Early Projections for the Seattle Seahawks' Final 53-Man Roster

The 2012 NFL Draft is over and most NFL teams have their rosters at or near the 90 player limit. Those players are assembled at team headquarters for mini-camps, where they will meet their new coaches, teammates and start to learn their new playbooks.

They now have four months to prove their worth and make the 53-man rosters that need to be finalized on August 31.

The newest Seahawks and the returning players will have onfield team activities (OTAs) sprinkled through May and June, with a final mini-camp running June 22-24.

While there are a lot of surprises that can happen between now and then, here is a preliminary look at what their initial roster might look like.

Special Teams

The Seahawks will carry three special teams players. In a theme that will carry throughout the roster, there will be competition at two of the three positions.

Jon Ryan is the entrenched punter and will come out of training camp keeping his position.

There will be minimal competition at long-snapper, but don't anticipate a change.

The real position battle will be at kicker. Carson Wiggs is a strong-legged kicker that was signed as an undrafted free agent. He will push Steven Hauschka for starting duties, but he will have a lot to prove.

Hauschka has been rated just above the average mark for kickers in 2011.

Jon Ryan, P

Clint Gresham, LS

Steven Hauschka, K

Carson Wiggs Career Stats-Purdue

YEAR	FGM	FGA	PCT	1-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	LNG	XPM	XPA
2008	8	11	72.7	0-0	3-3	3-3	1-2	1-3	53	19	21
2009	14	21	66.7	0-0	4-4	2-3	6-9	2-5	59	40	41
2010	15	19	78.9	0-1	4-4	6-8	4-4	1-2	52	27	27
2011	19	25	76.0	3-3	8-8	1-3	5-8	2-3	53	39	40
Total	56	76	73.7	3-4	19-19	12-17	16-23	6-13	59	125	129

Defensive Line

The last two seasons Seattle has carried nine defensive linemen. There is no reason to expect that figure to change in 2012. This will be a very competitive group and the Seahawks will try to sneak a few players onto the practice squad.

The following players figure to make it on the opening day roster:

Red Bryant, DE
Chris Clemons, DE
Bruce Irvin, DE
Dexter Davis, DE 

Brandon Mebane, DT
Alan Branch, DT
Jason Jones, DT
Jaye Howard, DT
Clinton McDonald, DT 

Roster Members to not Make Team:

Pierre Allen, DE
John Graves, DE
Cordarro Law, DE
Pep Levingston, DE
Greg Scruggs, DE
Monte Taylor, DE

Adrian Taylor, DT 

Linebacker

The last two seasons Seattle has averaged six linebackers on the initial 53-man roster. They had seven in 2012 and just five in 2011.

There are several young players Seattle would like to have on their roster, but in doing so they'd likely have to cut ties with one of their veterans. That doesn't seem likely, as this team will have its sights set on more than just making the playoffs in 2012.

This will be a recurring theme, particularly on the defense, but this will be a competitive group. The talent level might not be quite as high as Carroll and Gus Bradley would like, but that depends on how well the young players are able to step up.

The following players figure to make it on the opening day roster:

Leroy Hill, OLB
K.J. Wright, OLB
Heath Farwell, OLB/ST
Malcolm Smith, OLB/ST

Bobby Wagner, OLB/ILB
Barrett Ruud, ILB 

Roster Members to not Make Team:

Tressor Baptiste
Allen Bradford
Jameson Konz
Matt McCoy
Mike Morgan
Adrian Moten
Korey Toomer

Defensive Backs

Seattle's initial 53-man roster in 2011 had nine defensive backs. They carried 10 into opening week in 2010.

With the improved talent they would likely try to keep this number at nine, but they also aren't going to risk losing a player they feel can play at a quality NFL level. They will have a few weeks to decide exactly how this group will play out, as Walter Thurmond will likely begin the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

Again, there will be a lot of competition in this group.

The following players figure to make it on the opening day roster:

Brandon Browner, CB
Richard Sherman, CB
Marcus Trufant, CB
Roy Lewis, CB 
Byron Maxwell, CB 

Earl Thomas, FS
Kam Chancellor, SS
Winston Guy, SS
Jeron Johnson, S 

PUP:
Walter Thurmond, CB

Roster Members to not Make Team:

London Durham, CB
Jesse Hoffman, CB
Jeremy Lane, CB
Chris Maragos, CB
Ron Parker, CB

Phillip Adams, DB
Cory Franceis, DB
DeShawn Shead, DB

Offensive Line

Seattle carried nine offensive linemen into the 2011 season. Injury issues in 2010 led them to start the year with 10 on the roster.

With tough position battles in other areas, they will likely try to stick to nine again this season.

There will be some tough position battles, as the depth on the offensive line has improved greatly over the last two seasons. Seattle brought in a few free agents, but there won't likely be sufficient room to keep them all.

James Carpenter is a key to the offensive line. There is a possibility he starts the season on the PUP, but for the purposes of this article the assumption is he will be ready to play on opening day.

The bigger question revolves around the position he'll be playing. There is a belief he'll move to guard this year, but the coaching staff has been particularly evasive when they've been asked to specify where he'll play.

Should he move to guard, the chances of Frank Omiyale making the final roster improve. If he stays at tackle, Rishaw Johnson could very well win a starting spot.

Allen Barbre, Brent Osborne and Paul Fanaika will all likely be on the outside looking in come the end of August.

The following are the early front-runners to secure a roster spot. However, Seattle's run of injuries to offensive linemen over the last five seasons could have this list changing quite regularly.

Russell Okung, OT
Breno Giacomini, OT

James Carpenter, T/G
Paul McQuistan, T/G

Max Unger, C
Lemuel Jeanpierre, C/G

John Moffitt, G
Deuce Lutui, G 
Rishaw Johnson, G

Roster Members to not Make Team:

Paul Fanaika, G
J.R. Sweezy, G

Frank Omiyale, OT
Brent Osborne, OT
Jon Opperud, OT
Allen Barbre, OT/OG 

Tight End

Seattle entered the 2011 season with just three tight ends on their active roster. A fourth, Cameron Morrah, began the year on the PUP.

Seattle values the tight end, as witnessed by carrying four into the start of 2010. They aren't likely to have four on the opening day roster in 2012, particularly if they are unable to find another viable option in free agency. There are two wild cards on the Seahawks' roster.

John Nalbone is an unproven commodity and could have a strong camp and earn a roster spot. While a bit undersized, Jameson Konz has been bouncing around position groups. He could be moved back to tight end in 2012, but that seems unlikely.

There is still time for the Seahawks to make a move in free agency and bring in a proven veteran. Similar to the approach with Atari Bigby at safety last season, a player like Visanthe Shiancoe could be signed to add some depth to the position group.

This is one of the more bold projections for the initial roster in 2012:

Zach Miller

Cameron Morrah

Visanthe Shiancoe*

Roster Members to not Make Team:

Anthony McCoy

*Update: With the trade for Kellen Winslow the tight end position is more clear. He will fill the roster spot I had projected Shiancoe to take.

Wide Receiver

This will be a difficult position group for the Seahawks. They have a dozen wide receivers on the roster and entered the 2011 campaign with half that number...not counting Deon Butler who started the season on the PUP.

They carried just five into the opening week in 2010.

There is a chance the Seahawks end up carrying as many as seven receivers at the start of 2012. Injury issues have hit this position group the last several years as well.

Ben Obomanu is the wild card of this group. He is the veteran with six years of service and is one of the more precise route-runners.

Seattle may need to keep seven receivers for him to make the final roster.

The position group will likely consist of:

Sidney Rice
Mike Williams
Doug Baldwin
Ben Obomanu
Golden Tate
Ricardo Lockette
Kris Durham 

Roster Members to not Make Team:

Phil Bates
Deon Butler
Jermaine Kearse
Charly Martin
Lavasier Tuinei

Running Back

Seattle will have a slight transformation in the running back position group. Justin Forsett is no longer with the team and will be replaced by Robert Turbin, the exciting draft pick from Utah state. 

After carrying five backs in 2010, Seattle trimmed that number to four last season. Expect that to continue in 2012.

With seven running backs currently on the roster, the Seahawks will need to do some trimming. One of those cuts figures to be the recently signed Kregg Lumpkin.

Those that will make the final roster:

Marshawn Lynch, RB
Robert Turbin, RB

Leon Washington, RB/KR

Michael Robinson, FB 

Roster Members to not Make Team:

Kregg Lumpkin, RB
Tyrell Sutton, RB
Vai Taua, RB 

Quarterback

The Seahawks should have quite the position battle at the quarterback position. They signed Matt Flynn to a free agent contract to compete with Tarvaris Jackson. Then, they drafted Russell Wilson in the third-round of the draft as the apparent future competition for Flynn.

Then there is Josh Portis, the undrafted free agent that Carroll speaks highly of. Unless something unexpected happens, Seattle will likely be attempting to slide Portis to the practice squad.

The unexpected could transpire this season. Should Matt Flynn establish himself early as the expected starter, the real battle would be between Wilson and Jackson for backup duties.

There is a chance, albeit thin, that Wilson could emerge the victor in that battle.

Should that happen, Seattle would be in a position to attempt to trade Jackson or release him. The market may not be overly active for a borderline starting quarterback, but if a team suffers an injury a market could develop. 

The more likely scenario is the following three quarterbacks are on the initial 53-man roster:

Matt Flynn
Tarvaris Jackson
Russell Wilson 

Roster Members to not Make Team:

Josh Portis

8-Man Practice Squad

The first two years under Carroll, Seattle has closely followed waiver wire transactions and practice squads to find talent.

In 2012, Seattle figures to lose a few players they would like to keep. Here is a list of eight players they may attempt to move to the practice squad but may have difficulty in doing so.

Pep Levingston, DE

Korey Toomer, LB

Mike Morgan, LB

Jeremy Lane, DB

J.R. Sweezy, DL/OG

Jermaine Kearse, WR

Lavasier Tuinei, WR

Josh Portis, QB