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Seattle Seahawks: 5 Players on roster bubble feeling pressure

By Samuel Teets

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 24: Alex McGough #5 of the Seattle Seahawks hands the ball off to teamamte C.J. Prosise #22 as they warm up before the preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on August 24, 2018 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - AUGUST 24: Alex McGough #5 of the Seattle Seahawks hands the ball off to teamamte C.J. Prosise #22 as they warm up before the preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on August 24, 2018 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 4: Defensive end Branden Jackson #98 of the Oakland Raiders waits for the snap in the first quarter on December 4, 2016 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California. The Raiders won 38-24. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – DECEMBER 4: Defensive end Branden Jackson #98 of the Oakland Raiders waits for the snap in the first quarter on December 4, 2016 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California. The Raiders won 38-24. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /

Branden Jackson, DE

Seattle has quietly built up a young group of pass rushers and defensive linemen over the last two or three years. Branden Jackson, a 26-year old 2016 undrafted free agent from Texas Tech, is one of these players. He’s bounced around since entering the league, spending 2016 with the Raiders before being cut, joining Seattle’s practice squad, and then moving up and down in the organization since then.

However, Jackson might get pushed off of the roster for good this year. The Seahawks signed defensive ends Cassius Marsh and Ezekiel Ansah in free agency, giving the team two players capable of knocking Jackson down the depth chart just by showing up to work.

Marsh, who was originally drafted by the Seahawks back in 2014, recorded a career-high 5.5 sacks last season and Ansah is a former Pro Bowler brought in to start opposite of rookie, first-round selection L.J. Collier. That means the Seahawks added three new defensive ends just this summer, and that’s not counting the players that were already on the roster.

Last season, Quinton Jefferson started opposite of Frank Clark at defensive end. Clark is gone now, but Jefferson is still on the roster and will be moved to a backup spot now that Seattle plans to run with Ansah and Collier. That means Jefferson and Marsh will be the primary backups.

The Seahawks also have Rasheem Green, a third-round pick from 2017, whom the team is eager to continue developing. The team took linebacker Jacob Martin in the same draft as Green. Martin played along the line at Temple though and his experience produced three sacks last season on limited snaps.

Where does this all leave Jackson? Well, at best he’s the fifth best defensive end on the team, and at worst he’s sixth behind Martin (If the Seahawks are open to playing Martin along the line). With the pressing need to develop Collier, Green and Martin, it doesn’t seem like Jackson will be getting many snaps if he is able to stick around. Frankly, though, the Seahawks really don’t have a need for him.

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