The roughly two-month offseason program the Seahawks completed Wednesday was a good start, rookie head coach Mike Macdonald said.
“I hope we build what we’re trying to build,” Macdonald said Wednesday after announcing he had canceled the final practice of the mandatory minicamp scheduled for Thursday, which marked the end of the offseason program. “I think we’re on our way.”
Macdonald recognized an obvious point: there is a long way to go.
“I’m really excited about where we are,” he said. “(But) I told the guys, ‘We haven’t stopped anyone yet, we haven’t scored a touchdown yet.’ It’s not the time for that, but I feel really good about the foundation we’ve been able to build.
As the summer begins, here are four lingering questions about the Seahawks.
How will Geno Smith adapt to Ryan Grubb’s offense?
To reiterate once again, Smith is the team’s undisputed starter at quarterback despite the March trade for Sam Howell.
The media has only seen five of the 11 OTAs, or minitraining camps, held by the team over the past month. In those, Smith was generally sharp, although there were times when the offense still seemed to be finding its way — like Wednesday’s final practice where there were five interceptions, two of which were thrown by Smith.
Smith’s history shows that he will do what it takes to learn and master the system.
When asked what he expected from Smith, Macdonald mentioned a more intangible goal.
“I think when things start to happen, he has to be the voice of balance in the (quarterback) room; and he does that,” Macdonald said. “But we are officially registered. He’s the tip of the spear of our operation, and he just helps them understand when to step on the gas and when not to. But he communicates these things. Certain situations have arisen today and we are going to go back and attack these types of agreements. I think he’s playing pretty well right now.
How will Dre’Mont Jones be used?
One of Macdonald’s most important tasks is getting the most out of Jones, a defensive lineman who signed a three-year contract worth just over $51 million in March 2023 – the largest contract the team has ever given to an outside free agent. Jones’ deal was restructured this week to create more than $7 million in cap space while pumping money into the future, which could put more pressure on Jones this year to prove he worth the final season of his deal.
Jones posted respectable numbers in 2023 – 4.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hits – but not quite what was expected given the investment the team made in him.
Jones played mostly inside to start the 2023 season and played more at the end following an injury to Uchenna Nwosu.
Macdonald said the team will continue to move him around to try to find the best spots for him, and he has indeed spent time working with the outside linebacker/edge group during minicamp as well as the tackles and tackles. defensive ends.
“I think his skill set allows him to try to play some small ball with him or set up another guy,” Macdonald said. “He can do a lot of things.”
Jones wasn’t there for voluntary OTAs, so there isn’t much information gleaned and exactly how his snaps will be distributed once the season ends remains unclear, but he’s likely to line up at multiple places on the line inside and outside. – and that could change some every week.
“We don’t know what it’s going to look like at the start of the season, or how it’s going to progress throughout the year,” Macdonald said.
Is the inside linebacker position really a concern?
Perhaps the biggest disappointment of OTA/minicamp was the expected absence of inside linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker as each recovered from injuries. Each signed one-year deals as free agents after the Seahawks decided not to re-sign the inside linebacker duo of Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks in 2023.
Both were expected to return to camp, and the team knew each would likely be in rehab mode at this point. Baker suffered knee and wrist injuries late last season with Miami, and Dodson missed a playoff game with Buffalo due to a shoulder injury in January, although he returned the week following (Macdonald didn’t say the shoulder was the reason Dodson was sidelined during OTA/minicamp). .
Both attended meetings and were able to get all that learning in, and we don’t think the team was too concerned about neither being on the field.
Still, it obviously would have been better if they had been. The Seahawks had Jon Rhattigan at middle linebacker and Patrick O’Connell at weakside with the No. 1 defense throughout the offseason program. The good news all looks promising and the Seahawks could have some decent depth on the interior.
How is the right side of the offensive line doing?
The Seahawks didn’t get as much information on that topic as they would have liked, as right tackle Abraham Lucas didn’t participate in on-field work while still rehabbing from neck surgery. knee in January. Right guard Anthony Bradford – who started 10 games there and appears to be atop the depth chart – has been limited by an ankle injury. This doesn’t seem serious since Bradford was on the field for the final practice of minicamp, although he didn’t appear to be doing much work in 11-on-11 play.
With Lucas out, veteran George Fant worked with the starting offense at right tackle backed by Raiqwon O’Neal.
The Seahawks hope Lucas returns in time for training camp in late July.
Macdonald said this week he didn’t have an updated timeline on Lucas, but added: “He’s working his butt off.” I can tell you that.”
The addition of Fant, who has 72 career starts, gives the Seahawks valuable insurance in case Lucas’ injury persists, and they could consider a rotation there to relieve Lucas. Either way, Fant or Lucas appears to be the right tackle.
The right guard point looks a little muddier.
The Seahawks drafted Christian Haynes from UConn in the third round to compete at right guard with Bradford. But with Bradford out, it wasn’t Haynes who usually worked with RG’s starting offense, it was second-year player McClendon Curtis. Haynes usually worked with the second unit.
This seems to indicate that for now, Haynes is third on the depth chart at right guard (he doesn’t appear to have gotten any snaps on the left side with veteran free agent Tremayne Anchrum Jr. usually backing up Laken there Tomlinson).
Macdonald said the team will get a better assessment of Haynes’ progress once the pads are in place during training camp.
“He’s doing good things,” Macdonald said. “I think Christian’s game is when the pads are up, when he’s moving people, getting to the next level, things like that. Right now, it’s hard to feel the offensive line pushing the pile, moving the line of scrimmage. Hopefully we’ll see that when the pads come into play.”