Seahawks 90-Man Roster Rundown: Ben Burr-Kirven

After being relegated to special teams duty his first two seasons, Burr-Kirven spent all of last year recovering from a significant knee injury and he will have to show he's fully recovered to fend off several new competitors at linebacker for the Seahawks.

With the calendar flipping to July and offseason programs wrapped up across the country, NFL training camps will begin around the NFL in less than a month's time. To celebrate the new incoming season, the All Seahawks staff will be breaking down the Seahawks 90-man roster over the next several weeks, exploring best and worst case scenarios and what to expect from each player entering the 2022 campaign.

Ben Burr-Kirven, Linebacker

Height/Weight: 6-foot, 230 pounds

2021 Stats: N/A

Once one of the nation's premier tackling machines starring at middle linebacker for the Washington Huskies, Burr-Kirven stayed in the Pacific Northwest as a fifth-round pick for the Seahawks in 2019. Joining a crowded group headlined by Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright, he played over 300 special teams snaps as a rookie, producing eight tackles and a forced fumble. He remained a central special teams player in his second season in Seattle, again posting eight tackles on 293 special teams snaps. Set to maintain a similar role on last year's squad, he tore his ACL covering a kickoff during the second preseason game and underwent reconstructive knee surgery, causing him to miss the entire season.

Best Case Scenario: Fully recovered from the severe knee injury suffered one year earlier, Burr-Kirven makes life interesting for Cody Barton with a strong preseason racking up tackles in bunches and while he doesn't earn a starting job on defense, he re-secures his roster spot as a core special teams player and sees a few snaps on defense as the year progresses.

Worst Case Scenario: Unable to practice until midway through training camp, Burr-Kirven watches helplessly on the sideline as newcomer Joel Iyiegbuniwe and undrafted rookie Vi Jones impress on defense and special teams. With Jon Rhattigan set to return at some point, the team decides to cut him during final roster cuts and he's left to land a job elsewhere.

What to Expect in 2022: As a local product who starred for the Huskies, fans would love to see Burr-Kirven bounce back and carve out a meaningful role on special teams once again, if not surprise and push for defensive playing time. But he didn't participate at all in Seattle's offseason program and according to coach Pete Carroll, he underwent another operation in July to help with flexibility in his surgically repaired knee. The undersized linebacker may not be a good fit for a 3-4 defense and considering he was already on the bubble last year before getting hurt, he's going to have to get back on the field quickly and prove he's 100 percent to compete for a heavily-contested roster spot. His special teams prowess gives him a good chance to stick around if healthy, but he's far from guaranteed to be on the roster in September.

Previous Seahawks 90-Man Roster Profiles

Kevin Kassis | Cade Brewer | Liam Ryan | Deontez Alexander | Elijah Jones | Josh Turner | Scott Nelson | Joshua Onujiogu | Jarrod Hewitt | Darwin Thompson | Matt Gotel | Lakiem Williams | Tanner Muse | Greg Eiland | Aaron Fuller | Shamarious Gilmore | Cade Johnson | Dakoda Shepley | Deontai Williams | Bubba Bolden | Josh Johnson | Vi Jones | Dareke Young | Myles Adams | Jacob Eason | Tyler Mabry | Jon Rhattigan | Penny Hart | Josh Jones | John Reid | Mike Jackson | Tyler Ott | Cody Thompson | Joel Iyiegbuniwe | Tyreke Smith | Bo Melton | Jason Myers | Marquise Goodwin | Tariq Woolen | Kyle Fuller | Bryan Mone | Nick Bellore