Wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling didn’t have to wait long to find a new team.
The Seahawks released Valdes-Scantling in one of the moves they made to drop their roster to 53 players this week and his agents told Tom Pelissero of NFL Media that their client will be signing with the 49ers.
It’s no surprise that the 49ers were looking for help at receiver. Brandon Aiyuk is on the physically unable to perform list, Demarcus Robinson is suspended for three games, and several other wideouts, including Jauan Jennings, are dealing with injuries. They recently traded for Skyy Moore and Valdes-Scantling will give them a pair of former Chiefs wideouts.
Valdes-Scantling played for the Chiefs in 2022 and 2023 before moving on to the Bills and Saints last season. He started eight games for New Orleans and caught 17 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns.
The Seahawks really like rookie quarterback Jalen Milroe. They like him enough to give him a package of plays, despite being the backup quarterback.
The news emerged unexpectedly, when coach Mike Macdonald was asked an unrelated question: “Could Milroe be a scout team quarterback?”
“Of course,” Macdonald told reporters. “First of all, he needs reps, as does Drew [Lock], We’re going to have plays for Jalen and game plans, and he’s going to rep those with the ones. However we build the package for him, going into games, he needs those reps in walk-through and full-speed, so that’s going to be important. How we do it, who gets how many reps, all that, I mean Sam [Darnold], it starts with how many reps he needs to get ready and then we work off from there.”
The fact that Macdonald blurted it out absent a specific question invites speculation that he’s simply trying to force opponents to spend time to be ready for Milroe. Which will necessarily eat into the time available to get ready for the base offense, under Darnold.
Regardless, Macdonald said it. It’s a thing now. And we’ll see whether and to what extent that’s how it all plays out. And whether Milroe gets playing time with the first-team offense.
The Seahawks announced the moves they made Tuesday to reach the league-mandated 53-player roster limit.
The trade of OT Michael Jerrell to the Falcons became official.
The Seahawks released DT Quinton Bohanna, CB Shemar Jean-Charles, LS Zach Triner and WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
They released CB Tyler Hall with an injury settlement and waived WR John Rhys Plumlee and LB Wesley Steiner with an injury designation. They waived CB Isas Waxter with an injury settlement.
DT Johnathan Hankins and DE Rylie Mills went on the reserve/non-football injury list.
WR Steven Sims was placed on injured reserve.
OF Christian Haynes was placed on injured reserve/designated for return. He will miss at least the first four games.
The Seahawks also waived WR Tyrone Broden, CB Keydrain Calligan, DT Anthony Campbell, LB Seth Coleman, T Luke Felix-Fualalo,
DE Jalan Gaines, LB D’Eryk Jackson, T Amari Kight, TE Marshall Lang, G Sataoa Laumea, C Federico Maranges, RB Damien Martinez, LB Patrick O’Connell, NT Brandon Pili, S Jerrick Reed II, LB Josh Ross, LB Jamie Sheriff, DT J.R. Singleton, LB Tyreke Smith, NT Bubba Thomas, LB Alphonzo Tuputala, RB Anthony Tyus III, WR Ricky White III, CB Damarion Williams and RB Jacardia Wright.
The NFL has officially suspended 49ers wide receiver Demarcus Robinson for the first three games of the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said last week the suspension was coming, and today the NFL announced it.
Robinson will not be allowed to practice or play during the first three weeks of the season, against the Seahawks, Saints and Cardinals. He will be eligible for reinstatement on Monday, September 22, after the third game of the season.
The suspension comes as a result of a no contest plea to misdemeanor DUI after Robinson was pulled over for driving his car at a speed in excess of 100 mph and refused a field sobriety test.
Injuries have left the Falcons thin at offensive tackle heading into the opening weeks of the regular season, so they agreed to a trade on Tuesday to bolster their depth.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Seahawks are sending tackle Michael Jerrell to Atlanta. The Falcons will send back a conditional 2027 seventh-round pick.
Jerrell was a sixth-round pick last year. He played in 10 games and made three starts for the Seahawks during his rookie season.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said that right tackle Kaleb McGary will miss “significant time” after injuring his leg in practice last week. Swing tackle Storm Norton is also out for an extended period of time after having ankle surgery.
