The Seattle Seahawks’ preseason is over, although the Kansas City Chiefs game slogged on for so long that I thought they’d play beyond the roster cuts deadline. Unfortunately, Seattle could not notch a victory and only mustered up a 9-9 tie in large part because of some poor kicking from the normally reliable Jason Myers.
Forget the scoreline and let’s focus on the overarching story. This was an important showcase night for Jalen Milroe as a full-game starter, as well as looking at the roster bubble players and whether they could make one last impression before Sunday’s cut-down day.
Let’s get to the last Winners and Losers for the 2026 preseason!
Seattle Seahawks Winners
Jalen Milroe needed that in the worst way
And by “that” I mean a series of quality plays with his arm that ward off any more calls that he should be waived. The first half was the best Milroe has looked in either preseason, making decisive, accurate, and on-time throws to Cody White, Montorie Foster, Nick Kallerup, and Elijah Arroyo. He even lost some yards and completions because Julian Hicks couldn’t handle the ball. It helped that (outside of one particular person) the offensive line was rarely troubled by KC’s pass rush, so Milroe had time to go through his progressions before making a decision to throw or run. His statline of 16/26 for 223 yards and a touchdown (to go with 20 yards rushing) actually is a bit unkind to his overall performance.
This is the first time Milroe has looked demonstrably better than third and fourth-string opposition, which is what you want to see as a clear sign of improvement. The game seemed to slow down for him on Friday and the end result was a performance more in line with what his biggest supporters hoped he would look like. There’s very little to critique! If you were ready to send him to the waiver wire after the Tennessee Titans game then maybe tonight was a step back in the right direction.
I imagine there are a few out there who don’t fully believe in Sam Darnold and are intrigued by the thought of not extending his contract and developing Milroe until he’s QB1. I’ll settle for staying the course and seeing if he can be QB2 in 2027.
Trevon Diggs’ hands work just fine
Did Garrett Nussmeier make a horrendous rookie mistake throwing off his back foot to Xavier Worthy? Yes. Did Trevon Diggs remind everyone he has tremendous ball skills and will gladly accept gifts sent his way? You better believe it.
He had one open-field missed tackle on Travis Kelce and a completed tackle on the game’s first play, and that’s about all there was to note. We’ll see if that suddenly makes him CB3 or if that in itself was enough to put him on the 53-man roster. Based on Mike Macdonald’s comments, I think he’ll be on the roster, and maybe above all else he looked healthy.
Nehemiah Pritchett hangs tough in the red zone
When the Seahawks were backed up at their own goal line, Pritchett was stuck like glue to his assignment on consecutive passes and helped hold the Chiefs to a field goal. I don’t see any roster danger for Pritchett, even if he’s not necessarily CB3 come September.
Cody White has a bounce back game
It was not Cody’s best day against the Tennessee Titans, having muffed a punt and dropped a deep pass last Sunday. He came back strongly with three catches for 69 yards. Whether or not he makes the initial 53-man roster, I bet White will be playing regular season football again for Seattle this year.
Emmanuel Henderson Jr emerges late
It’s been a quiet preseason for the rookie from Kansas, but he had his best night as a receiver with three catches for 58 yards, including the big grab that set up Seattle’s only touchdown. He also had an explosive catch that set up Jason Myers’ would-be game-winning field goal. Henderson has special teams versatility as a gunner and returner, which Ricky White III really does not from the returner perspective. There may be a slim chance Henderson makes the roster, but I think he has earned a practice squad spot.
Michael Dickson even dominates the preseason
When R Mason Thomas got through the line it looked like he was going to swat Dickson’s punt into the stands. Dickson pinned the Chiefs inside the 5 instead. There’s no one in the league doing it better than Dickson. He is as great a punter as there is in the NFL.
Seattle Seahawks Losers
Are you worried about Jason Myers yet?
Combining field goals and PATs, Jason Myers went 3/8 in preseason. He missed more than half of his kicks! Luckily he’s built up equity up into the stratosphere when much lesser kickers would be out of a job by now, but this is not a nothing slump he’s in right now. Myers is knuckle-balling makeable kicks well wide for reasons I don’t understand. This is a contract year for Myers and it is starting inauspiciously for someone who’s been so reliable over the past few seasons.
Myers was huge for Seattle throughout last season, particularly against the Indianapolis Colts and in the Super Bowl. Kickers at any level and of any ability can decline abruptly and precipitously. I want this to be an August funk and not something that bleeds into games that matter.
Logan Brown was “don’t bring back to the practice squad” bad
Brown’s brutal preseason continued with multiple pressures allowed and a strip sack given up to R. Mason Thomas. He offered up almost nothing as a run blocker, either. There’s no way he will make the 53 as a swing tackle.
Uso Seumalo is a nice story, but…
…He is not an NFL level defensive tackle. The Seahawks are not going to have any UDFA rookies on this roster, which is hardly the end of the world given the perceived weakness of the entire draft, let alone the undrafted. Seumalo had some intrigue as a big body who could take up space, control gaps, and be effective against the run. Pick any running play and he’s likely getting driven back several yards. I’m not even sure he’s going to be on the practice squad.
Don’t even try to deeply assess the run game
The third and fourth-string offensive line did not open up many holes for Jacardia Wright. Outside of Beau Stephens and maybe one of Christian Haynes or Bryce Cabeldue, most of the guys who played tonight are not on this roster by Sunday. At least there was some late traction toward the end of the game.
Julian Hicks… whoo boy that was bad
Two drops and a penalty on special teams. I hope he has a great backup plan for his career.
Final Notes
- Why was Elijah Arroyo playing so much? I get that he was with Darnold and Lock and Milroe in training camp, but I wasn’t expecting him to get deep first half snaps in the final game, too. It was a little nervy seeing him come up grabbing his right wrist after falling awkwardly on a pass interference.
- Bryce Cabeldue got some late game snaps as a center, which continues what happened last year when he was primarily a G/C.
- Jalan Gaines made a great backside pursuit play to stop a 3rd and goal touchdown at the 1. I think he’ll be another practice squad stash after a solid camp and preseason.
- Aidan Hubbard had a “better late than never” best showing of August, showing an impressive motor and generating a couple of pressures.
- I thought Andre Fuller had some good reps as a tackler, and he could’ve had an interception if not for the ball bouncing off his hands. It will be fascinating to see if Seattle is able/wants to roster either Fuller or Michael Dansby.
- Shout out to the 12s for coming out in droves for a preseason road game! Did you hear the SEA-HAWKS chants come through?
- It’s roster cuts weekend. Seattle typically tends to wait until the deadline to announce the initial 53-man roster, so don’t expect a ton to happen on Saturday, but a lot of movement on Sunday up until (and maybe after) the 3 pm PT deadline.
