At first, the Seattle Seahawks keeping 11 offensive linemen on their initial 53-man roster was a shock. It’s a position group in flux following a poor season-long performance in 2023 followed by an injection of young talent this offseason — a few of whom may take a few years to develop.

But general manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald understood the risks of waiving any of their young, on-the-bubble big men. Offensive linemen are a premium position in the NFL, and the performance of all five men at each spot can make or break an offense.

Take rookie sixth-round pick Michael Jerrell, for example. Jerrell is a 6-4, 309-pound tackle who runs a 4.96 40-yard dash and started 40 games from 2021–23 at the University of Findlay — an NCAA Division II school. His athletic traits and testing stack up with some of the top prospects who competed at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Jerrell may be less polished and could take longer to adjust to the opposing talent level in the NFL. Still, he is a prospect multiple other teams could be interested in claiming off waivers if he were to be left to the madness of final cutdown day.

When speaking to local media following the first practice after cutdowns on Tuesday, Jerrell was honest about the difficulties of adjusting to the NFL, stating “There was a rough start at the beginning.” He leaned on veteran tackle George Fant, who helped him slow the game down. His confidence wasn’t shaken.

“I’ve always felt like I belong from the day I got my number called,” Jerrell said.

The Seahawks didn’t want to risk losing athletes like Jerrell and some of the other young linemen on Seattle’s initial roster like undrafted rookie center Jalen Sundell and rookie sixth-round guard Sataoa Laumea.

“We thought about 12, and that’s just the landscape of what the National Football League looks like; not just the National Football League, it’s college football,” Schneider told local media on Wednesday. “It’s not a position of great depth, and you need a whole group of guys working as one, so you need to continue to keep trying to figure it out. I think there are several teams that kept 11, maybe 12.”

It’s not the first time Schneider has kept double-digit offensive linemen on the initial roster. Just three years ago, in 2021, Seattle also kept 11 men in the trenches after training camp. They have kept nine each of the last two seasons, and that’s been the most common number Schneider and Seattle have gone with since he became the general manager in 2010. Seattle has kept 10 offensive linemen five times in that span.

As expected, Schneider said there will be more roster movement before Week 1. Now that cutdowns are over and practice squads are assembled, it will be easier for the Seahawks to elevate players and waive others without losing them to other teams.

Seattle’s offensive line has been a revolving door both on the field and in who holds starting positions for the last decade — mostly since the team traded former All-Pro center Max Unger to the New Orleans Saints in 2014 in return for tight end Jimmy Graham, which didn’t work out as planned.

The new faces, the addition of veteran center Connor Williams and the potential rise of 2022 first-round tackle Charles Cross have Seattle hoping to halt that trend.

“It’s a position where it’s a mentality position; it’s a unit, it’s a group,” Schneider said. “Usually, you could see guys that are like Pro Bowl players and difference makers, and they might be the only real talented guys in the group. It’s a position that you have to have a specific skill set, you have to have a specific mentality. You have to be coached in a specific way, but then you also have to be able to work together … you have to have that continuity, and it’s rare to have that continuity.”

Every offensive lineman Seattle has drafted since 2021 remains with the team, with tackle Stone Forsythe now being the longest-tenured member (sixth round, 208th overall). But, in a few more years, Schneider wants set-and-forget players in the trenches who have been with the team long enough to develop as a unit.

“When we were in Green Bay, we were blessed to have five guys that played together for 10 years,” Schneider added, “and then three or four of them developed and became Pro Bowl-caliber players, so it’s a function of the whole group.”

One man is dead and two others are injured in two separate shootings that happened in Seattle Monday night.

The first incident took place in the University District. The Seattle Fire Department responded to a call at Northeast 42nd Street near the Interstate 5 on-ramp, where they found a man with a gunshot wound. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The Seattle Police Department is investigating the homicide, but no suspects have been arrested.

Crime blotter: Arrest made in connection to 2023 death of 18-year-old woman intentionally set on fire

Additionally, two people were injured in a shooting at Stan Sayres Boat Launch. Police received reports of shots fired around 8:30 p.m. When they arrived, they found multiple shell casings at the scene. Two victims with gunshot wounds later arrived at area hospitals in private vehicles. One man was reported to be in stable condition at Harborview Medical Center, while another victim, initially taken to Swedish First Hill, was later transferred to Harborview. The ages and conditions of the victims are currently unknown. No arrests have been made.

‘It’s unreal:’ Gunmen shoot-up Burien home, killing woman in her 80s

In another incident, Seattle police are investigating a shooting that occurred early Thursday morning in the University District. The incident happened near Northeast 52nd Street and 15th Avenue Northeast before 5 a.m. When police arrived, the victim had already been taken to a nearby hospital in a private car. According to police, a possible fight at a house party spilled into the streets, leading to a suspect pulling out a gun and shooting into the crowd. A 16-year-old was shot in the knee and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect fled the scene and has not been located.

Police continue to investigate all three incidents.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here. 

The Seattle Mariners took one small step closer as they attempt to rally for a playoff appearance and their first American League West title in 23 years.

Watch: Seattle Mariners outfielders slug two-run HRs in same inning

The Mariners topped the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 on Wednesday to secure a second consecutive series win and wrap up a brief six-game homestand. As a result, Seattle gained one game and sits 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Houston Astros, who dropped two out of three against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“We’re excited,” Mariners manger Dan Wilson said postgame Wednesday. “This is a good one to build on – another good series win – and we’ll take it on the road.”

The Mariners improved their playoff odds to 17.5% with the series victory over Tampa Bay, per FanGraphs. They entered the series at 15.1%.

“I think we just got to keep piling up series wins. I think that’s the key,” Wilson said. “It doesn’t really matter how they come. Again, we’ve got a lot of work to do here and we’re looking at it that way – just keep putting together good baseball, good at-bats, good pitching performances and turn around and see where we’re at.”

Seattle has the day off Thursday before starting a three-game series at the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. Meanwhile, Houston begins a four-game home series against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. After Thursday, the Mariners and Astros will each have 28 games remaining. They square off once more for three games in the penultimate series of the season Sept. 23-25 in Houston.

The Mariners also alive in the wild card picture, but their chances are bleaker than their shot at winning the division.

They’re currently 4 1/2 games behind Minnesota for the third and final AL wild card berth. Seattle was 6 1/2 games out of the final wild card spot entering Monday. However, the Boston Red Sox are also just three games behind Minnesota.

The Royals, Twins and Red Sox all hold the tiebreaker over the Mariners.

Seattle has just a 3.3% chance of clinching a wild card berth.

Schedule watching

A look at the remaining strength of schedule, toughest remaining opponent by record and easiest remaining opponent by record for the Mariners, Astros, Twins and Red Sox, per Tankathon.

• The Mariners have the 25th-toughest remaining schedule with an opponents’ winning percentage of .481.Their toughest remaining opponent is three games against the Yankees. Their easiest remaining opponent is three games against the Angels.

• The Astros have the 14th-toughest remaining schedule with an opponents’ winning percentage of .499. Their toughest remaining opponent is three games against the Diamondbacks. Their easiest remaining opponent is seven games against the Angels.

• The Twins have the 16th-toughest remaining schedule with an opponents’ winning percentage of .497. Their toughest remaining opponents is three games against the Orioles. Their easiest remaining opponent is thee games against the Marlins.

• The Red Sox have the 18th-toughest remaining schedule with an opponents’ winning percentage of .496. Their toughest remaining opponent is four games against the Yankees. Their easiest remaining opponent is three games against the White Sox.

Up next

The Mariners open a three-game series at the Angels on Friday. Seattle’s pitching probables (in order) are right-hander George Kirby, right-hander Bryan Woo and right-hander Bryce Miller, while Los Angeles is set to counter with right-hander Carson Fulmer, left-hander Tyler Anderson and right-hander Johnny Cueto.

The Angels sit in last place in the AL West at 54-78, which is better than only the historically bad White Sox in the AL. However, they have won five straight against Seattle.

The Mariners are 4-6 overall this season against the Angels.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Mariners activate shortstop J.P. Crawford off IL, send down Canzone
• Passan: The one thing that makes Mariners’ rotation phenomenal
• Did Brant Brown’s interview hint at problem with Mariners’ offense?
• Dan Wilson details how he became the new Mariners manager
• Drayer: Looking at Scott Servais’ legacy, why Seattle Mariners let him go

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