Seahawks 90-Man Rundown: Tyreke Smith Seeking Breakthrough in Fourth NFL Season
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Seattle Seahawks outside linebacker Tyreke Smith awaits the snap in a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys. Credit: Tyreke Smith/Instagram [/caption]
With their offseason program all wrapped up, the Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC on July 23, meaning the start of the upcoming season will be here before fans have a chance to blink.
In preparation for year number two under coach Mike Macdonald, I’ll be detailing every member of the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, dishing out fun facts, exploring best and worst case scenarios, and predicting what to expect from each player entering the 2025 campaign.
Now entering his fourth year in the NFL with less than five games under his belt, can veteran edge rusher Tyreke Smith take advantage of what could be his last chance to impress in Seattle?
Tyreke Smith
Height/Weight: 6-30, 255 pounds
2024 Stats: DNP (Practice squad)
The latest in a long line of standout pass rushers to come out of Ohio State, Smith only had seven sacks in his college career, in part due to nagging injuries and the immense talent in front of him on the depth chart with future NFL superstar Nick Bosa and Chase Young with the Buckeyes. Still, he racked up 36 quarterback pressures during his senior season alone, proving to be quite disruptive even if he didn't find a way to get the quarterback to the ground as often as hoped. Even after a subpar combine performance, the Seahawks invested a fifth-round pick in him in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, Seattle didn't get much of a chance to see where Smith fit in with its edge defender rotation out of the gate, as he missed the entirety of his rookie season with a troubling hip injury. Since then, he has played in a grand total of three regular season games, suiting up for one with the Seahawks and two with the Cardinals back in 2023. He re-joined the Seahawks on the practice squad last September after being waived by the Cardinals, but never received a promotion to the active roster. Set to become a free agent, the team retained him on a future/reserve deal, giving him yet another shot to battle for playing time in a talented edge rushing stable.
Fun Fact: Back in 2023, Smith led all defensive ends/outside linebackers with 15 combined tackles and seven run stops during exhibition play, ranking first in both categories for the Seahawks per Pro Football Focus charting.
Best Case Scenario: Potentially down to his last strike, Smith plays with a sense of urgency during training camp and the preseason, showing why Macdonald and the current coaching staff brought him back by making several nice stops setting the edge as a run defender and generating a handful of pressures to secure the fifth and final roster spot at his position.
Worst Case Scenario: Continuing to struggle against NFL competition and leaving several plays on the field during preseason games, Smith doesn’t make it past mid-August before receiving a pink slip, possibly putting his career in jeopardy.
What to Expect in 2025: With Uchenna Nwosu coming back from injury and Demarcus Lawrence signing a multi-year deal in free agency to pair with Boye Mafe and Derick Hall, the Seahawks have an exciting quartet of outside linebackers to rotate off the edge with a variety of different skill sets. But given Nwosu’s recent injury history and Lawrence’s advancing age, finding a quality insurance policy behind them will be critical for the franchise, and even considering his health issues and inability to break through onto the roster to this point, Smith still has enough intriguing skills to potentially be a rotational contributor when called upon.
For one, though he did miss a few tackles in exhibition play two years ago, Smith held serve as an edge setter stuffing the run, evidenced by his impressive tackle numbers and run stop totals. He also amassed a few pressures as a pass rusher, an area of his game that hasn’t translated from college to the pros to this point but carries a bit of untapped upside. Of course, until he actually proves it on the field, it’s hard to put too much faith in him being able to win a roster spot, especially with second-year defender Jamie Sheriff and a trio of athletic undrafted rookies vying for playing time as well. Special teams output would help his cause, but improved pass rushing efficiency will be critical to his chances of making the team in his third attempt or being back on the practice squad or washing out of the league may be the unfortunate result.
