Seahawks release Warden Jackson, save $6.5 million


Brady Henderson ESPN5:57 PM ET2 Minute Read

The Seattle Seahawks released veteran right guard Gabe Jackson Thursday, according to the league’s official transaction release.

Given the combination of Jackson’s age, knee problems and his high salary cap for 2023, the move has long been considered likely. Jackson, who turns 32 in July, entered the final year of his contract with a projected cap of nearly $11.3 million.

By releasing him, Seattle saves $6.5 million in cash and cap — the amount Jackson should earn as base salary in 2023 — while taking on nearly $4.8 million in dead money.

Jackson spent his first seven seasons with the Raiders, who drafted him in the third round from Mississippi State in 2014. The Seahawks acquired him in March 2021 in exchange for a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft. The move came after quarterback Russell Wilson made a public statement about the number of times he’d been fired during his career and lobbied for the Seahawks to improve his pass protection.

Jackson started in 31 of a possible 34 regular-season games in two seasons with Seattle, missing three with knee injuries. He shared time at right guard in 2022 on a planned rotation with Phil Haynes. The Seahawks saw it as a way to buy Haynes game time while relieving Jackson, whose knee problems caused him to regularly miss practice.

The Seahawks gave Haynes a one-year contract on February 21 to keep him from going free, a move that further heralded Jackson’s release.

Jackson ranked 20th among qualified guards (left or right) in ESPN’s pass block win rate in 2021 and 44th in 2022. He made approximately $16 million from the three-year, $22.575 million contract he signed with Seattle following his trade from the Raiders.

The Seahawks also fired linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven, who has not played since his cruciate ligament tear in the 2021 preseason.

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