Seahawks Make Move With 6-Foot-3 Playmaker Days Before Saints Game
Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider has had a busy Week 3 ahead of the team’s matchup against the New Orleans Saints. In a complicated pair of moves, the Seahawks signed one of the team’s wide receivers to the active roster from the practice squad.
Additionally, the Seahawks released a former Pro Bowl corner only to re-sign the veteran to the practice squad.
Got all that, 12s?
Seattle took advantage of the NFL rules by releasing cornerback Shaquil Griffin, but since the defender is a vested veteran he is not subject to waivers where other teams can put in a claim. The Seahawks were able to quickly re-sign Griffin to the team’s practice squad.
The move was made to create room on the active roster for wide receiver Cody White. Like Griffin, White has already had several stints on the Seahawks in 2025.
Seattle released White ahead of the team’s Week 2 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Seahawks were able to immediately re-sign White to the team’s practice squad as the wideout was not subject to waivers either.
Here’s what you need to know about the latest Seahawks roster moves and news ahead of the team’s matchup against the Saints.
The Seahawks Are Working Around the NFL’s Practice Squad Rules
Essentially, the Seahawks just did the reverse roster moves in Week 3 of what the team did in Week 2. Seattle is moving White up to the active roster while placing Griffin on the practice squad.
The Seahawks are taking advantage of NFL rules as players cannot be activated from the practice squad more than two times, per ESPN. Doing the moves like this allows the Seahawks to rotate Griffin and White from the practice squad to the active roster on more occasions.
Seahawks WR Cody White Has Been a Key Player on Special Teams
The 6-foot-3, 227-pound playmaker put up modest stats during his first two seasons in Seattle. Yet, White is versatile as the wideout has also made an impact on special teams.
“We saw it in the Rams game last year. There’s definitely a record of this throughout the offseasons, and he’s another guy that’s earned his opportunity,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said of White, per Seahawks.com’s John Boyle.
“It’s a great lesson for young guys how important special teams are to the equation. At the end of the day, you can’t dress everybody, and he’s earned that right to be a special teams stalwart for us and when asked upon on offense, he’s produced.”
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Has 17 Catches for 227 Yards Through the Seahawks 1st 2 Games
Seattle’s offense performed much better in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Six players recorded receptions in the Seahawks’ 31-17 win over the Steelers.
Cooper Kupp and Jaxon Smith-Njigba combined for 15 receptions against Pittsburgh to lead the group. Smith-Njigba is off to a hot start posting 17 catches for 227 yards through the first two games but is still searching for his first touchdown in 2025. As for White, the wideout is just fine allowing the stars to shine while he does the dirty work.
“When we say 70-man team, we mean that,” White noted, per Seahawks.com. “Everybody on our team has an opportunity to prove that they can play in practice, and then get the opportunities in the game. It’s really what you do with your opportunities, so whatever you did in practice, continue that in the game. When you get your opportunity, make the most of it.”
The Seahawks are 7.5-point favorites versus the Saints in the Week 3 NFL odds, per FanDuel.
Pete Carroll Sends Strong Message on QB Geno Smith After 3-Interception Game
The Chargers defense flummoxed Geno Smith all night Monday.
Geno Smith’s gunslinging was on full display Monday night, which prompted his longtime head coach Pete Carroll to speak out about his quarterback’s inability to protect the ball.
Carroll criticized Smith’s ball-protection skills after the Las Vegas Raiders QB did not lead a touchdown drive and threw three interceptions in their 20-9 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night.
Smith was 24 for 43 (55.8 percent) for 180 yards, no touchdowns and the three picks in the Raiders’ home opener. He now leads the NFL in interceptions (4) and is tied for 22nd in completion percentage (62.3) through two weeks.
What Did Pete Carroll Say About Geno Smith’s Three-Interception Game?
Carroll has been steadfast in his love and loyalty toward Smith. But even he couldn’t defend the way his QB played.
According to Pro-Football Reference, Smith made nine bad throws on his 43 attempts Monday, a stat made worse by the fact he was only pressured just six times — fewer than the eight pressures the New England Patriots registered against him in the Raiders’ surprising Week 1 win.
“We always talk that way of taking what the defense gives you,” Carroll said Wednesday about Smith’s attempt to fit the ball into tight windows. “It’s when things get off rhythm sometimes, that’s when the quarterback needs to decide and always protect the football first.
“We need to do a better job in that, and Geno knows that and I know that. We didn’t get that done.”
It was Smith’s fifth-career three-INT game but just his second in the past 10 years — he also threw three picks against the Los Angeles Rams last year. Smith also said the film was “tough to watch” but saw ways he could improve from his mistakes
“[There were] a lot of things I wish I would have done better personally,” Smith said. “You can never just flush that, you’ve got to learn from it. I watched it over 10 times and just tried to figure out things I need to be better, which was a lot of things that were obvious: Being more accurate, taking what the defense gave me, not being so aggressive.”
What Did Geno Smith Say About Being Aggressive?
That Smith made that many bad throws Monday night was newsworthy, since his 12.4 percent career bad-throw shows he has been one of the best at limiting unforced errors over his career. He’s done that by taking an honest appraisal of his efforts.
“Being hard on yourself and understanding that’s not the standard, and it’s never going to be the standard,” Smith said of how he’s been great at not letting bad games snowball. “Really having to be honest with myself and not letting that carry over.”
So after making just three bad throws, and capitalizing on chunk play after chunk play in the Raiders’ 20-13 win in New England, Smith may have been feeling himself a bit too much. The Chargers brought him back to earth.
“I think we might’ve overdid it a little bit. We had a lot of explosives in Week 1, and obviously we wanted to carry that over,” Smith said. “Being efficient is the No. 1 thing, and I thought the efficiency wasn’t there, and that would have led to more explosives if we were more efficient.
“Take what they give me. It’s that simple.”
The Raiders will be on the road against the Washington Commanders, who just allowed 404 yards to the Green Bay Packers in their Week 2 loss at Lambeau Field.
But despite the shorter week after the late kickoff Monday, Smith said he is chomping at the bit to get on the field against Washington.
“I think the shorter week actually helps you,” Smith said. “The faster we can get to the game, the faster we can get that bad taste out your mouth.”
