As the Seahawks initiated their training, Jamie Sheriff found himself distributing beer.

Back in Mississippi, the former junior-college player wasn’t on any team’s radar. After going undrafted as a linebacker from South Alabama, and previously overlooked by college football programs out of Terry High School in Mississippi in 2018, Sheriff had to pave his path at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

By the time May, June, and July rolled around, no NFL team had expressed interest in signing him, even as an undrafted free agent, a common practice for hundreds of players in the league.

“I didn’t know where I was going to be,” Sheriff admitted.

The Seahawks encountered Sheriff, who stands at 6 feet 1 inch and weighs 254 pounds, at South Alabama. They extended an invitation to him for a rookie minicamp in Renton during May on a trial basis.

Unfortunately, they chose not to sign him following the camp.

“Honestly, I was surprised,” he admitted. “Because I believe I possess the talent required to compete in this league.

“However, I remain prepared for any opportunity. I never gave up or allowed anything to discourage me.”

“They said I was on their ‘short list,’ Sheriff said.

But by summer he needed a job. He took one delivering beer for Southern Beverage in Ridgeland, Mississippi.

After a while he decided he didn’t like that work, so he quit.

“And then two days after, I ended up getting a call,” he said. “So I was like, ‘Look at God!'”

The “call” was from the Seahawks. After injuries at linebacker early in training camp, coach Mike Macdonald and his defensive staff remembered the overlooked edge rusher who’d impressed them in that spring minicamp.

On Aug. 6, they signed Sheriff. Camp had already been underway for two weeks.

Three weeks and three impressive preseason games later, Sheriff is vying for a spot on the Seahawks as a highly improbable linebacker.

The final roster decisions following the NFL preseason occur on Tuesday. Seattle is required to reduce its team size from 90 players down to 53. Among them, Sheriff stands as one of the few rookie free agents with a tangible shot at securing a position on the roster.

The others are running back George Holani and kick returner Dee Williams.

On fourth down in the fourth quarter of a one-score preseason game Saturday at Lumen Field, Sheriff lined up at what effectively was right defensive end. Hand on the ground, the outside linebacker bulled into and through Cleveland left tackle Lorenzo Thompson. Sheriff overpowered Thompson and slammed into quarterback Tyler Huntley for a sack and turnover on downs.

That set up Jason Myers’ field goal, the clinching points in Seattle’s 37-33 win to end the preseason.

It was the third sack in three games for Sheriff. He had seven pressures on opposing QBs entering Saturday, then added a couple more against the Browns.

“He’s a guy that really stood out during the rookie tryout,” Macdonald said. “Just kind of the message with all the guys: If there’s not a spot for you right now, we’re still invested in your growth and development. To his credit, he didn’t skip a beat since he’s been here.

“He should be proud of the way he played.”

The Seahawks traded edge-rushing outside linebacker Darrell Taylor, their co-leader in sacks two seasons ago, to Chicago Friday. Saturday night, top edge rusher and outside backer Uchenna Nwosu injured his knee on a Browns chop block in the first quarter.

That — and his production that has exceeded what he did in college — has Sheriff a candidate to make the 53-man roster.

Macdonald and general manager John Schneider are considering whether Sheriff will go unclaimed on league waivers, should they release him by Tuesday. If Sheriff clears waivers, the Seahawks could then add him to their 17-member practice squad starting Wednesday. Recent changes in league regulations make it much easier for practice-squad players to participate in weekly games than it was several years ago.

Sheriff’s fate will be known by Tuesday 1 p.m.

Despite the uncertainty, he prefers this situation to his previous job of handling kegs back home.

“I was ready for this,” he stated late Saturday night. “I take setbacks in stride.”

He mentioned that MacDonald’s updated defensive strategy in Seattle, introduced by the NFL’s youngest head coach after his successful tenure coordinating Baltimore Ravens’ leading defense, allows him to perform optimally.

“The approach here is much more engaging,” Sheriff commented. “It allows me to focus on pass rushing, which is at the core of my skill set.”

Following three difficult seasons marred by injuries and subpar performances on the field, and a league suspension due to an off-field incident involving a woman last year, wide receiver and kick returner Dee Eskridge approached Saturday’s game as potentially his last with the Seahawks.

“I’m putting everything I have into this game,” stated Eskridge, who was the first among three selections by the team in the 2021 draft.

“So I just came out here with the mentality that if it’s my last time ever coming out here to play on this field, then so be it. God has a bigger plan. But I’m going to go out here, have fun, keep joy, and then make plays like I did.”

The biggest play, maybe of his career given the stakes, came with 4 minutes left in the second quarter Saturday.

After weeks of undrafted rookie Dee Williams wowing on kick returns while Eskridge was hurt again, Eskridge fielded a Browns punt late in the second quarter on the left. He stopped and cut right. He out-ran would-be tacklers across the field, then cut inside. His sprint went 73 yards the end zone for a touchdown.

That gave Seattle a 24-10 lead.

When he reached the end zone, Eskridge placed his index finger on his lips over his face mask.

What was that about?

“Removing the noise,” he explained, addressing his numerous detractors.

“He’s able to perform such plays. That’s the kind of player he is,” Macdonald commented. “Proud of Dee. He has diligently worked to put himself in a favorable spot here. He ought to be proud.”

After Saturday’s game, Eskridge was contemplating whether he would be cut by Tuesday. The team’s wide-receiver roster has strong contenders for the fifth and sixth spots who have had outstanding preseasons and have shown greater availability than Eskridge: Laviska Shenault, Cody White, and Easop Winston Jr.

“It’s been a little adversity. Obviously, last week I didn’t play,” Eskridge mentioned.

“I would love to be a Seahawk. But, obviously, we know this business. Wherever I land, wherever I stay, that’s a blessing, regardless,” he added.

Dee Eskridge expressed that he entered this game thinking it might be his last with the #Seahawks and was determined to give his all. He stated that nothing was going to stop him from scoring on that punt return touchdown.

The gesture of putting a finger to his lips in the end zone?
“Taking the talk out of it.”

— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) August 25, 2024