Seahawks finish paring down roster to 53, keep fan favorite WR Jake Bobo

RENTON, Wash. – Yes, the Seattle Seahawks will continue to benefit from “More Bobo.”

As the team set its initial 53-man roster Tuesday, undrafted rookie free-agent receiver Jake Bobo of UCLA may have been the biggest winner, making the cut after a sterling preseason and training camp in which he became something of a teammate and fan favorite.

Otherwise, there were not a lot of surprises as the Seahawks had to pare their roster by 25 to get to the max of 53.

Seattle waived 17 players outright, waived another three as injured, left two on the physically unable to perform list and released two veterans.

Receiver Dee Eskridge also does not count against the roster as he will be suspended for the first six games of the season.

Receiver Easop Winston Jr. from Washington State was among those waived . Others were quarterback Holton Ahlers; linebacker Levi Bell; cornerback Lance Boykin; tackle Greg Eiland; nose tackle Matt Gotel; receivers John Hall, Cade Johnson and Matt Landers; linebacker Patrick O’Connell; safety Ty Okada; tight end Tyler Mabry; defensive end Roderick Perry; guard Kendall Randoplh; defensive end Jacob Sykes; running back SaRodorick Thompson and linebacker Christian Young.

Waived as injured were safeties Joey Blount and Jonathan Sutherland, and linebacker Vi Jones. All will revert to injured reserve if they clear waivers and could get settlements to later become free agents and potentially return at a later date.

Left on the PUP list are nose tackles Bryan Mone and Austin Faoliu – meaning they can not return for at least four games – and released as vested vets were linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven and center Joey Hunt.

Bobo was the sensation of camp, with teammates adopting the saying “More Bobo” – initially coined by running backs coach Chad Morton during the offseason program, – expressing their desire to get him the ball as often as possible.

That tended to happen on a regular basis, with Bobo capping a solid preseason with an 18-yard touchdown grab against Green Bay on Saturday. Afterward, Bobo said he would feel a little anxious about the pending cutdown date, saying he’d had it circled on his calendar for a while.

But his performance and the team’s depth issues at receiver – notably, that it remains unclear if Jaxon Smith-Njigba will be ready for the opener even though he returned to practice on Tuesday, that Dareke Young and Cody Thompson are each dealing with injuries as well, even though both made the initial roster and that Eskridge was suspended for six games – seemed to make it a given that Bobo would make the team.

“I think it speaks to the type of person he is and the competitor he is,” veteran middle linebacker Bobby Wagner said of Bobo arising from UDFA status to make the 53. “I think it was funny because the ‘More Bobo’ thing started happening in OTAs and guys were like, ‘Well, wait until the pads come on,’ and it started happening when the pads came on. Then it was, ‘Wait until the game.’ And each moment or each challenge he was faced with, he just stepped up to the plate more and more and did a really good job. So, I’m happy for him and excited for him.

“It’s pretty awesome because I don’t know that experience, but you think you’re going to be drafted and you don’t get drafted. Then you come in here not knowing whether or not you are going to be on the team, but you work as hard as you can and you make it. So, now it’s what do you do with the opportunity.”

Bobo was one of 12 rookies to make the roster, which included all 10 draft picks, as well as snapper Chris Stoll, like Bobo an undrafted free agent.

One draft pick who had been thought on the bubble was sixth-round safety Jerrick Reed II. But the move with Blount helped create a need to keep Reed, who also had a strong final game at Green Bay.

Burr-Kirven, as could any of the rest of the players the team waived or released, could re-sign with the practice squad on Wednesday – or simply back to the roster if Seattle opens up spots in other ways.

Seattle also kept veteran Artie Burns at cornerback, giving them six at that spot, a possible hedge against Devon Witherspoon continuing to deal with a hamstring issue.

All waived players can be claimed by any NFL team, with teams picking in the native order of the 2023 draft (meaning, Seattle has the 20th choice).

Vested veterans (meaning, four or more years of accrued service) who are released can immediately sign with any team.

Once players clear waivers, or released players who don’t sign with any other team, can re-sign with Seattle’s 16-man practice squad on Wednesday.

The Seahawks are sure to want to re-sign many of their waived or released players for the practice squad.

The Seahawks also could make claims of their own, as they did last year when they claimed cornerback Isaiah Dunn and linebacker Darryl Johnson.

Seattle could also make moves to put a few players on injured reserve. Now that the 53-man deadline has passed, players can go on IR and only have to sit out four games, as opposed to having to miss the entire season if they were placed on IR before the roster cutdown.

That could be the case with receivers Young and Thompson and maybe a few others who have been sidelined as camp progressed.

The moves are far from done, and a handful of players on the roster Tuesday may not be when the regular season begins Sept. 10 against the Rams at Lumen Field.

Here’s a quick look at the roster:

Quarterback: (2) Geno Smith, Drew Lock.

Running back: (5) Kenneth Walker III, DeeJay Dallas, Zach Charbonnet, Kenny McIntosh, Nick Bellore.

Tight end: (3) Will Dissly, Noah Fant, Colby Parkinson.

Wide receiver: (6) DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Dareke Young, Cody Thompson, Jake Bobo.

Offensive line: (9) Charles Cross, Abraham Lucas, Evan Brown, Damien Lewis, Phil Haynes, Stone Forsythe, Jake Curhan, Anthony Bradford, Olu Oluwatimi.

Defensive line: (6) Tackles Jarran Reed, Cameron Young; ends Dre’Mont Jones, Mario Edwards Jr., Mike Morris, Myles Adams.

Linebacker: (9) OLBs Uchenna Nwosu, Darrell Taylor, Derick Hall, Boye Mafe, Tyreke Smith; ILBs Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, Devin Bush, Jon Rhattigan.

Safety: (4) Quandre Diggs, Julian Love, Jamal Adams, Jerrick Reed II.

Cornerback: (6) Riq Woolen, Devon Witherspoon, Michael Jackson, Tre Brown, Coby Bryant, Artie Burns.

Special teams: (3) K Jason Myers, P Michael Dickson, LS Chris Stoll.