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Although the game ended in a tie, it felt like a win overall. Seattle’s primary backups all excelled against Las Vegas’ starters. The offensive line played well and the Seahawks had success at the line of scrimmage. Rookies shone and gave cause for optimism about the 2025 class. All-in-all, this was a good night.

You have to start by talking about Tory Horton. Reports from training camp suggest he’s been making plays pretty much every day. To come into a game and continue that form is a great sign. His touchdown featured a nifty move at the goal-line, he looks quick and sharp and made for the NFL.

I gave him a round 2/3 grade on my horizontal board accounting for injury. The fact he lasted until round five was surprising. The Seahawks got a steal provided he can continue building on this promising start. Right now, they look like they’ve played a blinder making this pick. Horton feels like he could quickly take on WR3 duties this season. Have they found the next Puca Nacua-value receiver?

Other rookies played well too. The whole starting offensive line played well in the first half and Grey Zabel appears as advertised. Elijah Arroyo showed little flashes of what he’s capable of, as did Nick Emmanwori. Then there’s Robbie Ouzts. It’s pretty difficult to get excited about a full back (apologies to all full backs). However, Ouztz was superb. His seal-block off the edge for George Holani’s touchdown was perfectly executed. He also showed off his pass-catching skills from a tight end background with his catch and run.

A modern day full back is so rare he needs to possess Kyle Juszczyk potential. It’s one pre-season game and Juszczyk is not a typical player for his position. That said, Ouzts looked good enough to think he can make things work in the NFL.

It was a decent first look at Klint Kubiak’s offense and some of the concepts he will use. The blocking schemes they used showed evidence of things coming together and again, while it’s only one game, this was encouraging for a team that has struggled up front in recent years.

Holani had a good pre-season a year ago and he shone again. The Seahawks need a RB3 and he made his case strongly. Jacardia Wright also ran with a purpose and looks interesting. It’ll be interesting to see this battle with Damien Martinez. Meanwhile, defensively Tyreke Smith and Mike Morris flashed enough to feel good about the depth they could potentially provide in the front seven.

I got a good chuckle at the Peacock being called ‘big #33’ in the game too.

I will re-watch it in more detail tonight but this felt like a good start to the 2025 season.

As for this:

(EDITORS NOTE: Image contains profanity.) Geno Smith #7 of the Las Vegas Raiders gives the finger to fans as he takes the field during an NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on August 07, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/7UrUigRlI2

— Steph Chambers (@StephChambers76) August 8, 2025

I think Pete Carroll’s face says it all. This section of Lumen Field is notorious for giving a not-so-welcoming greeting to opponents. Yet surely the role of a franchise quarterback, especially one as seasoned and as well compensated as Geno Smith, is to rise above it.

It’s not a great image and frankly, it’s another reason why I’m glad the Seahawks have moved on.

This week, Annabelle Hasselbeck joins the show for the first time. Please check it out, leave a like and subscribe to the channel!

ESPN’s peerless reporter Brady Henderson had some interesting things to say on Mitch Unfiltered this week. I wanted to run through a few of them but I’d recommend checking out the whole segment for details on training camp so far.

The Seahawks tried to sign Von Miller

It’s felt for a while that the Seahawks are one rusher short until Uchenna Nwosu returns. Miller, who is now 36-years-old, opted instead to join the Commanders. It speaks to the Seahawks seeking perhaps more than just a low-level Trevis Gipson-type trade from a year ago to boost their pass rush.

They might try to sign Jadeveon Clowney

Brady has mentioned this one a few times now. I wondered if bridges had been burned in Seattle following Clowney’s protracted contract stand-off in 2020 which pretty much derailed the Seahawks’ plans for that year for the pass rush. Also, Mike Macdonald worked with Clowney in Baltimore and yet so far hasn’t rushed to create a reunion. If Brady’s mentioning it though, there’s something in it. We’ll see if Clowney heads to the PNW for a second go-through. He had 9.5 sacks in Macdonald’s defense in 2023.

The Seahawks won’t trade for Micah Parsons

Brady was pretty emphatic here, noting Seattle’s focus on character and preference to avoid drama. Parsons is clearly an elite pass rusher and for that reason, the chances of Dallas actually trading him are remote. If he is moved, though, it appears you can all but rule out the Seahawks as a suitor.

Don’t rule out Terry McLaurin though

This wasn’t so much a confirmation of interest as it was a note to McLaurin’s character. He is very much the type of person they are looking for. He’s one of the more respected veteran players in the league. So in that sense, he’s a fit. Whether it equates to them actually negotiating a trade, however, is a different matter. I suspect he’ll end up re-signing in Washington and, as with Parsons, this is all just an aggressive negotiating tactic. We’ll see.

Zach Charbonnet is going to get plenty of work

He’s been a blog favourite for a long time, dating back to his initial breakout season at UCLA. Last season when he was able to start rather than act in relief for Ken Walker, Charbonnet showed what he can do. With Walker hurt again, Charbonnet is impressing the coaches according to Brady — so much so that Klint Kubiak singled him out during a recent interview on Seattle Sports. I’ve said for a while that letting Charbonnet be the lead back might be the best way to go. He lacks Walker’s extreme physical upside but you know what you’re going to get from him — toughness, explosion and reliability. Ideally they create a great one-two punch like the Lions but so far, that hasn’t materialised.

Tomorrow don’t forget to join us for the Seahawks Collective live stream at 5pm PT — and please subscribe to the channel!

Before getting into Curtis’ notes, a heads up that at 3pm PT Rob, Adam & Robbie will be doing a live stream:

This is an article by Curtis Allen…

Yesterday’s Fan Fest was another great exercise by the team.  Whereas last year’s event was more of an extended practice session, this year saw the team scrimmaging more and getting closer to the ‘Mock Game’ format that Pete Carroll employed in his last few seasons.

After warming up and doing some position drills, the team scrimmaged in set spots on the field.  Typically, the starters on both sides would run a few plays, then the backups and then the third unit.  Then they would run drills, such as a Red Zone drill with just the Quarterback, receivers and defensive backs.  Then toggle back to scrimmages at another area of the field.

It was a thorough exercise and followed a lengthy padded practices yesterday.  It appears the intent is to get the starters a healthy dose of work as things ramp up to more game action.  Mike Macdonald confirmed that we will not see the starters play against the Raiders in the first preseason game.

Macdonald mostly kept the starters together.  Darnold, Charbonnet, Smith-Njigba, Kupp, Barner, Arroyo and an offensive line of Jones-Zabel-Oluwatimi-Lucas were all present for just about every starter snap.  At Right Guard, Bradford started and got about 60% of the snaps then moved to the second unit as Jalen Sundell got 40% with the starters.  Tory Horton got a share of work with them and Robbie Ouzts came in for some plays.

The offense maintained its momentum from yesterday’s practice.  The Offensive Line is starting to look more complementary and they did not allow the very talented Defensive Line to dictate the line of scrimmage.  This was not a dominating performance by any means – at times they struggled to establish the run – but far closer to the ‘adequate/not terrible’ goal most of us had set in our minds for this upcoming season.

Like yesterday, this was a day where both sides had fantastic plays but the offense came out ahead.  Tight coverage by Devon Witherspoon, Riq Woolen and Nick Emmanwori yielded some errant throws and batted balls.  But Darnold also had some great precision throws for completions that were just better than the defensive backs’ efforts.

The run game was very active and similarly an even match with a slight favor to the offense.  Zach Charbonnet had several impressive runs.  And not necessarily big gains but he demonstrated a knowledge of the system and what is developing in front of him.  On one nice run he patiently waited for Grey Zabel to clear his path and then darted through the hole.  Another, Ouzts lined up and was the lead blocker who pretty well hammered Jamie Sheriff and cleared the way.

The tackles looked very good.  Josh Jones and Abe Lucas were able pass protectors and more than willing in the running game.  Mike Jerrell took most of the reps at Left Tackle with the backups and looked good as well.

That is not to say the Defensive Line had nothing to say about the situation.  More than once, Charbonnet had the ball handed to him and had nowhere to go as they had gotten through and disrupted the offense’s intentions.  Demarcus Lawrence was playing like we envisioned – bringing some toughness to the edge position and being a factor in the running game.  He regularly either got into the backfield or set the edge and forced the runner inside where teammates were waiting to tackle him.  The offense tried a jet sweep and Lawrence immediately sniffed it out and made the play for no gain.

On the whole, I would say the offense is well ahead of where they were at this point last year.  Not only are most of the position battles on the Offensive Line coming into focus – I would say Oluwatimi has the center job mostly secured and Bradford is the lead horse at Right Guard with Sundell making a push – the smoothness and chemistry with which the whole unit operates is much more pronounced.

Let’s talk a little about the running game.  Ever since Klint Kubiak and his assistants were brought in, we have been hearing and talking quite a bit about getting back to the running game.

I wanted to point out that this offense in 2024 had a very pass-centric attack.  Their 37/63 run/pass split was one of the NFL’s most extremely unbalanced offenses.  That may lead us to think that the offensive needle is going to shift wildly back the other way, with the running game taking the brunt of play calls.

That is not so.  Klint Kubiak’s offenses have been right about the middle of the league in terms of run/pass splits.  Last year in New Orleans, they had a 43/57 split.  In 2021 in Minnesota they had a 41/59.

They regularly passed the ball, it was just far more balanced and the defense was able to rest.

There are going to be games where they pound the rock.  But understand, these elements of the offense are going to work together and Kubiak will have no issue game planning for Sam Darnold to have a bigger role throwing the ball to his talented group of receivers as he sees the need.

Another feature of this offense that could be a great under-the-radar asset is they do not give the ball away easily.  The Saints were tied for 11th in the NFL in giveaways last year with rookies Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener playing half the season at Quarterback.  In Minnesota with Kirk Cousins running the offense, they were the #1 in team in the NFL with fewest giveaways.

Combine a balanced offense that does not cough up the ball with a defense with Top-five potential and the Seahawks are going to be one tough out week after week.

Ken Walker was sidelined yesterday and today with what Mike Macdonald described as foot soreness.  Just some maintenance to keep him from further injuring himself.  This once again throws into sharp relief the idea that Walker struggles to stay healthy.  I think I am ready to endorse the idea that Rob has expressed that Charbonnet should be the starter and Walker should be the guy who can come in and break things open after Charbonnet tenderizes the defense a bit with some tough running.

Other Notes

— Jalen Milroe probably had his best day.  He did not have a ‘catastrophically bad’ play in this session.  He threw behind the receiver on a Red Zone crosser, and floated a pass to Ouzts in the flat that set him up for a good smack when he should have put more zip on the ball.  But that’s about it.  He had several gorgeous deep throws, finding Tyrone Broden often.  He also found Plumlee on a deep post route that fell right into his waiting hands.  They did let him run the ball on some designed plays, and watching him run is something to behold.

— It looks like Tory Horton will be involved in the return game.  He took punts and kickoffs again in practice.  With his impressive performances in camp this week, it feels like he has a spot reserved for him if he keeps his effort up.  I could see him being a primary return man in his rookie year and having some snaps with the offense to keep the defense guessing.

— Before we get too excited about the offense, remember that this defense has been running some basic schemes.  There are some new wrinkles showing up – one snap saw Leonard Williams on the left edge next to Jarran Reed, and Woolen and Witherspoon continued to swap sides – but Mike Macdonald and Aden Durde have yet to go full mad scientist and unleash some crazy combinations on the offense.  Success at this moment in time is a function of the offense getting in rhythm and gelling.  They will most certainly have struggles at times running the ball and picking up game-level blitzes, stunts and the like.  For me, their progress to this point is earning my patience.

— Jacardia Wright showed some burst and speed with the third string offense with some good runs today.  He looked like a player they might think about adding to the Practice Squad.

— AJ Barner has been a low-key effective member of the offense this offseason.  In a Red Zone drill he had Emmanwori draped over him and caught the ball.  They hand fought as he came down to get his feet in bounds and Barner won that play by hanging onto the ball and ripping through Emmanwori’s attempts to knock it out of his hands.

— Mike Macdonald noted that Christian Haynes has a pectoral injury, which is why he did not get any scrimmage reps yesterday and today.  Talk about an injury coming at the worst possible time.  Haynes had been trying to get a foothold in either the Center or Right Guard position.  That said, if they feel comfortable with him at center, he might have secured a roster spot.  If Jalen Sundell wins the Right Guard job, there is that chance that both Oluwatimi and Sundell will get hurt in a game.  So, they may lean towards Haynes as valuable depth.

This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…

Today was a high-octane practice day for the Seahawks.  Mike Macdonald had the team do their full drill work and then had an extended period of scrimmaging.  It was the longest practice we have seen this season and it felt like a page had been turned.  Drills and short bursts of scrimmages are fine, but today it was time for something closer to live game work.

Both the offense and defense produced some great fireworks.

On defense, Nick Emmanwori and Devon Witherspoon picked off Sam Darnold. Witherspoon’s was the result of great technical work in the end zone while tracking the ball.  Emmanwori’s came on a deep throw to Elijah Arroyo that both players managed to get a hand on but Emmanwori kept his balance while Arroyo fell.

But overall, this contest was not equal.  Not today.

The Offense Found a New Gear

While individual defenders like Witherspoon and Emmanwori had their moments, the offense won the day.  It was refreshing to see.  It felt like a dam had broken.  That all that work the staff had put in this offseason really started to pay off.  All those moments of coaches stopping drills and reps to re-teach the fundamentals finally hit that point where technique was instinctual and not thought out.

It started with Darnold.  Yes, he threw two interceptions.  It could be argued that neither were mistakes — just that the defenders made a better play.

He looked the most in-synch, confident and commanding that I have seen so far in camp.  He only had a couple of plays where he hesitated and was indecisive.  The rest was calm, crisp and found that Zen-like balance between taking shots and settling for what the defense gave him.

Dump offs, deep slants and out routes were all handled with precision.  Darnold attacked the middle of the field mercilessly.  All three Quarterbacks did actually but Darnold had the best handle on his game today.

There was never a Quarterback controversy this offseason.  But it should be said, Darnold put even more distance between himself and Drew Lock and Jalen Milroe today.

Why?

Two reasons.  First, the Seahawks dove deeper into the playback.  We were treated to some formations and nuances we had not seen yet in camp.  They ran some jet sweep type plays that required precision timing and flawless execution.  And Darnold and the offense handled them so well, even this great defense at times was struggling to locate the ball before the runner hit the edges.

Another example – they had Zach Charbonnet and Robbie Ouzts in a power formation with Ouzts lining up just to Darnold’s right to point the way for Charbonnet.  Darnold play actioned to Charbonnet to his right, quickly reversed course and found Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the flat to his left.

Another design they ran got Tyrice Knight isolated on Cooper Kupp and Kupp got behind him. Darnold dropped a pass in perfectly and Kupp ran for days.

At one point Smith-Njigba had gotten behind Riq Woolen and Darnold made a perfect throw.  From the angle I was watching at, I could see Darnold could not clearly track Smith-Njigba because Woolen was blocking his sightline.  And yet he dropped the ball right into the bucket, trusting his receiver to be there and he was.  It was poetry in motion.

The second reason is consistency.  After mixing and matching the Offensive Line all mad scientist-like in this camp, the top unit had the same five for almost the entire session today:  Josh Jones, Grey Zabel, Olu Oluwatimi, Anthony Bradford and Abe Lucas.

This was easily the line’s best day.  Darnold still had to make quick decisions but there was no ‘jailbreak’ on a majority of the reps like there has been in the past.  Boye Mafe had a relatively quiet session going against Lucas and even Jones impressed when asked to block Derick Hall among others.

On one rep, Darnold had time to let Barner get deeper into his seam route and hit him right in stride.  Just a dagger in the middle of that talented defense.  He was distributing the ball all over the field.  Kupp, Smith-Njigba and Arroyo all had routes and catches that were crisp and athletic.

Thus far in camp, we had seen glimpses and pieces of this offense.  In drills and light scrimmages without pads or any real physical play, you could only take small bits and piece them together to get an unfinished picture of what this offense truly looks like.  Because they kept the unit together and gave them time to work out a fuller playbook, we got a much better sense of how this offense is going to function in the regular season.

Rhythm, confidence and consistency are going to be key words in this offense all year.  When they have it, they will complement the defense splendidly.

There was one player who had not played much with the top unit who got some opportunities to do that today.  He made the most of it.

Tory Horton’s Big Day

Nobody boosted their stock more than Tory Horton today.  He worked with the top offense and the backup offense and showed off his skills.

Just look at this Paul Richardson-like catch over Josh Jobe in the corner of the end zone.

The angle of the video does not do it justice.  I hope the Seahawks have a couple more shots they provide.  Horton tracked the ball, kept Jobe away from his body and then elevated and reached behind Jobe an outstanding catch.  All while getting his feet in bounds.

It was a throw you know is dead before the ball even gets there.  You are already thinking ‘nice thought, Jobe defended it well and it’ll bounce off his back and let’s get set up for the next play.’  And then Horton goes and does that.

Earlier in practice, Drew Lock hit Horton for another touchdown on a deep slant route that was at least 35 yards.

Horton’s day mirrored the offense’s:  We’d seen hints and glimpses, but today is the day things took a big step forward.

In a tough battle for the #5 (and maybe #6) Wide Receiver spot, Horton made a claim today.

Other Notes

— Kenneth Walker was there but did not practice.  We do not know what the reason.

— Christian Haynes did not have any reps that I saw.  None.  He dressed, warmed up and did some drills and then stood on the sideline with his Guardian cap helmet on just about the whole day.  The beat reporters wrote that he had a rough day at center yesterday.

— Milroe is fascinating to watch.  He had a couple of really solid, NFL-starting-Quarterback-grade throws.  The very next rep he had an awful interception.  Horrible.  He was scanning the field and decided to dump the ball off.  But he jumped and threw, causing him to overthrow his target right into the arms of a defender.  It was a jaw-droppingly poor decision.  Later he hit Tyrone Broden with a gorgeous, arching beauty for a long touchdown.  Then he airmailed a ball on a deep slant with poor technique.  He then ended the practice day with a 50-yard bomb from flat feet in a busy pocket to Steven Sims in the end zone.

— When Milroe gets in space, or lets his talent take over on a deep throw, it is a sight to behold.  But standing in the pocket, throwing short passes with precision, keeping his feet under him and making good decisions – in other words, 75% of a Quarterback’s NFL workload – are still challenges.  So, while it is a blast to watch the pyrotechnic plays, he still has a lot of work in front of him to develop.

— Ernest Jones was back today which was great to see.  But still no Shaquille Griffin yet.

— Charles Cross was on the field with his hand wrapped up.

— It is fair to wonder if the team has turned a corner and made some decisions on the Offensive Line, what with Olu and Bradford getting the bulk of the reps today with the ones. Football Fest will reveal more to us.  I will be there and have a write up on it shortly afterwards.

Yesterday it was Terry McLaurin. Today it’s Micah Parsons.

It’s not often a 26-year-old superstar in the prime of his career asks for a trade. Let alone from a team like the Dallas Cowboys. Whatever you think of the franchise, they are one of the big names in world sport.

Yet here we are. A bungled, hapless approach to contract talks has led to Parsons calling for a change of scenery.

So what are the chances of the Seahawks trading for him?

Firstly, let’s just acknowledge that 30 other teams would also be interested in this move. Parsons is a fit everywhere. He has 52.5 sacks in four years. He’s a three-time All-Pro. He has nine forced fumbles. He had a 90.0 grade per PFF last season. He can win you games as a pass rusher. His next contract will re-set the market and nobody will flinch. He is that good.

If you want to supercharge a rebuild, he’s a fit. If you want to go from good-to-great, he’s a fit. If you’re a contender who wants to become even better, he’s a fit.

Everyone will want him.

If the Cowboys start listening to offers they might soon have a change of heart and throw money at their main man. They are likely to find out very quickly just how valuable an asset they possess.

Parsons might’ve said goodbye prematurely on Twitter but ultimately he has no real power to force anything here. The Cowboys are unlikely to trade him. It’d be a ludicrous decision.

Any buyer is going to have to give up a ton to convince Dallas to move on. You could be looking at three first rounders. Players like this don’t get traded. Then you’d have to give him more than TJ Watt’s $41m a year.

So while Parsons would be the ideal finishing touch for Seattle’s defense and potentially put up monster numbers in Mike Macdonald’s scheme, the chances of it actually happening appear remote.

Personally I’d be in favour of a big splash. This is the kind of player who can push the Seahawks over the top. He can be their Nick Bosa or Aaron Donald — a legit X-factor defender capable of helping carry a team to the Super Bowl. Bosa and Donald have appeared in Super Bowls with Jimmy Garoppolo, Brock Purdy, Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford at quarterback. It’s a great review of their influence on games.

The NFC is wide open and there to be won.

I wouldn’t complain if John Schneider went all-in. This isn’t a Jamal Adams trade. This is far more logical for such an impactful player at a vital position.

However, the price-tag in a trade coupled with the salary and the likely cash needed to secure his immediate signature just feels so challenging.

He has relationships in Seattle. Aden Durde coached him in Dallas and there’s mutual respect between the two. Durde hailed Parsons “extremely unique” qualities during his time in Dallas. Equally, Parsons has praised Durde — as did DeMarcus Lawrence prior to his decision to move to the Pacific Northwest.

There was a little bit of drama recently when Parsons reacted badly to an interview Lawrence gave Brian Nemhauser about his decision to leave Dallas. Parsons’ decision now might actually help build bridges and Lawrence can give a veteran “I told you so” look in his former team mates’ direction.

It’s also easy to imagine Parsons being intrigued with Macdonald as a Head Coach and what he could do for his career. The Seahawks have legit cap-space and can take on a big contract if they choose.

It would be a huge statement of intent and possibly push Seattle into Super Bowl contention. I just don’t see Jerry Jones letting Parsons go, despite today’s news of a trade request. This probably drags out all summer, making headlines just like Jerry prefers, and eventually they agree on a contract that wrecks the market for pass rushers.

If he is made available the Seahawks should be ready to pounce — to upgrade their own team and make sure he doesn’t end up in San Francisco or LA.

It’s been revealed that Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin has requested a trade. He’s been seeking a pay-rise and long-term security, with his current three-year, $68.2m deal due to expire after this season.

His base salary for 2025 is $15.5m so he’s easily affordable in that regard. It’s the future money that will prove costly. He will not unreasonably seek to get into the +$30m a year range.

Would it make sense for the Seahawks to show interest?

Firstly, the case for making a deal. McLaurin is an A+ character player and a well established captain and leader. He is one of the most respected players in the NFL. Adding him to any locker room would be a huge boost.

Even when the Commanders were struggling at quarterback he produced results. He has five straight +1000 yard seasons. The only time he didn’t reach 1000 yards was as a rookie — and he still achieved 919 with seven touchdowns. This has been with the likes of Sam Howell, Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz throwing him the ball.

Once Jayden Daniels arrived in Washington he registered 13 touchdowns in 2024.

He’s also durable. McLaurin hasn’t missed a game since 2020.

It does feel like the Seahawks are a receiver short on their roster. It’s not a major issue. Smith-Njigba is a fantastic talent. Cooper Kupp should be able to provide a nice complement and Elijah Arroyo could be destined to have a big impact as a rookie. Nevertheless, an extra weapon would be useful.

In particular, they need a deep threat. McLaurin actually received a 99.9 grade for deep shots per PFF last season. Three players achieved that mark with the other two being DK Metcalf and George Pickens. Only Ja’Marr Chase and Rashod Bateman scored more touchdowns of +20 yards (they had six, McLaurin had five). His 12 receptions of +20 yards ranked sixth in the NFL. His average depth of target ranked 14th.

You don’t typically think of ‘burner’ when you consider McLaurin but those numbers are interesting. Let’s also not forget he ran a 4.35 at his combine.

I’ve always liked McLaurin, giving him a first round grade in 2019. It was shocking that he lasted to round three, particularly after an outstanding Senior Bowl. He could be a plug-in-and-produce player who hits the ground running.

Now let’s consider some of the reasons it might not be attractive.

He turns 30 in September so this wouldn’t be a long-term investment. You’d have to do a deal similar to the three-year arrangement he had in Washington. It would likely cost you +$30m a year. The Seahawks have plenty of cap space but can they justify spending that much on an outsider at his age? Especially given he’ll want paying now (something the Seahawks have preferred not to do since Percy Harvin) at a time when others might be thinking they deserve to be prioritised.

Does the Klint Kubiak system call for a big splash at receiver? I’m not sure it does — and trading for McLaurin might block the path for some of the younger players they’ve got on the roster currently.

I don’t think it’d create an issue contractually with Smith-Njigba. Due to the fifth-year option, he likely won’t be getting a new deal potentially until 2027 (with a bigger cap-hit not kicking in until 2028). Therefore, you wouldn’t be paying big money to two receivers.

The cost of a trade could be a problem though. Why would Washington send off one of their better players to another team in the NFC? The Seahawks would likely not go any higher than a second rounder given what they received for Metcalf from the Steelers. Would that get it done?

My conclusion is I would seriously consider trading for McLaurin. He can be a deep threat, he’s one of the most mature and professional players in the NFL and he’s been durable in his career. He’s older but so is Leonard Williams and that’s worked out well. They can handle the cap-cost and they need another receiver who can produce results in 2025. I’m just not convinced how easy it’ll be to negotiate a trade with Washington.

We’ll be doing a live stream at 2:45pm PT reacting to today’s news…

The Seahawks have handled a challenging off-season well. The reward for GM John Schneider is a new contract.

It makes sense for a number of reasons.

Now, both Schneider and Head Coach Mike Macdonald have contracts until at least 2030. There was little reason not to align both deals and have a long-term plan in place for the two most important football people in the franchise.

It was not a simple thing to move on from the Pete Carroll era, considering how ingrained Carroll was within the Seahawks. His influence was everywhere. When he departed there was a lot of emotion. It was truly the end of an era.

We’ve seen across different sports how this can impact teams in a negative way when such a towering figure leaves. It’s not easy to turn the page, transform things and create a new identity. The Seahawks under Schneider and Macdonald have managed that in 12 months, with the GM undoubtedly playing a leading role alongside his inexperienced Head Coach.

The fact so many players attended OTA’s and mini-camp speaks to the buy-in. There’s no drama at training camp either. Nobody creating any distractions. Everything appears to be functioning as required. It doesn’t guarantee success in 2025 and beyond but the Seahawks appear well placed to have a productive season within an open NFC.

The work during the off-season, as already noted, was also emphatic. There could’ve easily been histrionics, drama and long-running distractions. We’ve seen it in Seattle in recent years with high profile players — negotiations through the media, jockeying for position on new contracts, unrest.

Geno Smith was traded before there was ever really any hint of public drama. The deal was announced without any speculation or fanfare. The Seahawks simply made a decision and moved on. Then, unlike the Giants and Steelers who were also in the quarterback market, they swiftly found a replacement. They signed Sam Darnold to a cheaper contract with less of a long-term commitment, acquiring a third-round pick in the process which turned out to be Jalen Milroe.

Some people prefer Smith to Darnold as a player and that’s not a controversial view at all. Personally I think there’s not much between the two, even though they’re different types of quarterback. There’s also a character difference the Seahawks clearly thought mattered, as noted by ESPN’s Brady Henderson. To make the switch and get the value they did is worth celebrating.

Then there’s DK Metcalf. It would’ve been easy to play hardball, insist on a specific trade compensation and have a long drawn-out saga (see: Bengals and Trey Hendrickson). Instead the Seahawks put the feelers out, discovered what the market was and accepted the situation. They got the best deal they could and drew a line under it all.

Their two drafts post-Carroll have been understandable and for me impressive. They’ve used two first round picks on an interior defensive and offensive lineman. They’ve done a good job acquiring young talent with upside. ESPN this week published a piece saying the Seahawks have the second most talent to Houston when it comes to players under the age of 25.

He’s acquired talent on the veteran market well. Leonard Williams was virtually unstoppable at the end of last season while Ernest Jones had an inspirational impact in the middle of the defense. Julian Love has become a mainstay and Jarran Reed’s return has been productive.

Schneider’s choice of Head Coach appears inspired. We can already see the work Macdonald has done with the defense and I think there’s cause for optimism about the offensive staff hired this year.

No GM is perfect. Howie Roseman for example selected Jalen Reagor one pick before Justin Jefferson. Schneider doesn’t get everything right but nobody does.

Despite some suggestions to the contrary, I never got the sense Schneider was ‘under pressure’ post-Carroll. Seattle’s ownership group made their decision and the GM, having appointed Carroll’s replacement, needed time to work on the new direction.

There’s little reason for scepticism about the team in 2025 provided they avoid misfortune with injuries. The NFC West is an open division. The Seahawks won 10 games a year ago playing with an often malfunctioning offense. They could take a shot at possessing the #1 defense this year. With the right guidance, multiple players will be aiming for a breakout season.

The Seahawks made the right call extending Schneider’s deal. They have long-term security and they know who the key decision maker is. Let’s see if the GM and Head Coach can bring another Championship to Seattle in the coming years.

Before I get into Curtis’ notes from the 28th July, remember to check out the new show tonight at 5pm (and subscribe to the ‘Seahawks Collective’ channel):

This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…

The first day of training camp in pads lived up to the billing.  The players seemed anxious to get into some real, physical football.  The practices were spirited and competitive, but not all that chippy.

By all accounts, the defense won the day.  So many elements of their play were at the forefront.  Nick Emmanwori had a fantastic body-contorting interception and returned it for a touchdown.  He lined up on the edge, looking like a blitzer, then dropped into coverage undetected and took advantage of a poor throw by Jalen Milroe.  Riq Woolen picked off Sam Darnold.  Interior linemen like Quinton Bohanna and Jarran Reed got their hands up and batted passes down.  And once again, the Defensive Line proved too much for the Offensive Line when the play called for the Quarterback to scan the field and progress through reads.

It was not all bad on offense though.  In fact, there were some encouraging signs.

Running Game Coming into Focus

With the pads on and more physical play permitted, you can see more clearly how the running game is going to take shape.

The offense had several successful runs in the wide zone scheme.  They ran around the edge and between the tackles and kept the defense guessing a bit about where they were going next.  A delayed handoff with the runner taking the ball into the middle of the field yielded good yardage several times.

Ken Walker and Zach Charbonnet took turns with the top offense.  While it was not as if they were running all over the defense, they definitely had moments where the Offensive Line made room for them, moving bodies inside or sealing the edge for a sideline run.  Damien Martinez looked better with the pads on – no shock there.  He seems intent on helping fill the gap left by Kenny McIntosh’s unfortunate injury.

You should know that Mike Macdonald does not agree with me.  Twice in his press conference he mentioned that the offense did not run the ball very well today.

Judging the running game in camp is tricky.  Defenders are not fully allowed to tackle or bring runners to the ground, so runners can spin out of ‘tackles’ and gain more yards than they would have in live game action.

However, the concepts are coming together.  You can see what they are trying to do, and with a trio of talented runners and a tight end group that is versatile, they can disguise their intentions and force defenses to give them room to work.

I think that part of the offense is further along than at this point last year.

The Quarterbacks

Once again the performances today reflected the depth chart.  Sam Darnold is clearly the starter, Drew Lock is a capable backup that can win you a couple of games and Jalen Milroe is a talented work in progress.

Darnold had a little more of a challenge today with both the pass rush collapsing the pocket and the backfield providing tight coverage.  In a Red Zone drill without a pass rush — Darnold hesitated, trying to find a target.  He drifted a bit then drilled a pass to Ken Walker in tight quarters for a score.

The offense ran a two-minute drill with quick passes and a couple of the delayed handoffs with success.  The pass rush could not get home and the offense hurried to the line to keep them off balance.  Darnold ran it extremely well.

Drew Lock was similar, but minus about 10 percent.  He is still adjusting to finding his reads and making quick decisions.  When his first option is open, he is very effective.  When he has to scan the field, he can take too much time to make a decision.  That said, he also ran the two-minute drill well and earned a field goal.  He had the throw of the day, a pinpoint laser down the seam that reminded me of this gem by Geno Smith last year.

Jalen Milroe was better today than Saturday.  He had some good and bad throws in drills without the full defense.  He had two throws that were far better than the highlight throw from Saturday:  one was a throw where he drifted to his right, scanning with this head up and threw a beauty downfield to Foster Montorie tracking his motion towards the sideline.  The Josh Allen’s and Lamar Jackson’s make that throw in their sleep, probably about 4-5 times per game.  Milroe is capable of it, we need to see it and he needs to know he can make it.

He followed that gem with a wobbly duck on the next play.

The second great throw came in a full scrimmage.  Milroe threw an absolute bullet on a quick slant.  The defender was glued to the receiver and even got a finger on the ball, but it had such velocity he could not change the trajectory and it continued to the receiver for another perfect play.  He will need to throw that pass a few times a game if he is to become an effective starting Quarterback.

He later threw that pick-six to Emmanwori.  It was a drill with the Seahawks backed up on their own two-yard line.  The offense needs a few yards of breathing room far more than they need a long gainer.  Milroe was in his own end zone, feeling the pressure and threw a pass without much conviction behind Brady Russell.  It should have fluttered helplessly to the ground but Emmanwori made a fantastic play on the ball.

Now it is just making those routine throws repeatable and those poor ones a rarity.

I should also note:  We have yet to see any designed Milroe runs or special gadget plays.  The Seahawks are wise to keep them under wraps and help him stay focused on his development.

And again:  Kudos to Milroe for taking reps on the sideline when he is not scrimmaging.

Other Notes

— The Offensive Line Experiment continues.  Today, the Seahawks used even more different combinations in the first and second units.  The only constants so far have been Charles Cross at Left Tackle and Grey Zabel at Left Guard.  They have taken every snap with the first unit.  Force me to guess the Week One line and I’d say Cross, Zabel, Oluwatimi, Sundell and Lucas.

— This is reminding me of last year when the Seahawks tried to work with Oluwatimi and Nick Harris well into Training Camp and then brought in Connor Williams in August and moved on from Harris.

— Michael Jerrell has taken a lot of snaps at Left Tackle with the second unit and looks serviceable there.

— I think Eric Saubert is close to a lock for the roster at this point.  He will be a great Special Teams player and has experience as a pure blocking Tight End.  Elijah Arroyo takes Noah Fant’s spot as a Tight End who can stretch the field and AJ Barner appears to be ready to be a versatile weapon who can help the Seahawks disguise their offensive intentions.  Marshall Lang has made some nice catches but it appears Brady Russell is the choice if they want to keep four Tight Ends.

— They will keep four Tight Ends.  Last year, only one NFL team had two tight ends who each played more than 60% of the offensive snaps:  The New Orleans Saints.  Tight Ends are in Klint Kubiak’s offensive DNA.

— Mike Morris busted through the line for a safety in the drill where the offense had the ball on the two-yard line.  Mike Macdonald praised his play after, and said they have a specific role for him.  He does need to keep working but he may yet have a shot to make the final roster.

This is a guest article by Curtis Allen covering training camp on the 26th July

The last camp practice before the pads come on and the hitting becomes real was a spirited one.  As with most training camp days there were things to like, things to be concerned about and open questions that only time will settle.

The Quarterbacks

There is no shortage of arm talent on the roster.  All three quarterbacks had impressive moments today.

One thing to note from my untrained eye:  Watching their throws in warmups and in scrimmages it does appear that all three put a similar arc on the ball when they throw.  That can be a nice asset if the team ever needs to swap out quarterbacks during a game.  Receivers may not have as big an adjustment to make.

They delivered performances today that unfolded exactly as their positions on the depth chart.

Sam Darnold had an impressive day.  How he speaks on the podium, with a calm confidence and clarity of purpose?  That is how he practices.

He was as expected in warmups and drills — crisply distributing the ball to his receivers and keeping them in-sync.  You can see the chemistry building in real time with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp and the Tight Ends.

The Red Zone drills were a highlight as Darnold was decisive and made connections often.  The Seahawks had tremendous struggles in that critical part of the field last season, so it is good to see some progress there.

However, those drills are receivers vs defensive backs only.  No pass rush.  Darnold really differentiated himself later in the session with 11-on-11 scrimmages.  He had several accurate throws that evaded the pass rush.  When called on to execute a quick action, he was masterful.  Take the snap under center, play-action to the back, plant his foot in the ground and throw a hard slant.  Two of his incompletions in this session were drops by Jake Bobo and Smith-Njigba.  They were on slants and they were absolutely on the money.

Drew Lock had a similar performance although slightly less effective.  He seems to be showing some of his experience in other systems.  He had several throws that highlighted his arm strength and accuracy, and was very good in the Red Zone drills as well.  Occasionally, he hesitated in the pocket and waited a bit to make his throws.

This became more of an issue in the full scrimmage.  With the Offensive Line still a work in progress, Lock had very little time to scan the field.  When he was executing his first read quickly or pivoting to his checkdown he was effective.  If he hesitated he was in trouble.   If the running game is working as we hope, Lock can come in for a stretch and provide effective Quarterback play with an adjusted game plan.

Jalen Milroe is still an exceptionally talented, unpolished project.  He had a couple of throws that had the crowd oohing and aahing, including a 35-40 yard beauty to Smith-Njigba in the end zone in drills that he could not quite come down with in-bounds.

The arm talent is absolutely there.  The rest of the package still needs developing.

In the scrimmage, Milroe had a simpler playbook than the other two Quarterbacks (they called a run to start of his series each time) and in the passing game struggled to get his reads and progressions worked through before the pass rush closed in.  More than once, he made poor, desperate throws to try to make something happen from the pocket.

Here is what I loved about Milroe though – as his offense rotated to the sideline, instead of standing there watching the other offenses work (he can watch the video later), he got right back to throwing the ball on the side.  Not a moment of practice time wasted.  Little things like that demonstrate the work ethic that Mike Macdonald has talked about.

Other Notes

— The team is using all kinds of interesting combinations along the Offensive Line in practice.  John Benton is working hard in the drills to keep his players focused on fundamentals.  I saw him stop drills more than once and give instruction.  He also has drills with two players lined up next to each other.  Seeing how they mesh together and build chemistry.

— When will the Seahawks settle on their starting Offensive Line?  Mike Macdonald wants it locked sooner rather than later.  My guess would be we will know much more when the pads come on this Monday.  That is the true test there.

— The Tight End group is looking very promising.  Elijah Arroyo today looked especially good.  He spent a bunch of time with the starting offense and had some athletic catches.  It would seem they feel very comfortable without Noah Fant.  It also appears that trying to convert Brady Russell to a Fullback is over.  He worked with the Tight Ends and had several good catches in the Red Zone drills.

— Robbie Ouzts had great lead blocks on a couple of scrimmage runs.

— The defense looks fantastic.  Several players made impact plays in scrimmage.  Boye Mafe easily got around Charles Cross and chased Darnold until he threw the ball away.  Julian Love exploded through the line on a running play and blew it up for a loss.  The Offensive Line was regularly overwhelmed and if the Quarterback did not have the ball out in 2.5 seconds, he was in trouble.

— Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon regularly traded spots on each side of the defense.  Seeing Woolen at Left Cornerback after his entire career on the Right side takes some getting used to.

— Steven Sims took every kick return rep with explosion and purpose.  He is out to win a job.

Rob, Robbie & Adam did a live stream discussing a variety of Seahawks topics today. You can watch it below: