2018 OTAs/minicamps

CHAWK LINES -- Seahawks OTAs & minicamp

Dion Jordan had minor knee surgery but is expected back for the start of training camp. We’ll see.

Pete Carroll said the team has made a lot of progress and is in a good state of mind as the offseason draws to a close.

Chris Carson “has really jumped out,” Carroll said. “Chris has looked incredible the whole time, the entire offseason. He hasn’t missed one snap of anything. He just looks so fit, he’s just so cut and quick and explosive and all that. He might be the guy, when you look at everybody, who jumps out in that regard.”

Carroll has a very versatile set of running backs. Can they stay healthy?

Shaquill Griffin stays in touch with his mentor and the guy he is replacing, Richard Sherman.

Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright are ready to lead this new-look defense that has lost four key figures this offseason.

Duane Brown is handling his contract situation much differently than Earl Thomas and Frank Clark.

Brown thinks embattled Germain Ifedi is going to turn into a good player this year: “I think just in the short time I’ve been here, he’s matured a lot, and I expect a big season from him.”

Mike Solari is stressing technique and fundamentals, basically reteaching the linemen, and Brown thinks “we’re going to be a very sharp O-line.”

Amid the President Chump/Eagles flap, Brown called the NFL’s anthem policy “dismissive” and said “a lot of guys are unhappy about it.” The Seahawks are still discussing how they will handle it.

Bobby Wagner is excited to have personal mentor Ken Norton Jr. back in Seattle and running the defense.

Cliff Avril, now in full analyst mode but still connected, thinks Frank Clark is sitting out OTAs for contract reasons. Will the Hawks have two holdouts this summer?

Brandon Marshall, 34 and coming off ankle and toe surgeries, said, “I think the sentiment around the league is that I’m done.” Pete Carroll said, “He has been a terrific player in his past and we just want to give him a shot here and compete.”

Brian Schottenheimer said he is changing the offense by only about 30 percent. “It’d be crazy to ask some of the guys to learn a completely new system. I’ve been working extremely hard trying to get up to speed with the way they’ve done things. … It’s been fun to really figure out who we are and ultimately right now we still don’t know. We’re still trying to figure that out. The more we practice and go up against a great defense we’ll figure that out as we go.”

With three projected starters gone, the secondary was a big focus May 30. Pete Carroll expected Delano Hill and Tedric Thompson to step up at safety in Year 2, and Justin Coleman could challenge Byron Maxwell to start at corner.

“This is a crucial camp” for young receivers Amara Darboh and David Moore, Carroll said.

Out of the blue, Carroll posted an eloquent letter about social empathy that some thought really said nothing and others thought smacked of hypocrisy. He’s a good guy, and people should take it in the spirit it was intended. But, like he said, “Resistance is to be expected.”

As the Seahawks returned to OTAs after Memorial Day, Kam Chancellor said, “If my body says I can play, I’m playing. If my body says don’t play, I’m not playing. I’ll listen. I’m a very good listener. I don’t see myself as old. I feel like I’m still in my prime, so it’s not an age thing at all. It’s just a matter of structural issues in the neck and if they change or not.”

The national anthem flap was the topic of the day May 24, with Doug Baldwin calling Trump “an idiot, plain and simple” after the president’s latest divisive comments. Baldwin and Pete Carroll said the new NFL rule inflamed a situation that had been dying down on its own. Said Baldwin: “The NFL really missed it.”

Frank Clark and Byron Maxwell joined Earl Thomas as absentees at OTAs. Carroll expects everyone at minicamp in June. Bradley McDougald said Thomas has told him he will return “when they get things worked out.” Sure sounds like a holdout could be coming.

Carroll said Brian Schottenheimer is challenging Russell Wilson to keep growing as a quarterback.

Wilson and the offense have taken to walking off the field barefoot, a way of “grounding” themselves.

Jaron Brown and Jordan Roos could be key figures on this roster, per John Clayton.

Carroll recently brought in a controversial Canadian psychologist to speak to his team.

Bobby Wagner gave a radio shoutout to the absent Thomas, calling him a Hall of Famer and saying, “We’re wishing for the best in that situation and we’re thinking about him. And I just want him to know that.”

Wagner also said, “I think a lot of people are sleeping on the talent that we have in the room.”

On the first day of OTAs, K.J. Wright said, “This is where championship teams are made.”

Shaquill Griffin appeared to work at left corner as OTAs began, a potential move that bears watching. He played right corner as a rookie last season. Carroll later said they are seeing how people fit.

Carroll confirmed Thomas has been absent from voluntary work and hoped to talk to him about reporting for mandatory camp in June.

Carroll’s first impressions of every draft pick.

Rashaad Penny impressed as a pass catcher and Carroll said they will work on his pass protection. “We’d like to see if we can make him available to us on all three downs.”

Carroll on Rasheem Green: “It doesn’t look like he’s got a million miles to go.”

Fourth-round TE Will Dissly “looked really clean running routes and all, so that was great,” Carroll said.

Tre Flowers, converting from safety to Seahawky corner, is “glad to be a part of” the defense he has long appreciated for its willingness to play tall corners.

Carroll was excited to be right in the middle of the coaching, teaching Flowers about being a corner in Seattle’s defense.

Jamarco Jones, recovering from a minor knee issue, will work at guard eventually — meaning he could turn into the line’s sixth man.

Alex McGough was “the surprise of the day” on Day 1 of rookie camp. Does he really have a shot at making the 53-man roster?

UDFA DT Poona Ford might have a shot as well. Anyone else think “Lion King” when they see his name?

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