Official Training Camp Thread

[D-train]

By Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter
RENTON — The “very soon’’ that Seahawks coach Pete Carroll predicted was the time frame for cornerback Devon Witherspoon to sign his contract and report for practice apparently means more than just a day.

As the Seahawks went through their second practice of training camp Thursday, Witherspoon was again absent, still at odds with the team over the terms of his four-year rookie deal due him for being the fifth overall pick in the draft.

Not in dispute are the years or the overall dollar amount ($31.861 million), which are not negotiable.

What is in dispute is the timing of the payout for his overall signing bonus of $20.171 million. It is thought that Witherspoon wants it all up front, with the Seahawks preferring to spread it out, as has been their process for major contracts.

The Seahawks practice again Friday and are off Saturday. Carroll surely prefers Witherspoon is back sooner rather than later. Witherspoon is the only one of the 259 players taken in the 2023 draft who is unsigned and did not report to camp on time.

But at least one of Witherspoon’s teammates — veteran safety Quandre Diggs — said players are understanding of the situation.

ADVERTISING
“For me, you let him handle his business,’’ Diggs said. “I wouldn’t want anybody in my business. When I had my incident two years ago [Diggs sat out of some on-field work in camp in 2021 while getting his contract reworked], it wasn’t like Bobby [Wagner] was running around telling me to get out there and do this.

“He’d give me advice, and [I’d] just explain it to him, and that’s all you can do. It’s not like I don’t think ‘Spoon wants to be here — he wants to be here. You see the competitive nature when he was here during OTAs and minicamp. At the end of the day, it will get handled and it will get worked out, so he’ll be out here, and it will be water under the bridge.”

Witherspoon reportedly will not practice until he signs, so there was no mystery to him not being present Thursday since it had not been revealed or announced he’d signed.

Also still out were the six players placed on the physically unable to perform list the day before, including safety Jamal Adams and cornerback Riq Woolen.

The absence of Adams, Woolen and Witherspoon means Seattle is practicing without three players who could be starters, or at least have significant roles, in the secondary. Without Witherspoon and Woolen, Michael Jackson and Tre Brown again worked as the starting outside corners with Coby Bryant as the nickel.

Diggs said their performance the first two days has only reiterated how strong Seattle’s secondary could be once it’s at full strength.

ADVERTISING
“It’s impressive,’’ he said. “I think this is probably the best depth that we’ve had since I have been here. … At the end of the day, it’s a next-man-up mentality right now, and we’ll be happy when those guys get back out there. It just gives us more for our bodies to work together and get that chemistry going.”

As for Adams, his return from a torn quad muscle might still take a while, as the team has set no ETA. Carroll wouldn’t commit to him being ready for the season opener. Diggs, who has become close with Adams in their three years with the Seahawks, said Adams is eager to get back.

“He’s good,’’ Diggs said. “He’s in a good spot mentally, so you know when he’s out here, he’ll be out here. I just told him to take his time and it’s a process. Every day you take it step by step, and he knows what he’s doing when he gets out there. When he gets out there, it’s going to be time to go, so it’ll be exciting. And when it’s his time, it’s his time.”

Sign up for Fan Fix
Your dose of local sports news. Delivered Monday through Friday.

Notes, quotes and anecdotes
• The Seahawks have said they have basically an open competition at center, and they appeared to live up to that Thursday, giving rookie Olu Oluwatimi, a fifth-round pick out of Michigan, all of the snaps with the first-team offense. Veteran free-agent signee Evan Brown took all the snaps with the second team. Those roles had been reversed Wednesday. Quarterback Geno Smith said after practice only that he has been impressed by both. “Both guys are doing a great job, man,’’ Smith said. “… I just try to go out and do my job and not worry about who is up front, but I don’t notice a difference when either guy is in.’’

• The offensive lines otherwise were the same as the day before, with Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas as the tackles, and Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes as the guards with the starters.

• Projected starting running back Kenneth Walker III was present on the sidelines but did not practice. Carroll did not talk to the media, so there was no word on why he sat out, though there was no injury. It is not uncommon for running backs, in particular, to have their work spread out during camp. Without Walker, rookie Zach Charbonnet took most of the snaps with the first-team offense, with DeeJay Dallas working often as the third-down/two-minute back and Kenny McIntosh also mixing in.

• First-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba turned in the play of the day with a left-handed, one-handed catch for a touchdown between two defenders — Jackson and safety Julian Love — on a pass from Smith. Defenders are not supposed to make contact or plays on the ball during the ramp-up period. But the play was impressive nonetheless. “That was sweet,’’ Smith said. “Jaxon, he’s made so many great plays. That’s just who he is.’’

• Smith-Njigba consistently worked in the slot, alongside Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf as the starters on the outside, in three-receiver sets, with Smith-Njigba showing no sign of any issue from the hamstring injury that held him to just three games last season at Ohio State. Lockett and Metcalf also turned in receptions on long passes — Lockett’s for a TD on what looked like a broken play thrown by Smith — in what was a pretty strong day for the receiving corps.

[D-train]

Jarran Reed at NT...

By Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter
RENTON — The Seahawks’ third practice of training camp Friday featured some big plays by receivers (particularly DK Metcalf), a few turnovers, more rotating at center and additional evidence that Jarran Reed will play significantly this year at nose tackle.

Here are some thoughts on those topics and more:

Reed happy wherever he lines up
One of the more intriguing story lines of the first few days of camp has been the rotation at nose tackle, a spot that has been considered one of the team’s biggest question marks after the offseason release of veteran Al Woods in a salary-cap move and with Bryan Mone continuing to rehab from an ACL injury suffered Dec. 15 and no clear ETA for a return.

During the offseason program the Seahawks had rookie Cameron Young of Mississippi State playing with the first unit, and they used veteran Myles Adams.

Coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday that veteran Jarran Reed — listed as an end and generally projected to play that spot in the team’s base 3-4 line — will see significant time at nose tackle.

That has indeed been the case in the first three practices as Reed has often worked with the starters at that spot with Dre’Mont Jones and veteran free-agent signee Mario Edwards at the ends with Adams also getting snaps. The Seahawks recently signed free agent Roderick Perry II, who played in two games with the Browns last season and has worked inside.

Reed is listed at 6-3, 306, which makes him lighter than their prototype nose tackle, as is Adams, listed at 6-2, 290, and Perry, who is listed at 6-2, 304. Mone is listed at 345 and Woods was listed at 331.

ADVERTISING
Carroll said in the spring that Young, listed at 304, had put on weight and was in the 320 range, giving the team the kind of heft inside it desires.

They also hope to get Mone back this season. The Seahawks may be intrigued by a different type of player at the nose after struggling to defend the run last season.

Reed, who signed a two-year contract to return to the team that drafted him in the second round in 2016 after a season each with Kansas City and Green Bay, said Friday that whatever the team asks is fine with him.

“Whatever they need me to play I’m going to play it,’’ he said. “At the end of the day it’s football and I love playing. I can play the nose, three, end. Wherever they need me to play I’m going to play to the best of my ability.”

Lockett still tight with Wilson
After a win last October against the Giants, receiver Tyler Lockett offered a lengthy answer about why he thought the team was surpassing lowly expectations, which included a statement that “it’s amazing what we can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit.’’

Many took that as a veiled shot at former quarterback Russell Wilson.

ADVERTISING
Lockett took to social media to say he had said similar things often.

Proof that Lockett and Wilson remain close came earlier this month when Lockett invited Wilson to his wedding in Dallas (Lockett had gotten engaged in November to his girlfriend Lauren Jackson; not to be confused with the former Storm great).

“It was great to be able to have Russ there,” Lockett said Friday, noting that he had attended Wilson’s wedding to Ciara in 2016 in Liverpool, England. “We’ve been brothers for this whole entire time. He’s been like my big brother giving me advice, helping me along the way, and was there for me if I ever needed anything. So it was really cool just for him to be able to come out there, to be able to support me and Lauren’s union and like I said, we still talk to this day, we encourage one another and he knows if he ever needs anything he can call me and it’s vice versa.”

Metcalf and Jackson get something started
The highlight of the practice might have been a few battles between Metcalf and Michael Jackson, who continues to start at one cornerback spot with Riq Woolen out and rookie Devon Witherspoon working mostly with the second team.

In one two-play sequence, Jackson batted down a Geno Smith pass intended for Metcalf at the goal line (the ball was a little behind him), and getting called for defensive pass interference for grabbing Metcalf on a fade route.

A little later, Jackson batted down a pass intended for Metcalf, who a few plays later got past Jackson to grab a pass in the end zone.

ADVERTISING
The tete-a-tete continued a strong start for receiving corps in camp, with Metcalf, Lockett (who had about a 45-yard TD thrown by Smith), first-round pick Jaxon Smith-Njigba routinely turning in big plays, and 2021 second-rounder Dee Eskridge also contributing at times.

Not that the defense didn’t have its moments. There were three turnovers — two interceptions by Drew Lock and another by third-team QB Holton Ahlers.

In Lock’s defense, one of his turnovers came on a play when tight end Griffin Hebert had the ball stolen out of his hands by safety Joey Blount, who raced for a touchdown.

Notes, quotes and anecdotes
— The Seahawks continued their rotation at center with veteran free agent Evan Brown getting all the snaps with the first team and rookie Olu Oluwatimi working with the second unit. Brown also got all the first-team snaps Wednesday, while Oluwatimi worked with the first team Thursday. The rest of the offensive line has remained the same — Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas as the starting tackles and Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes at guard.

— Running back Kenneth Walker III sat out for a second straight day. But since Carroll did not talk to the media it was unclear the reason. Walker watched from the sideline with no evident injury. Second-round pick Zach Charbonnet also sat out, leaving the Seahawks shy at running back as DeeJay Dallas and rookie Kenny McIntosh got most of the work with the first unit. They added to the depth by signing undrafted free-agent rookie Wayne Tualapapa, who played last year at the University of Washington. Tualapapa took part in the team’s rookie minicamp in May as a tryout player.

— The Seahawks waived rookie cornerback Montrae Braswell to make room on the roster for Tualapapa. That leaves them with 11 cornerbacks, and with all but Riq Woolen healthy and available.

[D-train]

Seems like a legit battle at Center but not so much at RG where it seems it is Haynes job to lose.

I wonder if Reed at NT is due to Young not being the answer or just for depth reasons.

Interesting with the focus on health that they ask dudes just a bit over 6 foot tall and over 300lbs to gain weight to even more unhealthy levels.

[Donn Beach]

It's more than depth isn't it? Pete saying he will see significant time there. Young is a rookie, i said at the time, unless they are a significant draft pick i don't see how you can assume a rookie can be your starting NT. Reed is basically assuming Al woods role. And I'm dubious, he is undersized and not a NT. Yeah, think they are missing Woods

[D-train]

It's more than depth isn't it? Pete saying he will see significant time there. Young is a rookie, i said at the time, unless they are a significant draft pick i don't see how you can assume a rookie can be your starting NT. Reed is basically assuming Al woods role. And I'm dubious, he is undersized and not a NT. Yeah, think they are missing Woods

Yeah and Mone who will likely miss most of the season giving the December injury date. Can't believe Adams might be out over and entire year.....

[Sibelius Hindemith]

Bobby W has to be thrilled at the prospect of playing clean-up for the middle-of-the-D-line deficiencies this season. Should end up with around 200 tackles mostly 5+ yards into the defensive backfield.

[trharder]

Bobby W has to be thrilled at the prospect of playing clean-up for the middle-of-the-D-line deficiencies this season. Should end up with around 200 tackles mostly 5+ yards into the defensive backfield.

I see you are in mid-season form.

[Sibelius Hindemith]

Well, how do you think things will play out if they go into the season with Jarran Reed in the middle? Should have made re-signing Woods a priority before the free agency period began.

[D-train]

[Gametime]

Well, how do you think things will play out if they go into the season with Jarran Reed in the middle? Should have made re-signing Woods a priority before the free agency period began.

Yes. A bit confusing. Keep Woods or draft Carter. I’m still concerned about a 5’11 corner without top end speed at 6th overall.