RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks open the 2021 NFL regular season at the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 12 at Lucas Oil Stadium. They finished 12-4 last season, winning the NFC West and losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
Will Duane Brown be there? The veteran left tackle is holding in because he wants a new deal and the Seahawks don’t want to extend him right now, and no one knows for sure if he’ll play on his current contract. All that adds another layer of uncertainty when it comes to predicting Seattle’s roster.
It will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a projection:
QUARTERBACK (2): Russell Wilson, Geno Smith
The offense that new coordinator Shane Waldron is installing places more of an emphasis than before on short and intermediate passes that get the ball out of Wilson’s hands quickly. That would be even more of a priority if Brown misses regular-season games amid his contract dispute. Smith is the favorite to hold on to the backup job over Sean Mannion, who could serve as QB3 on the practice squad.
RUNNING BACK (5): Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer, Nick Bellore
Carson is the unquestioned starter and Penny is probably still the No. 2, even though Dallas and Alex Collins were more impressive in the preseason. Dallas made a case for more snaps as a change-of-pace, pass-catching option. If it was solely about who’s the better back, Collins would be a slam dunk over Homer for the fourth spot. But those battles often come down to special teams, and Homer carries more value there. The versatile Bellore has been filling in at linebacker, the position he played earlier in his career before a move to fullback.
TIGHT END (3): Gerald Everett, Will Dissly, Tyler Mabry
The new rule from last season that reduced the minimum stay on injured reserve could buy the Seahawks some flexibility with Colby Parkinson, whose status for the opener is in question because of a foot injury. If they determine that he needs more time, they could include him on their initial 53, put him on IR heading into the opener and bring him back as soon as three weeks (under the new rule) as opposed to six (which was previously the minimum). Everett, a free-agent addition from the Rams, is an intriguing player. The Seahawks signed him to be another weapon in the passing game and to facilitate the transition to Waldron’s offense.
WIDE RECEIVER (5): Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, D’Wayne Eskridge, Freddie Swain, Penny Hart
These five seem pretty much set. The questions are whether the Seahawks will carry a sixth receiver and where Eskridge falls in the pecking order. The rookie second-round pick missed much of the spring and the first three weeks of camp because of a toe injury, but he’s back off the physically unable to perform list and trying to make up for lost time. This much we know: Lockett and Metcalf give the Seahawks one of the best receiving duos in the NFL.
OFFENSIVE LINE (10): Duane Brown, Damien Lewis, Ethan Pocic, Gabe Jackson, Brandon Shell, Cedric Ogbuehi, Stone Forsythe, Kyle Fuller, Jordan Simmons, Jamarco Jones
Jones and Ogbuehi are back from injuries that sidelined them earlier in camp. They would be the top two options at left tackle to replace Brown. Center is also an iffy-looking spot, with Pocic missing much of camp amid his battle with Fuller for the starting job. Ogbuehi was splitting reps with Shell on the right side before his injury. So even if Brown plays, the starting five will have not spent much time on the field together this summer, if any.
DEFENSIVE LINE (10): Carlos Dunlap, Poona Ford, Al Woods, Kerry Hyder Jr., Benson Mayowa, L.J. Collier, Rasheem Green, Alton Robinson, Bryan Mone, Robert Nkemdiche
This still looks like a deep group of edge rushers even without Aldon Smith, who was released after an off-the-field setback. The question is where the interior pass rush will come from other than Ford and Hyder. That’s why the Seahawks brought in Geno Atkins for a workout and have him on their radar.
LINEBACKER (5): Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks, Darrell Taylor, Cody Barton, someone not on the roster
Don’t get your hopes up on that someone being K.J. Wright. Ben Burr-Kirven’s season-ending knee injury made this position group even thinner. But the issue is with the depth, not the starters. Given everything Wright has accomplished over his career and how well he has played the past two seasons, it’s hard to imagine that he wants to come back for anything other than a starting role and starter money. Bellore’s ability to play linebacker in a pinch mitigates the depth issue.
CORNERBACK (5): Ahkello Witherspoon, D.J. Reed, Tre Flowers, Tre Brown, Damarious Randall
This is the Seahawks’ iffiest position group. They’re solid depth-wise, but are they good enough at the top to compete against the elite receivers and masterful playcallers in the NFC West? Seattle acquired John Reid in a trade with the Houston Texans but didn’t give up nearly enough (a conditional seventh-round pick) to make him a lock for the 53-man roster. That move was more about solidifying the depth as Brown deals with a knee injury. Randall has to hold off Reid and Gavin Heslop for the last spot.
SAFETY (5): Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, Ugo Amadi, Ryan Neal, Marquise Blair
These five appear to be set. Blair and Amadi are the top two options at nickelback. Neal played well while filling in for Adams last season. The Seahawks better hope that this group, led by the Pro Bowl starting duo of Adams and Diggs, can help cover for their secondary’s deficiencies on the outside.
SPECIALIST (3): Michael Dickson, Jason Myers, Tyler Ott
This trio returns after helping lead the Seahawks to a No. 3 ranking in Football Outsiders’ DVOA ratings for special teams. Myers went 24-of-24 on field goal tries, Dickson continued to punt well enough to earn a contract extension and Ott made the Pro Bowl as a long-snapper.