article
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 23: Kingsley Enagbare #55 of the Green Bay Packers recovers a fumble by Jalen Milroe #6 of the Seattle Seahawks in the first quarter during the NFL Preseason 2025 game between Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers at La (Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)
Another preseason is in the books with roster cuts now looming for the Seattle Seahawks ahead of Tuesday's 1 p.m. deadline.
In what felt like more of a timed practice at times than a competition of any consequence, quarterback Jalen Milroe struggled in his first start in the NFL. He lost three separate fumbles and was sacked five times behind a collection of reserve offensive linemen.
Milroe did notch his first touchdown on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Cody White in the fourth quarter, but it's clear Milroe needs more development work to be a viable option at the NFL level.
A scary collision between Jake Bobo and cornerback Tyler Hall on a punt return left both players injured late in the first half. Bobo sustained a concussion while running forward to catch a punt, which ran him directly into the leg of Hall retreating as a blocker. Hall hurt his knee on the play as well, but head coach Mike Macdonald said after the game his knee appeared to be structurally OK.
Defensively, Ty Okada had an incredible diving interception of Packers' quarterback Mailk Willis on Green Bay's opening drive. But a pair of Milroe fumbles led to a pair of short field drives and 10 points for the Green Bay offense.
Jamie Sheriff, Jared Ivey, Connor O'Toole and Damarion Williams had solid performances to close out their preseasons on the defensive side of the ball.
Now Macdonald and general manager John Schneider have to make their final decisions on the roster ahead of the 53-man roster deadline on Tuesday.
"I thought the guys played hard today," Macdonald said. "There’s a lot of good and there’s a lot we’re going to learn from. There’s operations stuff, there’s penalties, making quick decisions, being decisive, playing our style of ball that we’ll learn from these things. I thought the guys played really hard and put a heck of a training camp together. They should be proud of themselves."
Here are the takeaways from the final preseason game and the decisions ahead…
Jalen Milroe is not the 2012 Russell Wilson.
For those who don't get to watch practices regularly, Saturday's game against the Packers was the first extended look fans had at third-round pick Jalen Milroe.
While a third-round quarterback pick in Russell Wilson was able to come into the preseason and unseat a presumptive veteran starter in 2012, Milroe will not be providing a repeat occurrence.
It's a credit to the player Wilson was as a rookie and not an indictment on Milroe. While the Alabama rookie does have an intriguing set of tools, particularly with his running ability, he's not ready to play at the NFL level.
His accuracy is shaky, his ball-security against the Packers was lacking, and he needs to improve his management of the position.
"Just keep chopping away, man," Macdonald said of Milroe. "Keep building the foundation. He’s out there, he’s playing his tail off. There’s things that we’re going to learn from. Taking care of the football is probably the number one thing and he knows that. We’ll learn from it and grow from it. It was definitely worth it to get him out there and have this experience. He’s definitely going to be able to build off this in the future."
Milroe lost his first fumble on a strip-sack from Brenton Cox Jr. on the second drive of the game. He then fumbled again on the next drive on a quarterback sneak attempt on fourth-and-1 by Ty'Ron Hopper.
"You have to take care of the football. All of those are on me. I have to be better with ball security," Milroe said. "You know it is tough when you’re in the trenches. They are going to swat at the ball. Some big, strong dudes. They are heavier than me. You have to protect the ball. It happens, but that one play didn’t lose the game. You have to keep on competing. You have to keep on building. That is part of the game. I am going to learn from that and grow from that."
Milroe finished the game completing 13-of-24 passes for 148 yards with a touchdown, and added seven carries for 31 yards.
Milroe will likely see the field at times this season in special situations for the Seahawks. He could be used in "tush push" situations in short yardage to help pick up first downs, certain red zone packages and so forth.
But it would be a pretty big surprise to see Milroe being anything more than that in his rookie season with both Sam Darnold and Drew Lock ahead of him on the depth chart.
Those who didn't play are as notable as those who did.
With roster cuts coming on Tuesday, the evaluation phase of the offseason is over for the Seahawks.
A final preseason game presented an opportunity for the coaching staff to get one final look at players battling to make the roster. Meanwhile, starters were held out of action entirely.
While some injuries clearly kept a few players out of action, there were a number of players seemingly still in the mix for roster spots that were held out of the lineup.
Running back George Holani didn't play as Damien Martinez, Jacardia Wright and Anthony Tyus Jr. handed the backfield duties for Seattle. Holani has pretty clearly been the No. 3 back behind Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet, so his absence from action implies that he's secured his spot on the roster.
On the flip side, wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling – who signed a $4 million contract with the Seahawks this offseason – started and played through the early portion of the game. With a push from rookie receiver Tory Horton, Valdes-Scantling's place on the roster has seemed far less than assured, especially since Valdes-Scantling doesn't contribute on special teams.
Given that Seattle may use receivers less often this season as well due to their commitment to running the ball, using a fullback and multiple tight ends, and keeping a third quarterback in Milroe, is there still room on the roster for Valdes-Scantling?
The concussion to Bobo on Saturday might lead the Seahawks to keep the extra receiver to begin the season, but it does appear to be at least a question at this point.
Another item of note was that center Jalen Sundell was in street clothes while Olu Oluwatimi was dressed as a reserve center option for the preseason game.
"It was in case we needed a guy as an emergency in case something happened and we ran out of guys. We asked Olu to stay dressed and stay ready," Macdonald said.
Nevertheless, it seems to indicate that Sundell will open the season as the starting center. The first-team group played really well with Sundell in the lineup as Oluwatimi missed time with a back injury.
Nose tackle Brandon Pili also did not play, while fellow nose tackle Quinton Bohanna did. Is that something to read into also?
We'll find out by Tuesday.
So who didn't play?
The full list of players held out of action for the final preseason game is as follows:
QB: Sam Darnold, Drew Lock
RB: Ken Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, George Holani
FB: Robbie Ouzts, Wesley Steiner
TE: A.J. Barner, Elijah Arroyo, Eric Saubert
WR: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Tory Horton, John-Rhys Plumlee, Steven Sims
OL: Charles Cross, Grey Zabel, Jalen Sundell, Anthony Bradford, Abe Lucas, Olu Oluwatimi, Josh Jones, Christian Haynes
DL: Demarcus Lawrence, Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Byron Murphy II, Mike Morris, Brandon Pili, Johnathan Hankins (NFI), Rylie Mills (NFI).
Edge: Uchenna Nwosu, Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, Jalan Gaines
LB: Ernest Jones IV, Tyrice Knight, Josh Ross
CB: Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, Josh Jobe, Shemar Jean-Charles
S: Julian Love, Coby Bryant, Nick Emmanwori
ST: Chris Stoll
Hankins and Mills won't be ready for the start of the season and will begin the year on the non-football injury list.
Macdonald said Christian Haynes is dealing a pectoral issue from the joint practice with the Packers on Thursday.
"It’s not as serious as we thought. We’re kind of evaluating it right now to see what we’re dealing with going into next week. We’re not sure how long it’s going to be," Macdonald said.
Horton, Sims, Gaines, Ross, and Jean-Charles have all been dealing with various injuries.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
MORE SEAHAWKS NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE
Seahawks lose preseason finale 20-7 to Packers
Jalen Milroe loses three fumbles in shaky outing as Seahawks lose preseason finale 20-7 to Packers
Position battles for Seattle Seahawks ahead of final preseason game
Cooper Kupp satisfied with brief preseason appearance for Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks activate Uchenna Nwosu from Physically Unable To Perform list
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the dailyFOX Seattle Newsletter.
Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in theApple App StoreorGoogle Play Storefor live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.
Seattle SeahawksSportsNFL