6 key takeaways from Seahawks snap counts vs. Cowboys

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 15: Cody White #82 of the Seattle Seahawks runs back the kickoff during the second quarter of the NFL preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lumen Field on August 15, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jack Compton/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Seattle Seahawks came stumbling out of the preseason gates with a 17-7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Penalties, blown assignments, miscommunication, and generally disjointed play defined Seattle's performance, which is by no means the end of the world when you're talking about backups and roster hopefuls as opposed to starters, but it's still not something Mike Macdonald and his staff want to see.

As ever, preseason is a component and not the deciding factor for who makes a roster and who does not. We still can glean some information off of not just who's playing, but how much they're playing, and which point of the game they're playing and with whom they're with. Now that the snap counts tallied in the official NFL game book over the weekend, here are my main takeaways from both sides of the ball.

Seattle Seahawks defensive snap counts

Montorie Foster played a lot, but that might not be a good thing

In my 53-man roster projection, I had Montorie Foster making the team. I'm going to retract that unless something changes with his special teams snaps. I saw him take training camp reps as a kick and punt returner, so I figured he'd be in the special teams mix.

Foster played the whole game and led all receivers with 41 snaps, scoring Seattle's only touchdown. He led the team in receptions and yards, which is nice for his audition to make the 53-man roster. That's good!

No special teams reps? That's bad, if not ominous.

Cody White, Ricky White III, and Emmanuel Henderson Jr all had some ST reps, with Cody running back a couple of kicks. There is zero chance any WR6 on the squad can get in without playing some special teams.

Bryce Cabeldue is firmly on the bubble

The second-year guard out of Kansas had zero offensive snaps in the first half, which is not encouraging. In camp, I've seen him get in some left guard work with the twos but also mixed in with third-team right guard. At the moment, it looks like Mason Richman has firmly staked his claim as a backup to Grey Zabel. And unlike Richman, Cabeldue really is kinda limited to guard, whereas Richman can play across the line. He's even listed as a G/T but I've seen him get some work at center.

Tory Horton is evidently an established starter"

Mike Macdonald made it clear on Friday that no established starters would play on Saturday (except, of course, Michael Dickson, Chris Stoll, and Jason Myers on special teams). I thought there would be a chance that Tory Horton, especially having not played a game since November, would get a few reps in with the second-team offense.

That did not happen.

Whether that's exercising caution because of his injury recovery or deciding he's valuable enough as a WR4 to not risk anything in preseason reps, sitting Horton did surprise me a bit.

Meanwhile, Elijah Arroyo got 41 snaps on offense and played into the first snap of the fourth quarter. I expected him to be done by halftime and it'd be a Nick Kallerup and Nick Vannett sort of evening.

Seattle Seahawks defensive snap countsA.J. Finley takes the bulk of the safety snaps alongside Bud Clark

We knew the second-round rookie Bud Clark would feature heavily in his first NFL preseason game, but A.J. Finley proved to be the other starting safety alongside the former TCU star. Finley had the impressive interception off Sam Darnold during the Lumen Field practice last week, going full circle at the same place (and same practice) in which he tore his ACL a year ago.

With Rodney Thomas II, D'Anthony Bell, and Maxen Hook all vying for one of those coveted safety spots, Finley has had extensive work with the second unit, and Finley played well into the fourth quarter. Rodney Thomas II, curiously enough, was shut out of any defensive snaps until the third quarter. We'll see if that trend continues deeper into the preseason.

Connor O'Toole, Jared Ivey, and Mike Morris function as edge rushers in first half

The Seahawks sat Dante Fowler Jr, who might have been the only borderline player in terms of being an edge rusher who could play in preseason. In the first half, Connor O'Toole, Jared Ivey, and Mike Morris were the primary pass rushers on the outside. Ivey and Morris are obviously big fellas who can (and were) kicked to the inside at times.

Jalan Gaines only had two pass-rushing snaps in the first half before a major uptick in the second half.

Tyrice Knight's busy half (more busy than Coach Macdonald would've liked) involved some lining up on the edge, which is consistent with what we saw at camp.

Hold the camp hype on Andre Fuller, Michael Dansby

With full acknowledgement that Shemar Jean-Charles' horror show might bump one of these two up next week, the Seahawks' rookie corners did not even get special teams run until the second half, let alone defensive snaps. It was Jean-Charles, Nehemiah Pritchett, and Noah Igbinoghene as the main cornerbacks in the first half, which at this point is more of an indicator of the depth pieces likely to make the roster.

As much as Fuller and Dansby have made good strides in training camp, there's still a lot of work to be done to avoid roster cuts at the end of the month. Add in the impending Terrion Arnold signing and the road for both men just got a little tougher.

And now, as John Gilbert likes to say, it's on to Nashville for a joint practice and second preseason game with the Tennessee Titans.