Seahawks 90-Man Countdown: DT Austin Faoliu, Hometown XFL Star

A knee injury that required cleanup surgery may hurt his chances, but after thriving in the upstart XFL, Austin Faoliu hopes to earn himself a role with the Seattle Seahawks in a wide open nose tackle competition as he returns for his second shot in the NFL.

With the calendar flipping to June and offseason activities well underway league-wide, the Seattle Seahawks will open training camp at the VMAC in less than two months, officially ushering in the 2023 season.

To celebrate the new incoming season, I will be detailing every member of 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 2023 campaign.

Austin Faoliu, Defensive Tackle

Height/Weight: 6-3, 292 pounds

2022 Stats*: 24 tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss

*XFL stats with Seattle Sea Dragons

A multi-year starter at Oregon, Faoliu entered the NFL as an undrafted signee for the Cowboys, eventually suiting up for one game and making a pair of tackles after being elevated from the practice squad. He competed in training camp for Dallas again last summer, but the team waived him and he didn't latch onto a practice squad, opting to take his talents to the XFL with the Seattle Sea Dragons.

Taking advantage of his opportunity at extensive playing time, Faoliu served as a wall along Seattle's front line, earning All-XFL honors for the playoff-bound Sea Dragons. Shortly after becoming eligible to sign with an NFL team, he participated in the Seahawks rookie minicamp on a tryout basis and signed with the team a few days later, only to undergo knee surgery earlier this month.

Best-Case Scenario: Building off of his great success in the XFL, Faoliu makes a quick recovery and climbs up the depth chart at nose tackle to win a reserve role behind rookie Cameron Young and make Seattle's initial 53-man roster.

Worst-Case Scenario: Missing the first few weeks of training camp coming off surgery, Faoliu can't make up enough ground to compete for a roster spot and winds up being released in favor of rookie Jonah Tavai.

What to Expect in 2023: Before going down with a knee injury, coach Pete Carroll acknowledged at the end of Seattle's mandatory minicamp that the team hoped Faoliu would compete for playing time at nose tackle. When healthy, he plays with a strong base and powerful hands and has a bit of disruptive ability beyond simply eating up blocks in the trenches, which could allow him to be effective in the middle despite being listed under 300 pounds.

Based on how quickly Seattle signed him after rookie minicamp, the coaching staff clearly liked what it saw on his XFL tape and after losing Al Woods and Poona Ford, a legitimate opportunity to play sits in front of him. While he may be able to make it back in time for the start of training camp, however, if Faoliu has to miss time early, his chances of carving out a role in his second chance in the NFL will dwindle significantly.

Previous Seahawks 90-Man Profiles

Montrae Braswell | John Hall | Bryant Koback | Cam Bright | Jacob Sykes | Benjie Franklin | Tyjon Lindsey

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