RENTON – Training camp officially ended for the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday.
But coach Pete Carroll would have liked a little more time.
“Everything we do is important,” he said. “We haven’t had many breaks. We haven’t had many opportunities to do anything other than the stuff that we’ve done, and our coaching staff feels good about it. But we feel rushed. We do feel rushed. It’s what it is.”
One of the reasons Carroll wants to push the clock back is to give offensive tackle Russell Okung more time to heal.
However, a week after suffering what appeared to be another serious left-ankle injury, the second-year player was back on the field in helmet and cleats working through individual drills with his fellow linemen.
Okung gingerly made his way through the early portion of the workout, including pass drops and some zone steps in the run game, but he did not participate in the team portion of practice.
He talked briefly with reporters about the injury.
“(I hope to get back) as soon as possible,” Okung said. “It’s coming around a lot faster than I thought it (would), so I’m just waiting around.”
Carroll said Okung is still a couple of weeks away from being ready and will not play on Saturday against Minnesota.
“We know that he’s maybe a week away, or two weeks away at the most,” Carroll said. “He’s able to do walk-through stuff. And he’s staying up with all the installations and the advances. So it feels good.”
However, Carroll would not fully commit to the expectation that Okung would be ready for Seattle’s regular-season opener at San Francisco on Sept. 11.
“We think he has a real good chance to do that, but I don’t know that,” Carroll said. “I won’t know until he gets back out. But he’s way ahead of the schedules that we have seen him on before. And that’s a great sign, so all the indications are he’ll have a chance to do that.”
While Okung will watch from the sideline Saturday, another cog in the defense will see his first action. Defensive end Red Bryant was a full participant in practice, and back to his old antics.
Bryant brought tight end Dominique Byrd to the ground about 10 yards down the field in the flat in a zone-blitz drop. That would have been OK if it was a live tackling drill – but it wasn’t. Players were in shorts and shells on Thursday.
Minutes earlier Bryant clubbed third-string quarterback Josh Portis in the back in an attempt to knock the ball out of his hands while on a pass rush. Bryant later patted Portis on the back as a way of apologizing.
“You see some things get shut down in the middle a little more when he’s in there,” Seattle defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said about Bryant. “And he’s dropping now. Can you imagine a wide receiver seeing him coming out there? You might get distracted for a little bit. But he’s athletic. And big men who can run, on tape it shows up.”
EXTRA POINTS
Rookie receiver Kris Durham (hamstring) made it through practice and will get his first game action on Saturday. Ben Obomanu (shoulder) fully participated in practice but will not play on Saturday, Carroll said. … Defensive back Walter Thurmond (ankle), defensive tackle Ryan Sims (knee), defensive end Chris Clemons (ankle), cornerback Kelly Jennings (head), defensive end Pierre Allen (unspecified) and tight end John Carlson (shoulder) did not practice Thursday and likely will not play. Receiver Deon Butler (leg), defensive back Roy Lewis (knee), tight end Cameron Morrah (toe) and defensive tackle Colin Cole (ankle) also did not practice and remain on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. … The Seahawks waived cornerback Marcus Brown and re-signed former University of Washington fullback Dorson Bryce.
Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437 eric.williams@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
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