Seahawks Waive Pair of Undrafted Signees After Rookie Minicamp

After signing with the Seattle Seahawks prior to rookie minicamp, the team waived Jackson Woodard on Tuesday. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald City Spectrum

Opening two roster spots with the start of the second phase of their offseason program kicking off on Monday, the Seattle Seahawks waived undrafted linebacker Jackson Woodard and defensive end T.J. Jackson after both players signed with the team and participated in rookie minicamp last week.

Woodard, who captured Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2024, thrived at UNLV after beginning his college career at Arkansas. In two seasons with the Runnin’ Rebels, he amassed 251 tackles, six sacks, five interceptions, and a defensive touchdown, but despite those gaudy numbers for an ascending program in Las Vegas, he didn’t hear his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft before signing with Seattle.

The decision to move on from Woodard this quickly is a curious one for the Seahawks, as the rookie performed well during minicamp last week with an interception returned for a touchdown in Friday’s first session and a pass breakup in the second session. However, his lack of size may be part of the reason behind the decision, and his release suggests coach Mike Macdonald and Seattle’s staff feel good about the depth they currently have behind starters Ernest Jones IV and Tyrice Knight at the linebacker position.

Currently, the Seahawks have Jones and Knight penned in as starters with third-year defenders Drake Thomas and Patrick O’Connell listed as primary backups. The team also brought back veteran Josh Ross, who played for Macdonald at Michigan and has been a special teams cog during his time in the NFL.

As for Jackson, even with his positional flexibility to play 3-tech defensive tackle or 5-tech defensive end, his departure shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Even though he had a highly productive career at West Virginia, including 18 sacks in his final three seasons with the Mountaineers, he tested poorly at his pro day workout and didn’t stand out amongst defensive linemen at Seattle’s rookie minicamp.

With Woodard and Jackson no longer on the 90-man roster, the Seahawks now have two open spots to fill, and one of those likely will be used on veteran nose tackle Johnathan Hankins, whose reported re-signing has yet to be officially announced by the team. No other potential corresponding moves have been reported at this time.