This is a guest article by Curtis Allen…
The Seahawks are back. And they look as determined as they always have.
That is my initial impression from Day One of camp. After years of ‘fun’ training camps, with Pete Carroll throwing the ball around while music blasts at full volume, the vision Mike Macdonald has outlined for his team has come to full fruition. Gone are the carefree vibes-based camps (often followed by appalling defensive starts to the season).
In its place is a team that is tightly together, determined in their outlook to continue to chase edges.
Jaxon Smith-Nijgba was not just spouting standard-issue team-speak when he said this:
“It feels like a revamp, a new energy in the building, honestly. It feels good to put the past behind us and really focus on the future. On right now in front of us, that’s attacking training camp, and I can just tell by the vibe of the guys, talking to them in the locker room, we’re ready for that. We’re ready for the next thing. It’s awesome to be here now.”
More than ever, you can see it in the way players warm up, go through drills, and scrimmage. The team mirrors its coach — no nonsense and intently purposeful in all their motions.
Players moving crisply through drills. Punt coverage units streaking downfield on every punt to simulate a real game situation for the returner. Defenders with no-contact orders trying to break up scrimmage plays through positioning and determination.
The biggest takeaway from Day One of Training Camp: There is no Super Bowl hangover.
Macdonald and the team have talked about it all offseason, with their ‘running it forward’ mantra.
They are putting their money where their mouth is.
Day One Saw a Lot of Good News
The first day of camp is a revealing of sorts. Who is hurt, who is ready to go, and who is unhappy with their contract situation. All of these things tend to work themselves out in time. But knowing what the issues are is always of high interest to the fanbase.
With that in mind, there were a lot of very good things to report today.
Devon Witherspoon was present and a full participant in camp today. In hindsight, it was always going to be this way, given his attitude and participation in all of the offseason activities with vigor and intensity. But confirmation that his contract situation is not going to hold him back from being fully ready to be his best in 2026 is good news.
Witherspoon was his usual self today, going at full speed. He mainly manned the Left Cornerback spot outside (with Josh Jobe on the Right side) and made his counterparts work for every catch they got. He also worked in some of his trademark versatility, at one point sneaking up to the line and timing up a blitz to get into the backfield quickly.
I think Witherspoon and his agent have negotiated like he plays: competitive, aggressive and with full confidence. A deal should be forthcoming in the near future.
Other open questions were answered as well: AJ Barner, Tory Horton and Josh Jones all had different questions. None of them were put on the PUP list and practiced fully today, a clear indication of the precious depth this team has cultivated in recent years.
Horton took some punts in early drills and ran a full set of reps in passing drills and in scrimmages. He looked good but did not appear to be going at full thrust just yet. He likely will work up to it through camp. I would not be surprised if he is seen on the field sparingly in the preseason, just to give him a full camp and preseason to get up to speed. It is a situation worth monitoring.
Another to monitor: Dante Fowler was on the field but did not participate. He did not wear his helmet but had a baseball cap on. Mike Macdonald said it was merely precautionary and did not sound overly concerned by it.
The Rookies
Jadarian Price split reps with George Holani in drills and the scrimmage, a clear sign of what Mike Macdonald has alluded to multiple times this offseason.
He has the qualities we all saw when reviewing his Notre Dame highlights: a repeatable ability to shake loose and make things happen. He possesses a handsome package of twichiness, vision and physicality at the point of attack.
He had a couple of plays that had the crowd cheering heartily: On one play, he lined up next to Sam Darnold and leaked out to the flat as a safety valve. Darnold after viewing the field threw to Price. This was a designed drill to take the checkdown after looking at the options.
Darnold threw a bullet that was a little off target. Still, Price brought it in and turned and streaked up the sideline, outrunning the coverage closing in.
On another rep, Price got the ball and the play clearly called for him to run behind Cross and Zabel. But finding no room, he reversed course and found daylight on the right-side edge behind Abe Lucas and turned a loss of two into a gain of eight or nine. I think runs like that will be daily occurrences in camp.
Price and Darnold did have one miscommunication on a pass play. Darnold threw a back shoulder fade and Price did not turn to make the play and the ball fell to the ground incomplete. It is a work in progress.
Bud Clark and Julian Neal were being fed reps in bunches in scrimmage. Neal at the Right Corner spot and Clark at the safety spot Coby Bryant vacated this spring in Free Agency.
I liked what I saw but it is really hard to judge with the no-contact order in place.
Beau Stephens is still working with the third unit, with Anthony Bradford and Christian Haynes ahead of him at Right Guard. It is just one day, but given he has not had much – if any – time this summer with the top two units, it may be the plan is to groom him for a year to take Bradford’s spot if and when he leaves in Free Agency in 2027.
Camp Notes & Observations
— D’Anthony Bell worked with the first unit in the third Safety spot occupied by Nick Emmanwori, ahead of Rodney Thomas, Bud Clark and Maxen Hook.
— Bradford and Haynes’ physiques stand in contrast to the rest of the Offensive Line. They both have thick midsections. It is nothing out of the ordinary, just something I noticed when everyone was doing drills and lining up.
— You can see the benefits of Darnold working with Rashid Shaheed this offseason. I would say they have an easier, more fluid connection now. They were a bit out of synch at times on offense last year.
— Jacardia Wright and Emmanuel Wilson shared third-team reps. Wilson did not get much time that I saw with the top two units, with Holani and Price rotating for both. That said, Wilson had a sweet cutback on a wide zone run that left a defender grabbing air and letting him pick up a few more yards on run.
— Jalen Milroe had neither a ‘wow’ play nor a “oh that was ugly” play today. Progress I suppose. From my untrained eye he seems improved but still not fully settled with the idea of being an NFL quarterback. He seems to be fighting his mechanics a little in the early going. As if his brain is telling him the right things to do but his body wants to rely on what is comfortable, to lean on his talent.
— Josh Jones looked fine to me, and he got all the second team reps. Bobby Hart was mostly used on the third team.
A Salary Cap Prediction
Like I said above, I believe a Witherspoon contract is inevitable. Aside from that, I wanted to talk about something I believe is in the works.
The Seahawks currently have $25 million worth of cap room. They will mentally earmark about $10 million of that for the Practice Squad and to pay any players they need to use to fill roster spots for injured players.
They may have a deal in the works for Leonard Williams and that would very likely open up some more cap room for the team. They can pick up as much as $11.6 million with a Williams extension.
I think the Seahawks will have one more move in the works: to restructure Sam Darnold’s contract to gain some more cap room at some point before Week One. They can pick up $8.25 million by simply converting the maximum amount of salary available to a signing bonus.
Why? They have enough cap room to pay the bills with some money left over for another trade deadline acquisition.
I believe the Seahawks will want to keep all of their options as open as possible and doing a simple restructure of Darnold’s deal accomplishes that. They would then enter the season with approximately $33 million of cap room and be working with twelve 2027 draft picks. They would be loaded for bear and not inhibited in any way by cap room or draft capital if they see a move or moves they want to make.
Why do it before Week One? Several reasons.
First, the maximum amount to restructure is available. Every week that goes by, that drops by 1/18th. This keeps the maximum amount of powder dry for a trade.
Second, it is a procedural move to ensure cap compliance in the event of a trade. When a player is traded, the acquiring team needs to immediately have the full amount of his salary available in cap space. Yes, you can restructure a player’s contract to create enough room to fit him into your cap structure. But that has to happen after you have acquired him. At the outset you need enough cap room to cover his salary as is.
So, if the Seahawks were intent on acquiring a player with a healthy salary – cough – they will need more cap room than they currently have.
If no trade options materialize, they can just roll that cap into 2027 and the effect of pushing money onto future Darnold years is effectively neutralized.
