Ranking the Seahawks roster before training camp: Nos. 31-50

SEATTLE – A season of momentous change for the Seattle Seahawks – the first in a decade without Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner or any member of the 2013 Super Bowl champion team – is now just a little over a week away.

Players report for training camp Tuesday with the first practice the next day and the first preseason game Aug. 13 at Pittsburgh.

As camp begins, so does the process of cutting the roster from the training camp maximum of 90 to 53 for the start of the regular season Sept. 12 against Wilson and the Denver Broncos at Lumen Field.

As a guide to the roster as the Seahawks begin what is their 47th NFL season we are again ranking the players on the roster heading into camp – Seattle has only 89 and due to an exemption for Aaron Donkor, can add two more.

The main purpose of this is to acquaint readers with the players and give a brief overview of their potential role and chances to make the team.

Being ranked at the bottom doesn’t mean a player won’t make the team or have a long NFL career – we’ve been wrong before and will be again.

Here we go with Nos. 31-89. The countdown will continue in coming days.

31. Defensive end Quinton Jefferson

Potential role in 2022: In the rotation, if not starting, as an end in the base defense and tackle in the nickel.

Why he’s ranked here: Jefferson, a fifth-round pick in 2016, is back for his third stint with the team at age 29 after signing a two-year deal worth up to $9.5 million. Jefferson had a career-high 4.5 sacks last year with the Raiders and the Seahawks will hope for more of the same.

32. Defensive tackle Bryan Mone

Potential role in 2022: A key part of the team’s defensive-tackle rotation, particularly in the base defense on early downs as a run stuffer.

Why he’s ranked here: The Seahawks made clear the value they see in Mone signing him to a two-year extension in June keeping him with the team through 2024. Coach Pete Carroll wants to stop the run first on defense and Mone will again be a key part in that effort.

33. Right tackle Jake Curhan

Potential role in 2022: Curhan enters camp competing with Abraham Lucas and Stone Forsythe at right tackle but can also play guard.

Why he’s ranked here: Curhan was a surprise last season making the roster as an undrafted free agent and playing respectably in starting at right tackle the last five games of the season. It won’t be easy to win the RT job over third-round pick Lucas, which could consign Curhan to being a depth player. He got some work at guard in the spring.

34. Tight end Colby Parkinson

Potential role in 2022: Third tight end behind Noah Fant and Will Dissly.

Why he’s ranked here: Parkinson has battled injuries his first two seasons in the NFL and has just seven catches for 49 yards. But he was healthy throughout the offseason program, and the team is hoping he can make a big leap in production this year, though the primary tight ends will be Fant and Dissly.

35. Running back Travis Homer

Potential role in 2022: Similar to Dallas – competing for time in the running-back rotation but likely to work mostly in the third-down/2-minute role and play special teams.

Why he’s ranked here: Homer is facing a key season as he is in the last year of his rookie deal. He was cited by coaches as being one of the standouts of the offseason program. Regardless of his running-back role, his special-teams versatility makes him valuable.

36. Left guard Phil Haynes

Potential role in 2022: Backup at right guard behind veteran Gabe Jackson and insurance policy at all the interior OL spots.

Why he’s ranked here: Haynes played well in two late-season starts – one at left guard the other at right – and was re-signed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal in the offseason. He worked with the first team at right guard throughout the offseason program with Jackson recovering from knee surgery.

37. Running back DeeJay Dallas

Potential role in 2022: Backup running back and serving primarily as a third-down/2-minute back as well as being a core special teamer.

Why he’s ranked here: Dallas has almost identical rushing stats in his two seasons – 34 for 108 in 2020 and 33-138 in 2021 – and the addition of Ken Walker III won’t make it easier to get in the rotation this year, barring injuries.

38. Safety/cornerback Ugo Amadi

Potential role in 2022: Competing for the nickel corner job and as a backup safety.

Why he’s ranked here: Amadi has started 11 games the past two seasons as a nickel corner, but veteran free-agent signee Justin Coleman was running as the first-team nickel during the offseason program. Amadi saw significant time at safety. Amadi is entering the final year of his rookie contract and with a cap number of $2.7 million – $2.5 million of which can be saved if he is released. He’ll have to earn his way onto the roster.

39. Defensive end Alton Robinson

Potential role in 2022: In the rotation at end and especially in pass-rush situations.

Why he’s ranked here: Robinson had an uneven second year in 2021, going through some stretches when he barely saw the field and finishing the season with one sack and three QB hits. He had four sacks as a rookie in 2020. The Seahawks are hoping for a bounce-back year.

40. Defensive end L.J. Collier

Potential role in 2022: In the rotation at defensive end in the base defense and tackle in the nickel.

Why he’s ranked here: The Seahawks’ first-round pick in 2019, Collier has one shot left to validate that selection. There’s a feeling around the team that Collier’s skills could be a better fit in the 3-4 scheme they plan to use more of in 2022.

41. S Ryan Neal

Potential role in 2022: Jack-of-all-trades player in the secondary able to play safety spots and corner.

Why he’s ranked here: Neal has been a dependable backup and spot starter for Seattle the past two years with nine starts overall. But assuming Quandre Diggs and Jamal Adams are back to full health for the season, Neal will likely enter the year as a backup again.

42. CB Tre Brown

Potential role in 2022: Once healthy, competing for the starting left cornerback spot.

Why he’s ranked here: Brown had knee surgery in November and his readiness for camp is unclear, making it hard to fully project his role this year. But once back to full health, he could reclaim the starting spot at left cornerback that he held for three games last year.

43. CB Tariq Woolen

Potential role in 2022: Competing for the right cornerback spot, and at least making roster as a backup.

Why he’s ranked here: A fifth-round pick out of UT San Antonio, the 6-foot-4, 210-pounder looms as one of the most intriguing players in camp. But his relative lack of experience also paints him as potentially something of a project, and most realistically he might make the roster as a backup on the right side this year.

44. WR Freddie Swain

Potential role in 2022: Third, fourth or fifth receiver in the team’s receiving rotation.

Why he’s ranked here: Swain doubled his production in his second season in 2021, serving essentially as the third receiver. But he’ll have to fend off Dee Eskridge for that role this year, as well as two draft picks and veteran Marquise Goodwin.

45. LS Tyler Ott

Potential role in 2022: Long snapper, for the sixth straight season.

Why he’s ranked here: Ott is the second-longest-tenured player on the team after Tyler Lockett, signing with Seattle in January 2017. The 30-year-old Ott is entering the final season of a contract signed in 2019 and can be an unrestricted free agent next spring.

46. OT Stone Forsythe

Potential role in 2022: Forsythe will compete for the starting right tackle job but more realistically might be groomed to be a backup at both tackle spots.

Why he’s ranked here: Forsythe, a sixth-round pick last year out of Florida, spent 2021 as the backup at left tackle to Duane Brown. But the drafting of Charles Cross compelled the team to throw Forsythe into the competition on the right side with rookie Abraham Lucas and second-year player Jake Curhan. This will be a key training camp for Forsythe to establish himself with Seattle starting over at the tackle spots.

47. C/G Kyle Fuller

Potential role in 2022: Backup guard and center.

Why he’s ranked here: Due to Ethan Pocic’s injury issues, Fuller began last season at center, starting the first seven games before Pocic returned. He later started two more at left guard. Free-agent signee Austin Blythe, though, is ticketed to be the starting center, leaving Fuller as a backup inside, but he’ll need to fend off some younger players in camp to keep that spot.

48. Wide receiver Bo Melton

Potential role in 2022: A role in the receiving rotation and possibly as a returner.

Why he’s ranked here: Melton wasn’t healthy for much of the offseason program so it was hard to get a real gauge of exactly where he might fit. While his size (5-11, 191) might make you think slot receiver, he played mostly on the outside at Rutgers.

49. Running back Chris Carson

Potential role in 2022: Carson is one of the hardest players to project. If healthy, Carson will have a significant role in the team’s running back rotation. But the Seahawks sounded increasingly pessimistic about Carson’s ability to return from neck surgery as the offseason wore on. They hope some clarity will arrive by Wednesday.

Why he’s ranked here: It’s simply hard to know what the future holds for Carson – if healthy, he obviously ranks a lot higher on this list. The Seahawks could buy some time by putting him on the Physically Unable to Perform list to start camp if not ready or able yet to make a more definitive decision (rules state players who can’t pass physicals can’t be released).

50. Linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe

Potential role in 2022: Backup inside linebacker and core special teamer.

Why he’s ranked here: “Iggy,” as the Seahawks call him, played only 49 defensive snaps in four years with the Bears, where he played last year under new Seahawks associate head coach for defense Sean Desai. But he has 1,124 special teams snaps in that time, and with Ben Burr-Kirven and Jon Rhattigan recovering from knee injuries, he gives Seattle depth at ILB and special teams.

Remaining roster:

• 51. Defensive back Marquise Blair

• 52. Linebacker Tyreke Smith

• 53. Fullback/linebacker Nick Bellore

• 54. Receiver Penny Hart

• 55. Receiver Marquise Goodwin

• 56. Quarterback Jacob Eason

• 57. Receiver Cody Thompson

• 58. Offensive lineman Dakoda Shepley

• 59. Receiver Dareke Young

• 60. Linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven

• 61. S Josh Jones

• 62. RB Josh Johnson

• 63. S Bubba Bolden

• 64. DT Myles Adams

• 65. WR Aaron Fuller

• 66. CB Michael Jackson

• 67. TE Tyler Mabry

• 68. LB Tanner Muse

• 69. LB Jon Rhattigan

• 70. OL Greg Eiland

• 71. Cornerback John Reid

• 72. Linebacker Aaron Donkor

• 73. Linebacker Vi Jones

• 74. Linebacker Lakiem Williams

• 75. Guard Shamarious Gilmore

• 76. Wide receiver Cade Johnson

• 77. Running back Darwin Thompson

• 78. Defensive tackle Jarrod Hewitt

• 79. Tight end Cade Brewer

• 80. Wide receiver Deontez Alexander

• 81. Free safety Joey Blount

• 82. Strong safety Scott Nelson

• 83. Defensive tackle Matt Gotel

• 84. Receiver Kevin Kassis

• 85. Cornerback Elijah Jones

• 86. Linebacker Joshua Onujiogu

• 87. Strong safety Deontai Williams

• 88. Cornerback Josh Valentine-Turner

• 89. Offensive tackle Liam Ryan