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OTAs
The Defending Champs Hit the Same Field for the First Time Since February
Today is the day. For the first time since that February afternoon in Santa Clara, the Seahawks will run 11-on-11 drills with the offense lined up against the defense at the VMAC. OTAs are technically voluntary. This roster doesn’t seem to know that.
The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta framed the stakes perfectly: of the 79 players on the Super Bowl banner Seattle hung last week, all but 10 are still on the roster. By snap count, the Seahawks brought back 14 of their top 15 offensive players and 14 of their top 17 on defense. That’s not a reload. That’s a copy-paste.
69 of 79
Players listed on the Super Bowl LX banner who remain on the roster.
The biggest change isn’t personnel. It’s the voice calling the plays. OC Brian Fleury replaces Klint Kubiak, now the Raiders’ head coach. Fleury comes from the same Shanahan coaching tree, so the scheme stays. But the terminology changes, and today is the first time the new language meets live defensive looks. That transition is the real thing to watch.
Mike Macdonald’s message has been consistent since March: last year is done. “We’re a new team, and we have to rebecome the team that we’re destined to be.” Easy to say when you just hung a banner. Harder to prove when DeMarcus Lawrence hasn’t been seen in Renton all spring and the roster’s most important unsigned extension belongs to the best cornerback on the planet.
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Last year was the surprise. This year is the standard. The question isn’t whether they show up. It’s whether they’re still hungry when they get there.
Three of these OTA sessions are open to reporters. Today is the first. The culture check starts now.
SOURCES →
Contracts
The Seahawks Made Witherspoon an Offer. He Didn’t Like It.
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The delay makes structural sense. Witherspoon shares an agent with Patriots corner Christian Gonzalez. Whoever signs first sets the floor for the other. Neither camp wants to blink. Trent McDuffie’s $31 million-per-year deal with the Rams is the current market, but Witherspoon’s camp believes the number should start higher.
$31M/yr
Trent McDuffie’s deal — the current high-water mark for cornerbacks, and Witherspoon’s floor.
SI on Seahawks counseled patience, noting the fifth-year option locks Witherspoon in through 2027. There’s no emergency yet. But Macdonald’s culture of voluntary buy-in only works if the guys buying in feel valued. Witherspoon has been at every workout this spring. That goodwill has an expiration date.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Trey Wingo says the Seahawks, not the Rams, are “still the team to beat.” He’s right, but it’s nice to hear someone on national television say it without checking over their shoulder for Matthew Stafford. Seattle Sports
Seattle Sports published a 53-man roster projection and even the writer admitted it was “tougher than I expected.” When your biggest roster battle is Ivey vs. O’Toole vs. Hubbard for a seat on the bench, that’s a championship problem. Seattle Sports
The former NFL lineman Ray Roberts scouted Beau Stephens and called him the guy who could “push Bradford for playing time” at right guard. Stephens didn’t allow a QB hit all of 2025 at Iowa. Bradford’s summer just got a lot less comfortable. Seattle Sports
Three of the six OTA sessions are open to reporters: today, June 3, and June 4. Mandatory minicamp follows June 9-11. If you want real football intel before July, these are the windows. ESPN
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Sean McVay publicly said he’s worried about giving Puka Nacua an extension, which is a fun thing to say about the guy who led the NFL in receptions last year. The biting case has moved to a City Attorney hearing. Nacua’s attorney acknowledged the bite happened. Turf Show Times floated a $200 million holdout. Meanwhile Kobie Turner, Byron Young, and Steve Avila are all extension-eligible with nothing to show for it. Rambling Fan projects that paying Nacua at $43 million AAV pushes the Rams’ cash spending to 20% above the salary cap. Good luck with that math, Les.
NINERS
Kyle Shanahan isn’t thrilled about opening in Melbourne, because nothing says Super Bowl contender like complaining about your flight. Brock Purdy is telling everyone the 49ers “have what it takes,” which is the kind of thing you say when you’ve watched the Seahawks hang two banners in the building where you just held a Super Bowl. They signed Eli Apple, a former first-rounder whose chances of making the roster are described as “almost nonexistent.” The talent pipeline is thriving.
CARDINALS
Josh Sweat recorded a career-high 12 sacks last season and has rewarded the Cardinals by skipping OTAs entirely. He’s reportedly “not particularly happy in AZ” after the team fired Jonathan Gannon, the coach who lured him there in the first place. Sweat requested a trade this offseason. Brissett is still holding out for more money. That’s your top sack leader and your starting QB, both absent from voluntary workouts for a team that won three games. At least Jeremiyah Love is returning kicks.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
K.J. Wright was drafted in the fourth round out of Mississippi State in 2011 and spent a decade as Bobby Wagner’s linebacker partner in Seattle. How many career tackles did Wright record during his 10 seasons as a Seahawk?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
941 tackles. Wright was third in franchise history in career tackles and tackles for loss when he retired, winning Super Bowl XLVIII along the way and earning one Pro Bowl nod in 2016 — the same year he posted a career-high 126 combined tackles.
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OTAs are live. The banner is hung. The extension drawer is still open. Somewhere in Renton, Brian Fleury is calling his first play. Go Hawks. — The Rooster