Seahawks preseason finale matters to Shaquem Griffin, others who haven’t been here before
They can’t afford any more starters getting hurt.
They have most of their starting positions settled. For the vast majority of them, it’s now just about getting the regular season started in 10 days.
Yet the Seahawks enter what on the surface could seem to be a throw-away preseason finale Thursday night against Oakland at CenturyLink Field with at least one starting job to settle, a pass rush to find and a rookie linebacker to work in his accelerated preparation to start on defense. Plus, they have wide-receiver and running-back rosters to fill out on offense.
“We have a number of competitive situations where guys are battling,” coach Pete Carroll said. “We’re looking for guys that we’re trying to start. We’re looking for guys looking for play time. We’re looking for guys trying to make the roster. Looking for guys to make the practice squad.
“There’s all kinds of considerations here. And that’s what this game is for.”
The settled starters such as quarterback Russell Wilson, running back Chris Carson, the offensive line with Duane Brown, Ethan Pocic, Justin Britt and Germain Ifedi and All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner don’t need more than cameo appearances against the Raiders, if that.
But Shaquem Griffin needs to play. A lot. The rookie fifth-round pick needs as many snaps against whomever, first-, second-, fifth-string foes, to get ready for Seattle’s opener Sept. 9. The remarkable Griffin appears to be the starter at weakside linebacker for that first game at Denver, because of Pro Bowl veteran K.J. Wright’s arthroscopic knee surgery this week.
“This is a really important opportunity for him,” Carroll said of the first one-handed player drafted into the modern NFL. “He’s played a lot, so he’s got extensive playing time and he’s made great progress. He played his best game last week. Even though he had a lot of tackles in the opener, he really played the best he’s played this past weekend. This is important to see him continue to get better and clean things up and make sure he’s really accountable.
“He’s a running and hitting guy. We aren’t worried about that. It’s just making sure he’s really playing the scheme really well and he’s really precise about all his fits and all that. It’s a bit of a race for him to get there because he’s been more of an outside guy in his career, so we’ve adapted him to be an inside linebacker from the weak side. ... A lot of good things are positive. And now we’d just like to see him put it all together again. He’ll have another big week next week and we’ll hopefully add to that.”
The Seahawks also still need to decide between Dontae Johnson, rookie draft pick Tre Flowers and veteran Byron Maxwell to be the starting right cornerback. Maxwell seemingly has fallen behind in that competition, because he can’t get on the field. Carroll said the 30-year-old Seattle re-signed to a one-year contract with $950,000 in base pay this year won’t play for the fourth consecutive preseason game. He still has a hip-flexor injury.
That puts Maxwell’s roster spot in jeopardy. The Seahawks must cut their 90-man preseason roster to 53 players for the start of the regular season by 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Seahawks will use Thursday’s game to help them determine if Johnson, who started 16 games at right cornerback for San Francisco last season, should be the starter there until Flowers’ conversion from college safety to NFL cornerback progresses.
Dion Jordan won’t play for the fourth consecutive preseason game because of a stress fracture in his leg. Frank Clark didn’t practice this week after hyperextending his elbow last Friday at Minnesota. Expect rookie third-round pick Rasheem Green and Branden Jackson to get a lot of time at defensive end against Oakland.
Rush end Erik Walden had two sacks last week at Minnesota days after Seattle signed him and then his 33rd birthday. But Walden now has a hip-flexor “concern,” to use Carroll’s word. That has stalled the 11-sack man two years ago with Indianapolis is his late bid to make this team.
The injuries and inexperience off the edge mean the Seahawks have the same issue entering the regular season as they did entering training camp last month: Where is the pass rush coming from now that Pro Bowl ends Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril are gone?
It remains this team’s most pressing concern.
On offense, D.J. Fluker is the only starting offensive lineman whose status for the opener is not clear. The starting right guard injured his hamstring in last week’s exhibition at the Vikings. Carroll said J.R. Sweezy, Seattle’s Super Bowl right guard a few seasons ago signed back to the team Aug. 1 from two years away in Tampa Bay, moved from left guard back to right guard this week with Fluker hurt. Sweezy hasn’t played this preseason because of a high-ankle sprain, but he’s likely to play Thursday.
The first five wide-receiver spots seem set: Doug Baldwin, who came back to practice this week after a month out with a left-knee injury, Tyler Lockett, who got a $31.8 million extension on Wednesday, Brandon Marshall, Jaron Brown and David Moore.
The sixth wide-receiver spot is likely to come down to special teams and performance on offense against the Raiders and all preseason long, between Marcus Johnson, Keenan Reynolds, Amara Darboh, Cyril Grayson and Damore’ea Stringfellow.
Johnson has played all the special teams in the past for Philadelphia, where he was until the Seahawks traded Bennett for him plus a draft choice in March.
Darboh didn’t play in the first three preseason games because of hip and clavicle injuries he got falling down while making a catch early in training camp. Last year’s third-round pick must show well Oakland in his limited chance to avoid getting waived Saturday.
And he knows it.
“The injury is definitely making it rough, not being out there to show what I can do,” Darboh said. “But, do what I can do. Control the controllable. So there’s nothing I can do but just keep...competing.”
The Seahawks probably they feel they can get Grayson and Stringfellow through waivers this weekend onto their practice squad.
Carroll put some intrigue into the running-back situation Wednesday. The coach mentioned tight end Nick Vannett, currently the number one at that position because no one knows when Ed DIckson is going to get on the field for the first time this summer after groin and quadriceps injuries, can play fullback.
“Nick does know this offense really well. He’s really well-versed,” Carroll said. “So we have flexibility to move him around, too, yes.”
That hints the Seahawks are considering going with Vannett on select downs this season when new coordinator Brian Schottenheimer wants to use I formation for his power-running game. That would mean this team doesn’t need a fullback, after all.
Tre Madden seemed destined to make the team as the fullback. Then he missed the game at Minnesota with an undisclosed issue. He returned to practice this week, but Carroll only said “we’ll see” when asked if Madden will play against Oakland. The Seahawks thought enough of Madden missing the Vikings game they signed undrafted rookie Daniel Marx from Stanford this week. Marx will play Thursday.
The Seahawks went without a fullback after Madden and others got hurt last year.
I asked Carroll Wednesday if these Seahawks could go without a fullback, too, and keep five tailbacks (Carson, rookie Rashaad Penny, C.J. Prosise, Mike Davis and currently injured J.D. McKissic).
His answer suggests no, that the Seahawks want a fullback on the roster to begin this season.
“It’s been a nice return to the opportunity and potential to play with a back in the backfield in front of the tailback. We’ve always liked that,” Carroll said. “We just ran out of guys last year and weren’t able to. But we’re happy to have a back. That’s why we got a couple of guys in the program, and it’s an area of focus for us.”
Carroll hinted Penny might play Thursday, after getting the cast off his surgically repaired broken left index finger on Wednesday. But the first-round pick doesn’t need to. He’s readying to play in the opener.
But for Johnson, Griffin, Darboh, Sweezy, Marx and others at the bottom of the roster, this preseason finale as big as exhibiton games can get.
“We need to put those guys out there and give them a chance to show for themselves,” Carroll said. “We’re really pulling for them. After this whole offseason and then through the preseason, for these guys to get to this point now where they’re still competing for it, we’ve grown to really have a feeling for these guys and we want to see them come through. That’s what we’re trying, to promote an opportunity for that. W
“We’ll see what happens. ...It’ll come crashing down on us in the next couple of days after the game’s over and we’ll figure it out. With a lot information already in the hopper, we’ll close it out with this.”
This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 7:18 AM.