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2018 Seattle Seahawks starters, 53-man roster, schedule prediction

Shaquill Griffin takes over the spot Richard Sherman locked down in Seattle for years. Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The Seattle Seahawks cut their roster to 53 Saturday. Here’s what the roster looks like:

Quarterback (2): Russell Wilson, Brett Hundley

The Seahawks acquired Hundley in a trade with the Green Bay Packers last week, so he gets the backup job that Austin Davis and Alex McGough were competing for all offseason. Pete Carroll described Hundley as something the Seahawks believe could keep their offense moving if he ever had to step in. Of course, Russell Wilson has not missed a game in his six seasons. The Seahawks believe new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will make Wilson better.

Tailbacks (5): Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, Mike Davis, C.J. Prosise, J.D. McKissic

Carson has looked like the Seahawks’ starter all offseason even though they drafted Penny in the first round. Penny is expected to be ready by Week 1 after breaking his finger during training camp and will still have a role in Seattle’s offense even if he’s not the first option.

Fullback (1): Tre Madden

Schottenheimer has always used a fullback. It’ll be Madden, at least for now, after he beat out Daniel Marx.

Wide receiver (5): Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, Jaron Brown, David Moore, Brandon Marshall

Baldwin is expected to be ready for Week 1, though he said the knee injury that sidelined him for all but the first couple days of training camp will need to be managed throughout the season. Marshall developed a nice connection with Wilson over the summer and, equally as important, got healthy and stayed that way after being sidelined during minicamp with a hamstring injury. He’ll give Wilson the big target that he lost when Jimmy Graham left for Green Bay.

Tight end (3): Nick Vannett, Will Dissly, Darrell Daniels

Ed Dickson was the presumed starter when Seattle signed him in free agency, but he was sidelined for all of camp and is on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list. Dissly is no Graham as a receiving threat, but the Seahawks expect the rookie fourth-round pick to be a big factor in their running game because of his blocking. Seattle acquired Daniels from the Indianapolis Colts for wide receiver Marcus Johnson.

Offensive line (9): Duane Brown, Ethan Pocic, Justin Britt, D.J. Fluker, Germain Ifedi, George Fant, J.R. Sweezy, Joey Hunt, Jordan Simmons

This group should be better than it has been in recent years now that Mike Solari has replaced Tom Cable and Brown is healthy and in the starting lineup for a full season. It will get tested right away with some of the NFL’s best pass-rushers on the Seahawks’ early-season schedule. Over the first five weeks, they face Von Miller, Khalil Mack, Demarcus Lawrence, Chandler Jones and Aaron Donald. Gulp.

Defensive line (9): Frank Clark, Jarran Reed, Shamar Stephen, Dion Jordan, Rasheem Green, Tom Johnson, Nazair Jones, Quinton Jefferson, Poona Ford

This is one of the more different-looking position groups on Seattle’s roster with the departures of Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Sheldon Richardson and Marcus Smith. Jordan was activated off the Physically Unable to Perform list after missing all of training camp with a leg injury. That means he should be ready to play at some point in the first few weeks of the season. If it’s not by Week 1, Green and Jefferson are starting options.

Linebacker (6): Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Barkevious Mingo, Shaquem Griffin, Jacob Martin, Austin Calitro

Griffin showed this summer that he’s a good prospect and not just a good story as the first player with one hand to be drafted in the NFL’s modern era. He’s in line to start at the weak-side spot with Wright expected to miss a few weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery.

Secondary (10): Bradley McDougald, Tedric Thompson, Shaquill Griffin, Dontae Johnson, Justin Coleman, Tre Flowers, Delano Hill, Neiko Thorpe, Shalom Luani, Simeon Thomas

It’s the Legion of Whom? with no more Richard Sherman (released), Kam Chancellor (injured) or Earl Thomas (holding out). Early LOB member Byron Maxwell was placed on Injured Reserve, so it’ll be likely be Johnson starting at right cornerback in Week 1 opposite Griffin, who moved over to Sherman’s old spot on the left side. Thompson, a 2017 fourth-round pick, is at free safety for Thomas, who will forfeit $500,000 for every game he misses. Seattle acquired Luani in a trade with the Oakland Raiders for a seventh-round pick.

Specialist (3): Sebastian Janikowski (K), Michael Dickson (P), Tyler Ott (LS)

Janikowski, the long-time Raider, gives the Seahawks an upgrade from Blair Walsh, whose disastrous second half of 2017 contributed to Seattle missing the playoffs. Dickson, the rookie fifth-round pick has shown that punters can be weapons -- and fun to watch. He’s looked like a potential All-Pro. Ott is back for his second season in Seattle.