncertain heading into the final game — offensive linemen Mason Richman and Bryce Cabeldue, running back Damien Martinez and receiver Ricky White III, all taken in the sixth round or later.
Richman and Cabeldue got what appeared to be significant snaps working with the backup offensive line at guard in Thursday’s joint practice against the Packers, and Richman got some snaps at center in recent weeks in practice. Both figure to get plenty of time Saturday to state their case further.
Martinez appears to have lost out to George Holani to be the third running back.
Holani worked with the No. 1 offense Thursday behind Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet with Martinez with the backups.
Martinez will try to make a case to keep four tailbacks.
White is has typically worked with the third-team offense in practice and figures to get a lot of work Saturday.
But a 53-man roster spot at this point may not be realistic.
The Seahawks will surely look to keep all of them on the practice squad if they clear waivers.
Teams must cut their rosters to 53 by Tuesday at 1 p.m. and can begin signing players to practice squads on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Solidifying the return games
One veteran who could see time Saturday is receiver/returner Steven Sims, who missed the first two preseason games with a hamstring injury.
Sims was signed with the expectation that he could be the punt returner and one of the primary kickoff returners.
He filled that role in Thursday’s joint practice, working with Holani as the first-team kickoff returners. Receiver Dareke Young and cornerback Tyler Hall were the second-team kickoff returners.
While Sims has an NFL track record the Seahawks can rely on — 62 kickoff returns in his career for an average of 25.2 per attempt — coach Mike Macdonald might want to see him do it some in another live setting.
Roster crunches elsewhere make it unclear if Sims is assured a spot on the initial 53-man roster.
Because Sims has four accrued NFL seasons, he is a vested veteran and does not have to go through waivers. Instead, he would be released and become an immediate free agent, and the Seahawks could cut him with a promise to bring him back later so they can protect other players from having to go through waivers in the initial cutdown, something the Seahawks have done often in the past.
Sorting out the inside linebacker depth
Macdonald announced Thursday that the Seahawks got good news on the health of starting weakside linebacker Tyrice Knight and there appears a possibility he will be available for the regular-season opener against the 49ers.
That solves a big question about the inside linebacker position heading into the season.
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Still, it remains unclear who will be the backups. Patrick O’Connell was working with the ones at WLB in Knight’s absence and started the Chiefs game.
Drake Thomas was the starter for the joint practice against the Packers. Josh Ross was also in the competition before suffering a hand injury early in camp. He has been back in pads doing some work in recent days with the hand in a cast.
Only two of those three may make the roster, though the Seahawks will try to get whoever doesn’t on the practice squad. Or possibly, depending on Ross’ injury situation, the Seahawks could put him on injured reserve and bring him back as soon as four weeks.
Speculation persists that the Seahawks could look to add a veteran who becomes available to fill out the ILB depth. How they feel about the position after Saturday’s game will obviously influence how they address it later.
A last chance for UDFAs to shine
The Seahawks have 20 undrafted rookie free agents remaining on their roster, and at the moment it doesn’t appear a certainty that any of them will make the initial 53-man roster.
All figure to get plenty of snaps Saturday to at least try to earn spots on the 17-man practice squad.
A few who have stood out in recent practices and games include rush end Jared Ivey, outside linebacker Connor O’Toole, running back Jacardia Wright, nose tackle J.R. Singleton, defensive tackle Bubba Thomas, and cornerback Isas Waxter.
Also worth watching is linebacker Alphonzo Tuputala, the former Federal Way High and UW standout, who signed with the Seahawks after the first preseason game against the Raiders to fill out the depth at the inside spots.
Tuputala got six snaps against the Chiefs and made one tackle and finished with a solid 71.4 grade from Pro Football Focus.
He’s gotten regular snaps in practice this week, at times with the No. 2 defense, and had an interception during a team drill earlier this week, and figures to get plenty of work against the Packers.
Considering that he went undrafted and unsigned in the initial wave of undrafted free agent signings, making the practice squad would be a significant step for Tuputala. A good performance Saturday could make that more of a possibility.
How to watch
The 1 p.m. game will be broadcast locally on NBC (Ch. 5).
Bob Condotta: bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Bob Condotta covers the Seahawks for the Seattle Times. He provides daily coverage of the team throughout the year.