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Camp Preview
The Last Real Competition in the Secondary Is the One Nobody’s Talking About
Seahawks.com rolled out its latest training camp storyline this week, and after everyone spent a month arguing about the safety job, the team quietly pointed at the spot that might matter more: who steps up as the third cornerback. With Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe locked in on the outside, the nickel and CB3 reps behind them are genuinely up for grabs.
This is the difference between an interesting camp battle and a consequential one. Modern defenses live in nickel. If the guy who wins these reps can cover the slot and hold up in run support, Mike Macdonald’s defense gets to do more of what it wants. If nobody separates, you’re patching a hole against three-receiver sets all season, and this team already knows how much a healthy secondary is worth.
17.2
Points per game Seattle’s defense allowed in 2025 — a top-tier number the third corner has to help protect against pass-heavy, three-receiver offenses.
The names are unglamorous by design, which is exactly why it’s a real competition and not a coronation. There’s no incumbent with the job iced. That’s rarer than it sounds on a roster that returns basically every meaningful piece from a championship defense. When your one true opening is at the third corner, that’s what defending a title looks like.
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Injury Watch
Charbonnet’s Knee Finally Has a Date on the Calendar
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Temper the enthusiasm. A late-July check-up is a milestone, not a green light, and the smart money still has Charbonnet opening the season on PUP. Asked at minicamp whether Charbonnet could suit up for the opener, Macdonald offered his usual door-left-ajar answer that everything’s possible, which is coach for “don’t hold me to it.”
What it really means: Jadarian Price keeps taking the reps. The first-round rookie who never started a college game gets a runway to prove he’s ready, with George Holani and Emanuel Wilson filling in the gaps. If Charbonnet’s knee cooperates, Seattle’s backfield gets deep in a hurry. If it doesn’t, Price’s development stops being a storyline and becomes a necessity.
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AROUND THE COOP
Around the Coop
Seahawks.com is running its camp storyline countdown one position a day, and the framing keeps confirming the same thing: the safety job next to Julian Love is the lone genuinely open starting spot on the defense. When the biggest question is which good player wins one job, the roster isn’t a question mark anymore. Seahawks.com
Macdonald said Seattle is looking at an early training camp return for Tory Horton. Nobody’s promising Week 1, but a receiver who put up five touchdowns and a 95-yard punt return before a shin injury ended his rookie year is a nice thing to get back before the pads even come on. Yahoo Sports
Pro Football Rumors framed the Ty Okada–Bud Clark safety competition as the roster’s most interesting subplot. Okada earned it down the stretch last season; then Seattle spent a second-round pick on Clark. Nothing says “good job, keep it” like drafting your replacement. Pro Football Rumors
NFC WEST SCHADENFREUDE REPORT
RAMS
Puka Nacua got named to a Top 25 list and, per the reporting out of L.A., is still waiting on the extension the Rams keep declining to hand him while they pay Davante Adams. So the plan is a top-heavy passing game with your best receiver on rookie money and no reinforcements behind him. Bold strategy for the betting Super Bowl favorite.
NINERS
Brandon Aiyuk went back on social media to claim he told the 49ers a year ago he wouldn’t return. A man on a $120 million extension is now spending his summer doing PR for his own exit, one post at a time. Somewhere in San Francisco a comms staffer is aging in dog years.
CARDINALS
New head coach Mike LaFleur is already sending a message with a training camp change in Arizona. Sending messages is great. So is sending them after you’ve beaten somebody. We’ll be at Lumen in September, message received.
SEACHICKENS TRIVIA
Which Seahawks running back set an NFL single-season record at the time with 27 rushing touchdowns in 2005, a season that earned him league MVP honors and carried Seattle to its first Super Bowl?
Tap to Reveal the Answer
Shaun Alexander. His 27 rushing scores broke the single-season record, and he became the only Seahawk ever named NFL MVP as he powered Seattle’s run to Super Bowl XL.
Got a Question for the Mailbag?
Camp is two weeks out and the questions are piling up. Fire yours in — contract math, roster projections, or just something you need talked off a ledge about. The best ones get answered right here, in a voice that cares far too much about a football team.
Sixteen days to camp, and the only job left to win is one nobody's arguing about. — The Rooster