Seattle Seahawks Roster Rotating Like A Revolving Door

Published on May 20, 2010 by     

The one constant since Pete Carroll and John Schneider took over the Seattle Seahawks’ football operations has been their quest for competition – and the multitude of roster moves it has generated.

Pete Carroll was asked about the current roster being the same one the Seahawks’ coach expects to open training camp with.

That was Monday, and Carroll offered, “For the most part, this is the bulk of the guys we are counting on.”

Since then, the Seahawks have made eight roster moves – the latest being the Thursday release of No. 3 quarterback Mike Teel, a sixth-round draft choice last year. The others – with the exception of signing former first-round draft choice J.P. Losman on Wednesday to replace Teel – involved players on the fringe of the current 89-man roster.

One tight end was added (Michael Allan), while two were released (Jason Pociask and Patrick Devenny). One wide receiver was signed (Marcus Maxwell), another cut (Victor James). Another QB (Mike Reilly) was released, after being with the team for less than two weeks.

These moves are directly related to something else Carroll said Monday.

“We will continue to look,” he said. “We will continue to try and peck away at it.”

Since arriving in mid-January, Carroll and general manager John Schneider have wielded Toucan-sized beaks in this pecking process that is transforming the Seahawks’ roster.

This no-stone-unturned approach has produced 55 transactions in the 122 days since Schneider was hired – and that doesn’t include the nine players the Seahawks drafted or the 15 rookie free agents they signed just after the draft.

“We’ve said it from Day One – that how we’re going to built it,” Schneider said. “We’re going to build it on competition and we’re going to keep looking for guys.”

That will happen when a new regime is brought in – and the team has won nine games the past two seasons.

The Seahawks have lost two players to retirement – nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones and defensive end Patrick Kerney, who led the club with 24½ sacks the past three seasons. They also released strong safety Deon Grant, a starter and defensive co-captain the past three seasons.

They have traded left guard Rob Sims, defensive end Darryl Tapp and backup QB Seneca Wallace – deals that delivered defensive ends Chris Clemons and Robert Henderson and the draft choices that were used to select defensive end E.J. Wilson and strong safety Kam Chancellor. They made a trade to acquire QB Charlie Whitehurst. They also made draft-day trades to acquire running backs LenDale White and Leon Washington and defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson.

They watched wide receiver Nate Burleson and defensive lineman Cory Redding sign elsewhere in free agency, while adding seven players in free agency – including left guard Ben Hamilton and tight end Chris Baker. They gave minicamp tryouts to two dozen players and ended up signing 10 – including wide receiver Mike Williams and fullback Ryan Powdrell.

This constant tilling has purged 16 players who were on the final 53-man roster last season. It also has left the Seahawks with no players who were on the roster when Mike Holmgren became the coach in 1999; and 26 players from the team that Jim Mora inherited from Holmgren in 2009.

“It doesn’t always necessarily have a reflection on the guys that are leaving,” Schneider said of the continuous turnover. “It’s just an opportunity for us to look at some other guys.”

And they’re obviously not done. Each time a draft choice is signed, a player will have to be released to keep that roster at the league-mandated limit of 80. But those nine extra roster spots also are playing into the look-and-evaluate process.

“We basically have nine spots that we can kind of continue to rotate through and just kind of work some guys out – and have extended workouts instead of the normal, half-hour, one-on-one workout,” Schneider said.

“We’re not going to be right every time, but we’re going to continue to work to try and figure it out.”

Tags: Charlie Whitehurst, Chris Clemons, Cory Redding, Darryl Tapp, De Patrick Kerney, Deon Grant, J P Losman, John Schneider, Marcus Maxwell, Matt Mccoy, Mike Teel, Nate Burleson, Quinton Ganther, Quinton Teal, Rob Sims, Sean Morey, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS, seattle seahawks football, seattle seahawks roster, Seneca Wallace