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OTAs
Run It Forward: 84 of 91 Seahawks Show Up on a Drizzly Day One
The Seahawks ran 11-on-11 drills for the first time since Santa Clara on Tuesday, and 84 of 91 rostered players were on the field for a two-hour, 20-minute session in the Renton drizzle. OTAs are voluntary. Macdonald’s roster treats the word like a suggestion from a dentist.
84/91
Players present for the first voluntary OTA practice. Last year, every player on the 91-man roster attended at least one OTA session.
“It just shows that all the guys, we’re bought in,” Byron Murphy II told reporters. “We’re a collective. We’re a family. We move as one.” Macdonald coined a new phrase for the approach: “We want to run it forward. ‘It’ meaning our process and who we are.” Not running it back. Running it forward. The distinction matters when you’re trying to avoid the complacency that eats defending champions alive.
The notable absences: edge rushers DeMarcus Lawrence, Derick Hall, and Dante Fowler Jr., running back Emanuel Wilson, and the three specialists. Lawrence, whose wife gave birth to their sixth child after the Super Bowl, is “on his plan,” per Macdonald. “He’s working through some things but he’s in great spirits and he’ll be here at some point.” That’s not concern. That’s a man with six kids under ten.
The highlight reel was short but meaningful. Jadarian Price hauled in a reception during 7-on-7 work, a small moment that answers a real question about a first-round back who had just 15 catches in three years at Notre Dame. Drake Thomas, wearing his new No. 32, darted across the middle and picked off Sam Darnold, returning it for a pick-six. It was unclear if Darnold made a bad read or there was a miscommunication, but Thomas didn’t care about the explanation.
Macdonald also confirmed joint practices are in the works with Tennessee before their August 23 preseason game. Last year it was Green Bay. The year before, Nashville. The defending champs keep seeking out competition, even when the calendar says they don’t have to.
SOURCES →
Injury News
Horton Gets ‘Good News,’ Charbonnet Doing a Great Job, Barner Itching to Return
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Zach Charbonnet, rehabbing from February knee surgery, was on hand but not participating. Macdonald said the team will have a better idea of his timeline by July. And tight end AJ Barner is “itching to get out there” but will likely wait until training camp. Fullback Robbie Ouzts, who missed the NFC Championship and Super Bowl with a neck injury, appeared to be a full participant.
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You don’t have a timetable until you do. That just shows you’ve got to just keep grinding away at it.
The Horton news matters because it could give Seattle a weapon nobody’s pricing into their projections. A healthy Horton alongside Shaheed gives Fleury’s offense two burners to stretch the field for JSN and Kupp underneath. That’s a roster with a speed problem that solves itself if the shin cooperates.
SOURCES →
AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin wrote that Witherspoon’s extension should be Seattle’s top priority, noting his Super Bowl stat line included a sack, three QB hits, and a pass defensed. Brady Henderson’s latest prediction: a deal gets done early in training camp, making Witherspoon the highest-paid corner in the NFL. The calendar says May. The checkbook says July. CBS Sports
Sean McVay admitted publicly he’s “worried” about giving Puka Nacua an extension. Nacua could hold out for $200 million. McVay could hold out for a receiver who doesn’t bite people. Tough offseason in Thousand Oaks. Turf Show Times
SI on Seahawks made the case that JSN deserves the Madden NFL 27 cover. The league can’t even spell his trophy right, so giving him a video game cover feels like the least they can do. SI
The SF Standard’s Tim Kawakami called this the 49ers’ “most relaxed offseason” of the Shanahan-Lynch era. When you finish last in sacks and your star tackle has no guaranteed money past this year, “relaxed” is one word for it. SF Standard
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
McVay went on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast and admitted he nearly retired after the 2022 season because he couldn’t handle losing, then expressed his deepest regret yet over the Jared Goff trade. Buddy, you’re about to pay Puka Nacua $200 million while his attorney acknowledges he bit someone. The regrets are just getting started. Meanwhile, Kobie Turner, Byron Young, and Steve Avila are all extension-eligible with no fifth-year options, and Rambling Fan projects that paying Nacua at $43 million AAV pushes the Rams’ cash spending to 20% above the salary cap. The Rams’ window isn’t closing. It’s being invoiced.
NINERS
Tim Kawakami called this the 49ers’ most relaxed offseason of the Shanahan-Lynch era, which is a fascinating way to describe a team that finished dead last in pressure rate at 24.9% and total sacks with 20. Shanahan and Lynch showed up on a backyard podcast in Alameda, sipping Diet Cokes and laughing. They traded for Osa Odighizuwa to fix the interior and drafted Romello Height in Round 3 to fix the edge. Their pass rush plan is Nick Bosa’s ACL and vibes. Fred Warner learned to swim during rehab, which is honestly more progress than the front office made at guard.
CARDINALS
Josh Sweat recorded a career-high 12 sacks last season, and the Cardinals have rewarded him by firing the only coach he liked and going 3-14. Per Jordan Schultz, teams are calling about Sweat, whose OTA absence is not injury-related. Cardinals insider Kyle Odegard has been hearing for a while that Sweat is “not particularly happy in AZ.” He’s making $19 million a year, 22nd at his position, on a team that won three games. Bleacher Report projects his trade value at a conditional fourth-round pick. That’s what you get for being good in Arizona: a career high and a moving truck.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Jacob Green was drafted 10th overall in 1980 and became the Seahawks’ all-time sack leader, a record that still stands. How many official sacks did Green record across his 12 seasons in Seattle?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
97.5 official sacks. Because the NFL didn’t make sacks an official stat until 1982, Green’s first two seasons aren’t counted. His unofficial total is 115.5, which ranked third all-time behind only Lawrence Taylor and Reggie White when he retired.
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Eighty-four out of ninety-one. The culture isn't a slogan. It's a headcount. Go Hawks. — The Rooster