The Seattle Seahawks enter the final stretch of the preseason as defending Super Bowl champions with one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, a reality that will force the front office into some painful decisions before the Aug. 30 deadline to reach 53 players.
Among those facing an uphill battle is safety Rodney Thomas II, a recent free-agent addition signed to provide depth in the secondary.
Randy Gurzi of Seahawks on SI recently projected Thomas as a player likely to be released, noting that the sheer number of options at the position works against him.
“Rodney Thomas II is a tough cut, but the depth isn’t in his favor,” Gurzi wrote.
Thomas arrived in Seattle after four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, where he was once a starter. Selected in the seventh round of the 2022 draft, he played every game as a rookie and started 10 of them, intercepting four passes while adding 52 tackles.
He started 15 games the following year. Even as his starting snaps declined later in his Colts tenure, he remained a fixture on the roster and a significant contributor on special teams, including a career-high 278 snaps in that phase last season.
The Seahawks signed him to a one-year contract worth just over $1.4 million, a relatively low-cost move intended to add veteran insurance.
Yet Gurzi’s analysis has the team keeping six safeties—Julian Love, Ty Okada, Nick Emmanwori, D’Anthony Bell, Bud Clark and AJ Finley—leaving Thomas and another veteran, Maxen Hook, on the outside.
Two preseason games remain, and that window still offers Thomas a chance to change the conversation through strong play.
Injuries, always a factor this time of year, could also alter the picture, either by thinning the healthy group at safety or by creating a need to carry an extra body at the position because of issues elsewhere.
For a player who has consistently found ways to stay on an NFL roster despite entering the league as a late-round pick, the coming days represent another test of his value.
Seattle would prefer not to lose a versatile veteran who can contribute in the defensive backfield and on special teams.
The quality of the roster, however, may leave the team with little choice if the current depth chart holds.
