Out of all the problems Super Bowl champions face, the cruelest one comes in late spring. It’s not about game-planning for next season’s top contenders, or replacing a coaching loss. It’s the grim reality of the roster bubble: having to cut players who clearly belong on an NFL field, just because there’s no room left.
The Seattle Seahawks, after winning it all in the 2025 season, are walking that razor’s edge right now. While the headlines have been rightfully focused on the return of receiver Cooper Kupp — a player who turned down retirement rumors to chase another ring — and the fireworks potential of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the real drama of this offseason is happening in the margins. And for two specific players, the margins are looking dangerously tight.
The Tight End Problem Hidden in the Wide Receiver Room
Jake Bobo carved out a real niche last season, earning trust as a reliable blocker and a safety valve for the offense. At 6-foot-4 and 224 pounds, he’s built like a tight end but runs routes like a receiver. That size and positional overlap, however, now works against him. Cooper Kupp is back and healthy. Rashid Shaheed was brought in as a vertical threat. Smith-Njigba is the slot maestro. The math says there are only so many snaps to go around.
Bobo isn’t the kind of player who gets cut for lack of talent. He gets cut because championship rosters stockpile talent at premium positions, and the numbers stop making sense. If the Seahawks keep six receivers, he’s likely safe. If the roster math says five, he becomes an awkward fit — not dynamic enough to force the field as a pure receiver, and not specialized enough on special teams to lock down a gameday roster spot. His path to survival runs through training camp, where he must show he is indispensable on coverage units or that his blocking can tilt the field in critical short-yardage situations.
The Giant Cornerback Who Might Not Fit Anywhere
Tyrone Broden walks into a cornerback meeting room that is suddenly very crowded. At 6-foot-5, he’s a physical outlier. In a league desperate for defensive backs who can match up with rising star receivers like Justin Jefferson or CeeDee Lamb, length matters. But the Seahawks have already invested in starters and added younger draft picks. The coaching staff, led by Mike Macdonald, values defensive backs who can process multiple assignments and communicate disguises pre-snap. Broden has the frame. What he needs now is the football IQ and special-teams hustle to survive.
Vulnerable doesn’t mean doomed. If Broden can make himself a weapon on punt coverage and show enough growth in coverage to hint at a future starter, the Seahawks could stash him on the practice squad and develop him. But on a team gunning for a repeat, developmental projects are a luxury. And luxury items get cut first when rosters shrink.
A Linebacker Fighting for a Sport That Might Not Exist
Patrick O’Connell has a different problem. He’s fighting for a linebacker spot in a league that is actively shrinking the role. Seattle’s defense under Macdonald leans on versatile defensive backs and hybrid safeties. A backup linebacker who is merely competent is a low-value asset. O’Connell needs to be a demon on special teams, a reliable communicator, and capable of handling coverage assignments in sub-packages. The Seahawks will almost certainly keep four off-ball linebackers. If they keep five, O’Connell has a shot. But the tiebreaker on that fifth spot could go to a young defensive back with return ability, or a pass rusher with upside.
What makes O’Connell’s path so narrow is that he does not offer the same ceiling as a raw but explosive edge rusher. Coaches value reliability, but on a championship roster, reliability without upside is a ticket to the waiver wire. He needs to show that he cannot be replaced — that losing him would hurt the special-teams unit and create a depth problem no other player on the roster can solve.
The Reality of a Championship Roster
The Seahawks are not in the business of handing out participation trophies. They are in the business of finding 53 players who can help them win another Lombardi Trophy. That means players like Broden and O’Connell — talented, intriguing, and capable — face a harder climb than they would on a rebuilding team. The margin for error is thin. Training camp will offer clarity. But minicamp already sent a message: Seattle’s roster is deep, and no one’s job is safe just because they earned a helmet.
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