Report: Seahawks claim S Johnathan Abram

The waiver process continues to produce Johnathan Abram headlines. Following the Packers’ decision to cut the fourth-year safety, the Seahawks submitted a successful waiver claim, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

The Seahawks will be Abram’s third team this month. The Raiders waived Abram not long after the trade deadline, and the Packers moved on after two games. While much of Abram’s first-round contract has been paid out, more than $500K remains on the through-2022 deal.

Bouncing around the league yet doing so without having reached free agency, Abram is now set to play in a fifth defensive scheme since 2020. The Raiders went from Paul Guenther to Gus Bradley to Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator over the past three years, and after a short time in Green Bay, Abram will attempt to carve out a role in Pete Carroll and Clint Hurtt‘s defense.

The Seahawks have been without Jamal Adams since a Week 1 injury and have Ryan Neal working as Quandre Diggs‘ sidekick. Beyond the starters, Seattle has former second-round pick-turned-journeyman Josh Jones and rookie UDFA Joey Blount on the roster. The Seahawks have also used Teez Tabor, who entered the NFL as a cornerback several years ago, as a safety in limited time this season. Tabor, who has bounced around the league as well, has been on the Seahawks’ active roster since they signed him off the Falcons’ practice squad in September.

Abram, 26, began this season as a Raiders starter and started six games for the team that once took him 27th overall. But Las Vegas’ new regime attempted to trade the Mississippi State product before the deadline and ended up reducing his role. That preceded a post-deadline cut, which led to a Packers claim. Green Bay, which at the time held waiver priority over Denver (which also tried to claim Abram earlier this month), used Abram on just one defensive snap in two games. Abram did contribute on special teams, however.

Abram’s start count remains at 34; most of those came from 2020-21. While coverage issues have affected his NFL development, Abram does have a 116-tackle season on his resume (2021). He has three career interceptions and 12 career pass deflections.