Breaking Down Seahawks’ Post-Cutdown Roster Moves
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1080"]
After spending training camp with the San Francisco 49ers, Chazz Surratt will stay in the NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks. Credit: Carter Grusz [/caption]
After a thrilling preseason where the Seattle Seahawks showed plenty of promise, the coaching staff and front office turned their attention to shaping the 53-man roster and building their first practice squad.
Two days ago, the Seahawks made a couple of roster moves which shook up the roster after training camp and had ripple effects on the practice squad, bringing in several players from NFC West rivals heading into a Week 1 clash with the 49ers.
Seahawks Claim Cornerback Derion Kendrick Off Waivers
Arguably, the Seahawks most noteworthy roster transaction coming out of the cutdown day came in the form of claiming former Rams cornerback Derion Kendrick off of waivers. As a result of this roster move, the team then released Shaquill Griffin and signed the veteran to the practice squad.
Kendrick has had quite the football journey. Like Richard Sherman and Riq Woolen, he switched from wide receiver to cornerback at the college level, seeking more playing time during stints with the Clemson Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs. Playing in a grand total of 54 games, he earned First-Team All-ACC honors in 2020 and Second-Team All-SEC honors in 2021, recording a combined 102 tackles and seven interceptions.
In the 2022 NFL Draft, Kendrick was drafted in the sixth round and 212th overall by the Rams. As a rookie, he played in 15 games and started six of them, recording 43 combined tackles and breaking up four passes. In his second season, he played in 17 games and started 12 of them, registering 49 combined tackles, breaking up 10 passes, and recording an interception. Unfortunately, he missed the entirety of his third season after tearing his ACL in July 2024.
As of right now, Kendrick is on the Seahawks 53-man roster, providing valuable depth in the secondary and making the positional group stronger and that much more competitive. In Mike Macdonald’s defense, his aggressiveness could allow him to be used as a weapon as a blitzer as well based on his recent experience adding slot snaps to his resume.
Seahawks Sign Linebacker Chazz Surratt
Having only three linebackers on the active roster after cutdowns, the Seahawks also added linebacker Chazz Surratt, who spent time with the Vikings and Jets in his first four seasons before participating in training camp and the preseason with the 49ers last month.
Surratt played for the North Carolina Tar Heels of the ACC. At first, he actually played quarterback, but then switched to linebacker in his third season. In just two seasons playing linebacker for the Tar Heels, he recorded 207 combined tackles, 23 tackles for loss, and 12.5 sacks. In 2020, Surratt was named to the First-Team All-ACC team as a linebacker, boosting his draft stock.
In the 2021 NFL Draft, Surratt was drafted by the Vikings in the third round. However, despite being taken in one of the earlier rounds of the draft, he didn’t really see much action until this past season with the Jets, where he recorded 37 combined tackles and two tackles for loss.
Listening to Macdonald’s comments earlier this week, the Seahawks clearly valued Surratt not only for his coverage talents on defense, but his special teams ability. His athletic background as a former quarterback stands out in both areas, which makes it easy to understand why they signed him to the 53 instead of the practice squad.
Seahawks Add Linebacker Chris (Pooh) Paul Jr. to the Practice Squad
Kendrick wasn’t the only former Ram that the Seahawks added to their roster this week. On the same day Kendrick was claimed, Seattle added more linebacker depth to supplement a group needing more help.
In college, Paul played for the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Ole Miss Rebels of the SEC. He played in a grand total of 40 games and was a finalist for the Butkus Award in 2024. Over the course of his career, he combined for 225 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, and 9.5 sacks.
In the 2025 NFL Draft, Paul was drafted by the Rams in the fifth round and 172nd overall. However, he didn’t make the roster out of camp, allowing the Seahawks to sign him after he cleared waivers to their practice squad.
My main takeaway from the Hawks signing Paul Jr. is that he was clearly a player of interest in the 2025 draft class. He’s a very physical linebacker that plays with a ton of violence, excels against the run, and has very good instincts. He’s also a capable leader with previous experience lining up his teammates pre-snap and could work his way up the depth chart in time.
Seahawks Add Depth in the Return Game with the Signing of Courtney Jackson
The Seahawks have made it very clear that they are looking to improve their special teams this season. They further proved that with the addition of wide receiver and return man Courtney Jackson, who brings track speed to the equation.
Jackson, who spent six years in college with the Syracuse Orange and Arkansas State Red Wolves, went undrafted in the 2025 NFL Draft. After spending training camp and the preseason with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent signing, he was waived in the final roster cuts, quickly latching on with the Seahawks.
After running a blazing 4.38 40-yard dash at his pro day workout, Jackson’s speed to burn makes him an intriguing addition not only as a gadget receiver who can contribute downfield as well as in the run game. But his path to eventually contributing on Sunday likely lies on special teams with the kick and punt return game.
