'Very Versatile' Jonathan Sutherland Vying For Roster Spot

After producing three tackles, two pressures, and a quarterback hit in his team debut in a 24-13 exhibition win over the Vikings last Thursday, Carroll once again was singing praises about Sutherland's play, lauding his positional versatility and football acumen.

“He’s really aggressive, very instinctive, and had some really nice hits on special teams and defense," Carroll said of Sutherland's performance versus Minnesota. "He played good football for us. He’s played a couple of different spots. He’s playing some nickel and some safety. He’s been very versatile so far. I really like him because he’s been a very instinctive football player that has a knack for going for it.”

Before taking his shot at the NFL, Sutherland - who describes his playing style as "physical and gritty" - often was overshadowed by bigger names on a talent-laden Penn State defense. During his six years on campus, he played alongside the likes of future first and second-round picks Micah Parsons, Odafe Oweh, Yetur Gross-Matos, Joey Porter Jr., Arnold Ebiketie, and Jaquan Brisker, along with several other defenders who were drafted in later rounds.

While scratching and clawing for defensive snaps in a crowded secondary throughout his time with the Nittany Lions, Sutherland made his mark excelling in the third phase of the game, emerging as a core special teams player for the program. In 58 career games, he registered 18 special teams tackles, blocked two punts, and forced a fumble, starring on kick and punt units across the board.

Once the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft arrived, Sutherland and his agent began weighing opportunities as an undrafted free agent with special teams being a key component of the decision-making process. Ultimately, Seattle proved to be the best fit and he agreed to terms with the team shortly after the conclusion of the seventh round.

"Special teams is really important to me, as well as defense and a program like Seattle that prides themselves on teams as well as defense, I wanted to be part of that," Sutherland said.

As expected, Sutherland has already thrown himself head first into the competition on special teams, seeing 13 snaps in Thursday's preseason win in a variety of roles. Along with covering five punts, he also covered a pair of kicks and blocked on three combined kick and punt returns.

But where Sutherland has surprised, however, has been on the defensive side of the ball. With All-Pro Jamal Adams still working back from a torn quad tendon and Ryan Neal now playing in Tampa Bay, he has capitalized on his chance to play extensive snaps with the first-team defense at practice since OTAs, turning that experience into quality production in a role that compares favorably to the one he held at Penn State.

"I would say it's quite similar," Sutherland explained. "Predominantly underneath in coverage, blitzing off the edge and playing in the box. So it's pretty similar to what I was doing last season."

Logging 57 total defensive snaps against the Vikings, Sutherland lined up all over the formation for the Seahawks. According to Pro Football Focus charting, he played nearly 50 percent of those snaps in the slot, 15 snaps in the box, seven snaps as a free safety, and six snaps off the edge, where he was sent as a blitzer four times and produced quarterback pressures on half of those opportunities.

While it's a small sample size, the distribution of Sutherland's snaps by position mirror how Penn State utilized him. Last season, 42 percent of his 407 defensive snaps came in the slot and nearly 40 percent of his snaps were in the box, demonstrating his versatility in two different roles as a sub-package defender.

Surpassing all expectations through the first three weeks of training camp, that prior experience playing against top competition in the Big Ten clearly prepared Sutherland for the rigors of being a box safety in Seattle's scheme. Coupled with his obvious special teams ability and high football IQ, he has positioned himself to push for a roster spot with a strong start, especially if Adams isn't able to make it back for the start of the regular season.

But for now, Sutherland isn't thinking too far ahead. Playing in one of the deepest positional groups on the Seahawks' roster, he's taking the process one day at a time, exuding the maturity of a seasoned veteran while taking on whatever roles Carroll and the coaching staff ask of him with the goal of becoming the team's latest undrafted success story in the secondary.

"Whether it's on the field or to the locker room or in the film room, obviously it's just striving to get better each day, focusing on your weaknesses, and just coming out to compete every single day."