We’re halfway through the preseason, and injuries along the Seahawks’ roster have prevented coaches (and us) from seeing all of the contenders for roster spots.

The depth issues figure to affect their roster decisions on Aug. 31.

Everyone knows pass rush is the weakest part of the team, which explains why Pete Carroll and Ken Norton Jr. are working on so many different blitz patterns. But they also have injury issues at running back, wide receiver, offensive line and defensive back that probably will affect their decisions at those spots.

Will it also affect their game strategy Saturday in Los Angeles? Will Carroll choose to keep his starters in for only a half so he can keep them healthy and give the bubble players more of a shot?

We project 41 locks and 25 bubble players for 12 open spots — No. 2 QB, No. 4 RB, No. 5 & 6 WRs, No. 3 TE, No. 9 OL, No. 9/10 DL, No. 6/7 LBs, Nos. 8-10 DBs. And, of course, John Schneider will make a trade or two or three to fill some of these spots.

Continue reading Injuries have kept the bubble inflated →

This week is really the last chance for bubble players to make their cases to coaches.

Week 3 is for the starters and the fourth game generally doesn’t mean much beyond perhaps finalizing the last spot or two on the roster.

Here are the locks, by our count: (QB) Russell Wilson; (RB) Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, Nick Bellore; (WR) Tyler Lockett, Jaron Brown, David Moore, D.K. Metcalf; (TE) Will Dissly, Nick Vannett; (OL) Duane Brown, Mike Iupati, Justin Britt, D.J. Fluker, Germain Ifedi, George Fant, Jamarco Jones; (DL) Ziggy Ansah, L.J. Collier, Poona Ford, Earl Mitchell, Al Woods, Quinton Jefferson, Cassius Marsh, Jacob Martin; (LB) Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Mychal Kendricks, Austin Calitro, Cody Barton; (DB) Shaquill Griffin, Tre Flowers, Akeem King, Neiko Thorpe, Bradley McDougald, Tedric Thompson, Marquise Blair; (ST) Jason Myers, Michael Dickson, Tyler Ott.

Continue reading We need to see more from these guys this week →

As the Seahawks get ready to open the preseason Thursday against Denver, most fans are itching to see rookie wunderkind D.K. Metcalf.

But we won’t see him play with Russell Wilson, because the starting quarterback will not play (a bunch of other starters will sit, too, Pete Carroll said Wednesday).

But there are a lot of other things to keep an eye on, starting with a defensive line that sure doesn’t seem like it will be ready for prime time yet — if ever this season.

Continue reading What we’re watching in preseason opener →

Pete Carroll is ready for the season. But his roster isn’t quite.

After the Seahawks finished off their first winless preseason ever with a mistake-filled 30-19 loss to Oakland, Carroll said, “I’m excited about getting to our 53. We’ve got roles for guys to take over. We’ve got a real clear thought about what we’re doing with a lot of stuff.”

Carroll and John Schneider still have some tweaking to do to get to the 53, though. They already have upgraded at backup quarterback, adding Brett Hundley, and you can bet they will be looking for help at a few other places — perhaps safety, corner, tight end and edge rusher.

Ahead of Saturday’s 1 p.m. cutdown deadline, here’s our final roster projection:

Continue reading Final preseason roster projection →