Bob Condotta

The Seattle Times

We’re halfway through the preseason and two weeks from Sept. 1, when NFL teams must cut their rosters from the 90 they carry during training camp to the regular-season maximum of 53.

Here’s our latest guess at what the Seahawks’ 53-man roster will look like following Saturday’s night’s loss against the Chargers.

QUARTERBACK

KEEP: Russell Wilson, Alex McGough.

CUT: Austin Davis.

COMMENT: Davis has seemed the safer bet since he’s started NFL games before. But the Seahawks have seemed excited about the upside of McGough, and they finally got a good glimpse of why Saturday night against the Chargers. So for this week, we’ll give the nod to McGough. A report Sunday that the Seahawks recently offered a second-round pick to the Colts for Jacoby Brissett and had been rejected was quickly discounted. But that shouldn’t dissuade the thought that the Seahawks will continue to look to see what other backup QBs may be available. While they like McGough, the Seahawks may prefer to have someone more experienced a play away from playing.

TAILBACK

KEEP: Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, C.J. Prosise, Mike Davis, J.D. McKissic.

CUT: Gerald Holmes, Justin Stockton.

COMMENT: Penny and Carson are locks, but the other three could all be in some question, and especially Prosise. The Seahawks were definitely trying to feature Prosise against the Chargers, and it seemed to come with mixed results — 12 yards on three carries and 35 yards on six catches. He never seemed to have much of anywhere to go. If he stays healthy, I think he remains too intriguing for the Seahawks to waive, especially with Penny having suffered a finger injury this week that shouldn’t sideline him for long but might cause the Seahawks to at least want to have some added depth at tailback.

FULLBACK

KEEP: Tre Madden.

CUT: None.

COMMENT: After Jalston Fowler was waived last week, there are no other fullbacks on the roster, which at the moment puts Madden on it since the sense is the Seahawks would like to have a fullback this season. But it wouldn’t by surprising if the Seahawks added another fullback to battle for the job.

TIGHT END

KEEP: Ed Dickson, Nick Vannett, Will Dissly.

CUT: Tyrone Swoopes, Clayton Wilson, Kyle Carter.

COMMENT: Dickson remains on the Non-Football Injury list and if his injury lingers the roster makeup of tight end — yep that’s what I also wrote last week and with Dickson missing another week that remains the case. But it doesn’t seem too late for Dickson to be ready for the season, and for now, Dickson/Vannett/Dissly look like locks with Swoopes a practice-squad guy again and potential depth down the road.

WIDE RECEIVER

KEEP: Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, Amara Darboh, Jaron Brown, David Moore, Brandon Marshall.

CUT: Marcus Johnson, Tanner McEvoy, Cyril Grayson, Damore’ea Stringfellow, Caleb Scott, Keenan Reynolds, Malik Turner.

COMMENT: I’m going with Moore instead of Johnson after Moore’s performance against the Chargers, which only reinforced the excitement the Seahawks have had about him all camp. And yes, I’m sticking with Darboh for now. He’s yet to play in the preseason and if that persists, then obviously he is not going to make the team. But the Seahawks have a lot invested in Darboh, and he has some of those “unique qualities” Pete Carroll talks about so much. Of the rest, if they were to cut Darboh I’d go with Johnson, who would help greatly on special teams.

OFFENSIVE LINE

KEEP: Justin Britt, Ethan Pocic, Germain Ifedi, D.J. Fluker, Duane Brown, George Fant, Jordan Roos, J.R. Sweezy, Isaiah Battle.

CUT: Willie Beavers, Rees Odhiambo, Joey Hunt, Skyler Phillips, Marcus Henry.

IR: Jamarco Jones.

COMMENT: The only change here is adding Battle — who could be back soonish — and moving Jones to IR. Jones had surgery on his ankle this week and may be done for the season, though the team may carry him on the roster as it sorts out its options. Beavers was the backup RT this week behind Ifedi, whose struggles got a lot of discussion. But Battle was the backup before he was injured and the guess is if he returns soon he’ll get that spot. Sweezy practiced just once before suffering an ankle injury and has yet to play, making his spot tenuous. But assuming the team is just being cautious you’d think he makes it.

DEFENSIVE LINE

KEEP: Jarran Reed, Frank Clark, Nazair Jones, Rasheem Green, Tom Johnson, Branden Jackson, Shamar Stephen, Quinton Jefferson, Erik Walden.

CUT: Poona Ford, Ricky Ali’ifua, Joey Ivie, Josh Forrest.

PUP: Dion Jordan.

COMMENT: Walden, who officially signed Friday but did not play against the Chargers, is my one addition, replacing the released Marcus Smith. Ford has impressed some in camp but still seems most suited for a practice-squad role this season as this spot seems set unless the Seahawks find another pass rusher.

LINEBACKER

KEEP: Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Shaquem Griffin, Barkevious Mingo, Jacob Martin, Austin Calitro.

CUT: Emmanuel Beal, Jake Pugh, D.J. Alexander, Jason Hall.

COMMENT: My one change this week is going with Calitro instead of Alexander. Calitro has emerged as the clear No. 2 at middle linebacker behind Wagner and also has been active on special teams — he had 13 snaps there against the Chargers. The Seahawks traded for Alexander a year ago, but he has had injury issues. If he gets healthy he could still make a run at a roster spot. Martin played just seven snaps against the Chargers and Walden’s addition might knock him out of a roster spot. But for now I’m leaving him on.

CORNERBACK

KEEP: Shaquill Griffin, Byron Maxwell, Justin Coleman, Tre Flowers, Dontae Johnson.

CUT: Neiko Thorpe, Mike Tyson, Akeem King, Trovon Reed, Jeremy Boykins.

COMMENT: My one change here is Johnson for King, who was one of standouts of the first exhibition game. Johnson, a starter for all 16 games at right corner for the 49ers last season, seems a more legit contender for that spot and now that he’s healthy more likely to make the roster. Flowers has started the first two games, but that’s due largely due Maxwell and Johnson sitting out. But even if he won’t start, the Seahawks wouldn’t want to lose him.

SAFETY

KEEP: Bradley McDougald, Delano Hill, Tedric Thompson, Maurice Alexander.

CUT: Tevon Mutcherson, Lorenzo Jerome.

COMMENT: Jerome was the flavor of the week last week, impressing with some standout plays in practice. But McDougald, Thompson and Alexander seem like locks, and while Hill has had some struggles in exhibition games, you’d figure the Seahawks would give him the benefit of the doubt. But the next two weeks will tell a lot.

SPECIAL TEAMS

KEEP: Sebastian Janikowski, Michael Dickson, Tyler Ott.

CUT: Jason Myers, Jon Ryan.

COMMENT: It seems like a given now that Dickson will beat out Ryan. And Janikowski has been the perceived leader all along in the kicking competition and has done nothing to dissuade that notion.