Seattle Seahawks: 5 Cut candidates sitting on roster bubble

Seattle Seahawks cut candidate No. 2: Luke Willson, TE

Along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Seahawks possess one of the deepest tight end groups in the NFL. The team signed former Pro Bowler Greg Olsen to a one-year, $7 million deal this offseason. In terms of proven talent, Olsen is Seattle’s best tight end since Jimmy Graham’s three-year stint from 2015-2017.

Olsen joined a tight end room that already featured the injury-prone Will Dissly, the upstart Jacob Hollister, and Luke Willson. Seattle also invested two draft picks on tight ends this year, selecting Colby Parkinson in the fourth-round and Stephen Sullivan in the seventh round. Parkinson is recovering from a foot fracture, but he should be ready for Week 1.

The Seahawks have high hopes for all of their new tight ends, which puts Willson in a tough spot. The 30-year-old initially joined Seattle as a fifth-round pick in 2013 but his role gradually decreased despite a strong rapport with Russell Wilson. Last year, Seattle signed Willson a few weeks into the season, and the team gave a one-year extension in March.

However, since extending Willson, the Seahawks drafted two new tight ends. Considering that Willson only caught eight passes last year and played 243 offensive snaps, there’s a chance he could lose most of his production to Parkinson. Plus, Willson saw an increase in snaps after Dissly suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. With Dissly making a full recovery, there are even fewer snaps to go around.

Willson accomplished a lot for the Seahawks over the years, but he’s the odd man out entering the 2020 season.