Sokoli gone per his Agent

[tweet]https://twitter.com/TesslerSports/status/770418091641671680[/tweet]

Interesting.

Guess the conversion/project didn't progress. Anxious to see if another team shows interest.

Will be re-signed to the PS.

McGruff":x6c74gp6 said:

Will be re-signed to the PS.

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I'm not surprised he was cut, only that it didn't happen at the 53.

Practice squad is usually guys who make it to the final cuts. His best shot is with another team - though the odds are long. This is why most careers average 3 years, the competition is hell. Wish we still had a USFL type junior league for Spring. There are enough decent players, and guys like me will watch football year-around.

His agent wants him to move back to d-line. Wasnt he bang average there at college level?

How bad was our o line depth that we felt the need to keep him on the roster all year and now he doesnt make it past the first cuts.

I feel bad for Sokoli. He wasted a 1.5 years of his career playing the wrong position. I hope he gets a shot somewhere else.

Sokoli would have practice squad eligibility. But his agent seemed to indicate he wants to go to a team now that will let him play defense.

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http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seah ... his-agent/

Fade":2yosy2v4 said:

I feel bad for Sokoli. He wasted a 1.5 years of his career playing the wrong position. I hope he gets a shot somewhere else.

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The right position is whatever gave him the best shot at making a roster.

Sokoli still has p-squad eligibility because he was on the 46-player active roster for fewer than nine regular season games during his rookie season. I think he's just too raw for another team to pick him up, but we will see.

I hope he switches to defensive line and gets to line up against another Sokoli. He'll end up in the hall of fame.

Fade":1pb8j04k said:

I feel bad for Sokoli. He wasted a 1.5 years of his career playing the wrong position. I hope he gets a shot somewhere else.

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I think he was a fringe player all along - getting a shot at the NFL the only way he really could. 1.5 yrs is not a waste, he lived a dream and suited up for the NFL (preseason), made a few bucks doing so. Hopefully he graduated from college and has a back-up plan. If this is not the pro football end of his career, it probably is coming soon. Even that limited NFL experience can be packaged into a resume and get a start on adult life (I'm an HR guy by trade.)

Why would his agent tweet about it? Serious question. Seems like he shouldn't make news about it.

It's his agent's job to find him another job. Not to protect his ego. And nobody is going to come knocking unless they know he's available; for a guy in his position he's seeking an opportunity, not a pay day.

Hawknballs":21qxdcm5 said:

It's his agent's job to find him another job. Not to protect his ego. And nobody is going to come knocking unless they know he's available; for a guy in his position he's seeking an opportunity, not a pay day.

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So it's the norm for agents to do that? As I said, it was a serious question.

Dudes get cut all the time, and being a Seahawk cut is prestigious in recent seasons, as far as cuts go anyways. I mean, anyone who could potentially sign him is going to know he was cut anyhow, may as well get the word out ASAP to get his next job interview. We see cuts as 'failures' to make the roster but it's part of the job.

I still can't believe they kept him on the roster all of last year.

I sense a little bitterness in that tweet about the position change.

Largent80":1qv4ef7w said:

I still can't believe they kept him on the roster all of last year.

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In general, I share that sentiment, and I also think it says...

1) Our overall OL talent last year, and emergency options, were so limited that a raw Sokoli was viewed as the best option for a potentially serviceable emergency replacement

2) Our overall OL talent this year is good enough and deep enough that a still-raw Sokoli is now seen as expendable and that other, better serviceable emergency scrap heap options could be available in time of dire need. So the other current developmental OL projects are viewed as having more upside/better payback than continued investment in Sokoli. Fant, Odhiambo, Hunt, etc. this year have "beaten out" Sokoli for the 'Hawks developmental investment. Hunt even flashes starter-quality abilities at times.

3) Despite his athletic freakishness, Sokoli's development has plateaued and is not progressing at a rate that translates to becoming a starting-caliber NFL offensive lineman anytime soon. Seattle is now OK with other teams attempting to swoop in and "steal" Sokoli and along with it their investment in him. TC/PC/JS have concluded that they're not losing the next Walter Jones, and not even the next Max Unger, but more like the next John Moffitt. Moffitt was a perfectly serviceable NFL backup who had a passable 2012 season.

4) With his agent saying Sokoli wants to be on the defensive side of the ball, it suggests that Sokoli found playing OL frustrating and not really his cup of tea.

Just because the Seahawks have cut bait with Sokoli for now doesn't necessarily mean they have totally given up on him. Perhaps Sokoli away from the Hawks will have a Christine-Michael-like awakening after checking out his other options; not that Sokoli was ever the immature head case CMike *was* (but no longer is).

Sokoli's D-line tape in college was horrendous.