Curse of first-round linemen continues

Seahawks bandagesIt’s no wonder John Schneider and Pete Carroll had developed an aversion toward drafting offensive linemen in the first round: They always get hurt.

After going back-to-back with first-round linemen in 2010-11, it took them five years to try again. Now it might be another five years before they do it again.

We can only hope Germain Ifedi’s high ankle sprain, which is expected to sideline him for at least three weeks, will not send him down the same injury path traveled by Russell Okung and James Carpenter.

Continue reading Curse of first-round linemen continues

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The Seahawks apparently are planning “a powerful sign of unification” during the anthem Sunday.

Germain Ifedi will miss the first month or so with a high ankle sprain, a blow to the developing line.

No surprise: Marshawn Lynch might be reconsidering retirement.

Byron Maxwell returns to Seattle on Sunday to face his old teammates. He confirmed that the Seahawks were close to matching the $63 million deal he got from the Eagles in 2015.

He told Seattle reporters, “Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do.”

The Dolphins could be without three starters in Seattle.

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Hawks make two trades, keep 12 DBs — for now

As usual, the Seahawks made a lot of fans scratch their heads with some of their moves on cutdown day. But, as usual, some of the moves are going to be very temporary.

It was no surprise that John Schneider pulled a trade — he has made at least one in every preseason (16 total). But the surprise was that he traded for two safeties.

The Seahawks reportedly added Dewey McDonald (6 feet, 220 pounds) from Oakland and L.J. McCray (6 feet, 215 pounds) from San Francisco. The Hawks reportedly gave up conditional seventh-rounders for both (2017 seventh or McDonald, 2018 pick for McCray).

With those additions, the Seahawks made a deep secondary even deeper — keeping 12 for now. They kept undrafted rookies Tyvis Powell (not a surprise) and De’Andre Elliott (a big surprise) over young veterans Tye Smith and Marcus Burley (injured).

The Seahawks also terminated the contracts of veterans Jahri Evans and Will Tukuafu; waived DT Brandin Bryant, TE Clayton Echard, S Keenan Lambert, LB Steve Longa, WR Douglas McNeil III, WR E.Z. Nwachukwu, WR Kasen Williams, RB Troymaine Pope, G/C Will Pericak, WR Antwan Goodley, DE Tylor Harris, S Keenan Lambert, WR Kenny Lawler, LB Kache Palacio, DE Ryan Robinson and DT Tani Tupou; and waived/injured TE Joe Sommers, DT Jordan Hill, LB Eric Pinkins and OT Terry Poole.

Continue reading Hawks make two trades, keep 12 DBs — for now

Seahawks don’t hesitate to add to social-issues conversation again

Jeremy LanePete Carroll encourages his Seahawks players to be themselves, which probably explains why more Seahawks are willing to express their opinions than players on many other teams.

Seahawks past and present have been engaging in a major discussion about injustices in society all summer, and it has risen to new levels this week in the wake of Colin Kaepernick’s oddly controversial protest.

Michael Bennett started talking about social injustice earlier this summer, calling out major NFL players for not joining NBA players in speaking out about police violence against black people.

Richard Sherman has voiced his opinion on Black Lives Matter and much more, too.

Russell Wilson, known for avoiding controversy, still made a little of the good kind when he refused to get married in North Carolina because of the state’s prejudicial bathroom law.

And now Kaepernick’s national anthem protest over police treatment of black people has expanded to include several current and former Seahawks.

Continue reading Seahawks don’t hesitate to add to social-issues conversation again

Will Graham earn extension like Unger did?

Unger-GrahamA year ago at this time, the Seahawks were preparing to start the season with a shiny new Pro Bowl tight end and a new center, replacing the injury-prone veteran they had traded for the tight end.

The Seahawks were willing to let Max Unger go because he had not been able to stay healthy in the previous two seasons, and they expected Jimmy Graham to enhance their passing game by giving Russell Wilson a big over-the-middle target.

The results were about the opposite of what you might expect. Just as Wilson and Graham were getting into a rhythm, Graham’s season was cut short by a torn patellar tendon. Meanwhile, Unger, who had missed 13 games in 2013 and 2014 for Seattle, started every game for the Saints.

So, as the 2016 season nears, Unger suddenly is the sure thing — receiving a big contract extension from the Saints — and Graham is just trying to get back on the field and prove he merits his own extension after the season.

Continue reading Will Graham earn extension like Unger did?

No surprise Schneider is shopping Lewis (or others)

John Schneider draftingJohn Schneider has made at least one trade in the preseason in each of his six years in Seattle, so it’s no surprise to hear he is trying to make another this year.

Schneider reportedly is shopping Patrick Lewis, who apparently has lost the battle for the backup center spot to rookie Joey Hunt.

Plenty of teams need offensive line help, and Schneider surely could find one interested in a player who has started 13 games over the past two years. Lewis’ salary is $1.67 million, which could be a hindrance to a trade. Lewis, a former undrafted free agent, probably wouldn’t bring any more than a late pick.

Continue reading No surprise Schneider is shopping Lewis (or others)

Roster status as preseason winds down

As the Seahawks prepare to cut from 90 to 75 players and then play a game two days later and then cut to 53 two days after that, Pete Carroll said his team is ahead of where it was last year.

“It’s just felt very forward moving,” he said. “The whole time we’ve just been working and growing and dealing with stuff to come together as a team. The learning process and the teachable moments, everybody is in. It’s really been a terrific camp. It’s been a fantastic offseason and a terrific camp of growing.”

That’s a big contrast to the last two years. In 2014, the Seahawks were dealing with Marshawn Lynch rumors and the Percy Harvin headache. Then, last summer, Kam Chancellor messed with team chemistry when he held out into September.

“We’re trying to grow as a team and start this season in a more connected level than we have been in the past years,” Carroll said. “We’ve had a couple distractions that are difficult and challenging and we’ve learned from it and we’ve handled it, but not as well as we would have liked. It’s just felt like we’re ahead of that pace this season.

“We’ll see how it goes,” he added. “You never know until you start playing, but we’re looking forward to that.”

The Seahawks won’t start playing for real until Sept. 11, and they have a bunch of roster decisions to make in the interim — starting Tuesday.

Here’s a look at the roster heading into those cuts:

Continue reading Roster status as preseason winds down

Wilson, fast-finishing Hawks in midseason form

Dallas logoSeattle’s third preseason game — the one that most resembles the real thing — definitely looked like the real thing Thursday.

As usually happens during the season, the offense and defense started slowly and then found their grooves and pulled away — beating Dallas 27-17.

Russell Wilson and the offense were out of sync early — missing a few pass plays, running inconsistently, having snap issues, committing penalties. And Darrell Bevell didn’t help by calling a couple of his favorite bubble screens — Doug Baldwin gained three yards total on both plays.

But the offense did finally get on the board for the first time this preseason — Wilson hitting Paul Richardson on a short touchdown pass after they had secured a field goal in the first half and then finding Tyler Lockett on a scramble play in the third quarter.

Continue reading Wilson, fast-finishing Hawks in midseason form

Roster status entering Game 3 vs. Cowboys

Dallas logoThe dress rehearsal has arrived.

The Seahawks will play their starters for three quarters against the Cowboys tonight, and their first priority will be for Russell Wilson and the offense to finally finish a drive.

So far, Wilson and company have been shut out this preseason.

“We’re just giving too many situations away, making it too difficult to keep the kind of rhythm that we like,” Pete Carroll said. “I like to see us play a lot sharper and see where that leads us. Does that allow us to move the football and score some points like we like to? I would bet it will.”

Wilson was sacked four times by Minnesota, and two of them were his fault.

“I put those on me,” Wilson said. “We just need to do a better job of that. It’s a collective effort, but we’re doing a great job. I’m really excited about what we have, especially up front with what those guys are doing. They give me plenty of time, which is a great thing.

“There are a couple of times when you need to throw it away; that’s my competitive side — that will never change. I’m not just going to give up on plays.”

But he said he understands he needs to save plays from becoming negatives, not turning a second-and-seven into a third-and-13. “So that’s really the simple focus. It’s pretty simple and that’s the way I look at it.”

As for tonight, Wilson said, “We want to play great football across the board. We want to be in attack mode, we want to stay on the field. We’ve had some great drives; we just haven’t put it in the end zone as much as we wanted to. We’re going to do that and we’re excited about that.”

This game will feature the long-awaited Seahawk debuts of J’Marcus Webb and C.J. Prosise, along with the return of Will Tukuafu and the 2016 debuts of Kam Chancellor and Jordan Hill.

Here’s a look at the roster status heading into the Dallas game:

Continue reading Roster status entering Game 3 vs. Cowboys

Carroll: Hawks will do Bennett deal ‘when it makes sense’

Salary cap logoMichael Bennett reportedly came to camp because he expects a reworked contract before the season, but that thinking goes against the Seahawks’ philosophy (no new deal with more than a year left), and Pete Carroll made it sound like nothing is going to happen this year.

Carroll told KJR on Tuesday: “We’d love to have Michael here for a long time. We want him to finish his career with us. We intend to get that done. … It’s something that we’re working at. It’s a very difficult thing to get done.”

Asked whether they would do it this year, the coach declined to answer. “We’re going to do it when we can and when it makes sense.”

Continue reading Carroll: Hawks will do Bennett deal ‘when it makes sense’