By Bob Condotta Seattle Times
SEATTLE – The final seconds ticking off in Green Bay Saturday began what is as stressful, busy and emotion-churning of a three-day period as exists in the NFL.
The Seahawks and every other team must cut their rosters to 53 by 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Most players then hit waivers and teams spend another 24 hours scouring the wires to see if there’s anyone they want to claim, while also hoping their players do not get claimed so they can re-sign them to the practice squad.
Seattle can begin officially assembling a 17-man practice squad at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
What could Seattle’s initial 53-man roster look like?
Before the cuts are made, here’s one last projection.
### Quarterback
Sam Darnold, Drew Lock, Jalen Milroe.
**Comment:** Milroe struggled Saturday. But this was always planned to be a developmental year for him. From the minute he was drafted, the team committed to likely keeping three quarterbacks on its 53-man roster.
### Running back
Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, George Holani, Robbie Ouzts.
**Comment:** This seems like a fairly cut-and-dried decision – Holani sitting out the Green Bay game along with Walker and Charbonnet made clear he’s one of the three RBs the team will keep, along with Ouzts as the starting fullback. The Seahawks will surely hope to keep Jacardia Wright and Damien Martinez on the practice squad.
### Tight end
AJ Barner, Elijah Arroyo, Eric Saubert, Brady Russell.
**Comment:** The top three have been long set. Russell getting eight snaps Saturday shows he’s on the bubble. But the view here is that his overall value in his positional versatility and special teams will get him on the roster.
### Receiver
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Tory Horton, Jake Bobo, Steve Sims.
**Comment:** After the sure things of JSN, Kupp and Horton, this feels like one of the bigger positions of mystery on the team. Could Seattle really look to trade or cut Valdes-Scantling? That he played 23 snaps against the Packers was certainly interesting, especially in light of appearing to get starter’s treatment the first two weeks, when he didn’t play against the Raiders and just 10 snaps against the Chiefs. The $3 million the team has guaranteed him is at least a factor, though it’s hardly prohibitive. Still, Horton remains out with an ankle issue, so the Seahawks might need another proven WR to rely on.
There’s also the question of how many WRs Seattle will keep. The move to a run-heavy offense that will feature more two-receiver sets could mean the Seahawks could get away with just five on the initial 53, and then re-signing a few more to the PS. Also, what to make of Sims, a WR signed mostly to be a return specialist but who never played in the preseason due to a hamstring injury (he did take part in Thursday’s joint practice).
For now, I’m back to keeping five true WRs, plus Sims – who worked with the starters on returns Thursday – and thinking Seattle can get Dareke Young and Cody White back on the PS.
### Offensive line
LT Charles Cross, LG Grey Zabel, C Olu Oluwatimi, RG Anthony Bradford, RT Abraham Lucas, G Christian Haynes, C/G Jalen Sundell, T/G Josh Jones, C/G Mason Richman.
**Comment:** Seattle appears to have a pretty clear top eight in Cross, Zabel, Sundell, Bradford and Lucas (the likely starters) with Oluwatimi, Haynes and Jones as the gameday backups.
That leaves the question of how many others to keep on the 53, which may mostly come down to which players does Seattle most fear might get claimed on waivers.
Richman’s potential and versatility, including that he played some center in the preseason, might make him the best bet to take another spot.
But it’s also worth remembering Seattle has interest in potentially signing veteran free agent Dalton Risner.
As of Saturday, Risner had yet to take a visit to Seattle, as has been reported he will. But he still could. And it’s thought that Seattle is looking at Risner not to compete for a starting spot – Zabel and Bradford are the clear starters at guard – but to help with depth.
For now, I’m going with nine OL and thinking the rest will all clear waivers and Seattle can re-sign the likes of Michael Jerrell and Bryce Cabeldue to the PS.
### Interior D-line
Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed, Byron Murphy II, Quinton Bohanna, Brandon Pili, Mike Morris.
**Comment:** As is worth again repeating, veteran nose tackle Johnathan Hankins remains on the non-football injury list due to a back issue with it unclear when he will return. He can return at any time. But if he is still on it when the season begins he’ll have to sit out the first four games. For now, we’ll leave him off the initial active roster and instead go with Pili, who has had a strong camp, and Bohanna.
I’m also thinking the team keeps Morris, who also has had a strong camp and seems a better fit for the base defensive end position he’s now focusing on. Morris missed the Packers game with an injury suffered in the joint practice, however.
### Edge rusher/outside linebackers
DeMarcus Lawrence, Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, Uchenna Nwosu.
**Comment:** Also worth repeating is that Nwosu is now eligible to return to practice. He did a full pads workout in Green Bay that appeared to be a significant step toward getting him back on the field in time for the opener against the 49ers.
On the bubble is Tyreke Smith, who has had a good camp and returned from injury to play 24 snaps against the Packers. If Seattle keeps a fifth at this spot as a hedge against Nwosu needing more time, Smith would seem the likely candidate.
### Inside linebacker
Ernest Jones IV, Tyrice Knight, Drake Thomas, Patrick O’Connell.
**Comment:** As important as anything that happened in Green Bay was Macdonald announcing Knight received good news regarding a medical issue that had him sidelined the past few weeks and may return soon. Assuming he’s back for the opener, then Seattle may need to keep only four players at this spot and possibly use an IR designation on Josh Ross, who has been dealing with a hand injury, and able to bring him back in four weeks.
### Safety
Julian Love, Coby Bryant, Nick Emmanwori, D’Anthony Bell, Jerrick Reed II.
**Comment:** The top three are set. Reed, Bell and Ty Okada are vying for whatever other spots Seattle devotes to safety on its roster. Okada has had a strong camp, capped by his stunningly acrobatic interception against the Packers. But the Seahawks might think Bell and Reed would be more likely to get scooped up.
### Cornerback
Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen, Josh Jobe, Nehemiah Pritchett, Shaquill Griffin.
**Comment:** The top three are sure things. After that remain some questions, as evidenced by Pritchett and Griffin getting some time against the Packers. Also a question is if the Seahawks would want to keep someone who is more of a true nickel corner as a backup – Witherspoon moves inside when Seattle is in nickel and each of the other four listed above usually played on the outside.
That could mean keeping Tyler Hall or Damarion Williams, who played that spot more in the preseason.
But the guess here for now is Seattle simply keeps its best five cornerbacks and works that out later, keeping one or both of Hall and Williams on the practice squad.
### Specialists
Kicker Jason Myers, punter Michael Dickson, snapper Chris Stoll/Zach Triner.
**Comment:** Stoll is currently dealing with a back issue so Seattle three weeks ago signed veteran Zach Triner and he has handled the snaps in all three preseason games. But the assumption is the job still belongs to Stoll for the long term.