Seattle Seahawks Lose Tyreke Smith Off Practice Squad to Arizona Cardinals
After spending the majority of his first healthy NFL season on the practice squad, the Seattle Seahawks lost outside linebacker Tyreke Smith to a division rival on Friday.
As confirmed on Seattle's official team website, Smith, a fifth-round pick out of Ohio State in the 2022 NFL Draft, signed with the Cardinals active roster. In a corresponding move, the Seahawks signed free agent defensive end Hamilcar Rashed to take Smith's spot on the practice squad.
Due to a hip injury, Smith missed the entirety of his rookie season with separate stints on the PUP list and injured reserve. Upon his return in the spring, he competed for a roster spot as a reserve throughout the offseason program, training camp, and preseason, earning a spot on the initial 53.
But after playing and recording a tackle against the Lions in Week 2, the Seahawks cut Smith and re-signed him on the practice squad, where has remained since without suiting up for any other regular season games. He will now join a Cardinals team that has been ravaged by injuries on the defensive line, presenting an opportunity for him to gain valuable regular season playing time.
After missing his first season in Seattle with an injury, Tyreke Smith only played in one regular season game this year before being stashed on the practice squad.
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A local product who starred at Oregon State, Rashed enjoyed a breakout season for the Beavers in 2019, racking up 14.5 sacks and an FBS-leading 22.5 tackles for loss while garnering Second-Team All-American honors. He wasn't able to replicate that production in a COVID-shortened 2020 season, however, failing to register a single sack in seven games, which led to him going undrafted.
Initially signing with the Jets as a priority free agent, the 6-2, 251-pound Rashed didn't make the 53-man roster out of his first training camp and spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad. He did appear in one regular season game for New York, recording a tackle in limited action.
Since then, Rashed has bounced around with the Steelers and Buccaneers, appearing in six preseason games over the past two seasons. In exhibition play, he recorded 13 tackles and 2.5 sacks, including making one of those sacks in a win over the Seahawks two preseasons ago.
While Rashed played defensive end for the Beavers, in Seattle's hybrid 3-4 scheme, he will likely work as an outside linebacker playing the same role as Smith. An explosive athlete who ran a 4.60 40-yard dash at the combine in 2021, his skill set should be a quality fit for the position and given his previous track record chasing down quarterbacks, it wouldn't be a surprise if he gets a shot to play at some point before the end of the regular season.
