Phillip Dorsett iffy; expect Quinton Dunbar, Tre Flowers to both play in Seahawks’ opener
A Seahawks franchise first for a getaway day practice.
They wore masks.
Players and coaches went indoors to practice for the first time this season, to escape the thick smoke engulfing the Seattle area Friday from the wildfires raging across the West. The masks wasn’t for the smoke; it is NFL protocol inside team facilities for this COVID-19 season.
The Seahawks kept the masks on while they boarded their bus that took them from the team facility in Renton to SeaTac Airport and onto their chartered jet for the flight to Atlanta Friday evening.
Just more unusual aspects to the first game of this unprecedented season, Sunday against the Falcons in front of no fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Everything’s a little bit different,” coach Pete Carroll said of this weekend like none before in the 101-year history of the NFL.
“There is nothing that feels totally the same.”
Also new for Carroll: options at wide receiver, cornerback and and running back for Sunday’s opener.
Dorsett still hurting
The Seahawks signed Phillip Dorsett this offseason to give Russell Wilson a new dimension in the passing game. Dorsett is a 4.2 speed guy. He can blow the doors off defensive backs deep down the field to create acres of space for Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf underneath that speed.
That was Seattle’s theory in getting him, anyway.
The fastest player Carroll says he’s had in 11 years coaching the Seahawks isn’t so fast right now. He is questionable to play in Atlanta because of a foot injury Carroll says has bothered Dorsett for a while.
David Moore moves up to third-receiver status if Dorsett cannot make his debut for Seattle Sunday.
“He’s got a sore foot that we are trying to get through, we’ll see what happens,” Carroll said of Dorsett. “David Moore is ready to go.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to be (with Dorsett’s foot). We have to see how he does this weekend, then we just have to take it, really, one step at a time, one week at a time.”
The Seahawks were unaware Dorsett had this foot issue before they signed the former New England Patriot to a one-year deal worth $1,047,500 in March.
“No, we had not known about this being a situation for him,” Carroll said. “We found out in camp.”
The coach said he and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer have no hesitation using rookie sixth-round draft choice Freddie Swain in the rotation of wide receivers Sunday, if need be.
Nothing on Gordon
Dorsett’s ongoing foot problem reminds us that the Seahawks recently signed back former All-Pro wide receiver Josh Gordon.
It also reminds us that the NFL still has yet to rule on whether commissioner Roger Goodell will reinstate Gordon from his seventh league drug suspension so he can play for Seattle.
Carroll was asked if he had anything to update about Gordon’s status.
“I can’t respond...sorry,” he said.
Officially, Gordon’s status remains on “reserve/suspended by Commissioner.” He cannot practice with the team or be at its facility at any time during the regular season while suspended.
The NFL’s chief spokesman for Goodell, Brian McCarthy, told The News Tribune the day the Seahawks reached a deal with Gordon Sept. 3 “we are going to decline comment” on whether the commissioner had decided to reinstate the wide receiver.
That hold continues.
There is no way Seattle would have re-signed Gordon without thinking he could play soon.
Dunbar? Flowers? Both?
Carroll would not say whether Quinton Dunbar or Tre Flowers will start at right cornerback at Atlanta. No surprise. The coach just about never reveals those choices on the eve of games, to keep the opponent guessing.
Chances are he particularly likes to mess with one of his favorite opposing coaches, former Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, the Falcons’ head coach.
But the Seahawks did not trade for Dunbar from Washington in March then support him for five months as he got arrested, briefly jailed and faced life in prison as a possible result of a trial for armed robbery in Florida to have him sit and watch the final year of his contract for 16 games.
Expect Dunbar to start Sunday.
“Both of those guys are likely to play in this game,” Carroll said. “And we’ll let you know at game time who is going to start.”
Dunbar returned to practice Wednesday after missing two workouts to attend a funeral back home in Florida. It took him three days to return to the team facility and practice field because of COVID-19 testing protocols after being away. He missed the first four practices of camp while in Florida, until prosecutors decided to drop all charges against him. He practiced for the first time with his new team on Aug. 16.
Asked to compare the two players, Carroll said it’s noticeable that Dunbar has more experience as a cornerback.
“You can tell by his style of play,” the coach said.
Dunbar was very aggressive on balls in the air and at receivers off the line during training camp, as Carroll demands at the position.
Flowers was a safety through his college career at Oklahoma State. Carroll converted him to a 6-foot-3 cornerback two seasons ago as a rookie. He’s started at the position since then.
Carson AND Hyde
Schottenheimer and Carroll both said this week how good Chris Carson looks coming off the season-ending hip injury he had in December.
Carson, Seattle’s 2,400-yard rusher for the last two seasons, remains the lead running back for the Atlanta game.
He missed much of training camp into late August while back home in Georgia tending to the tragedy of multiple deaths in his family.
While Carson was away, Carlos Hyde gained the trust of his new coaches. Coming off his first career 1,000-yard season, his only year with Houston, the former 49ers lead back is going to get chances to run in Atlanta for his Seahawks debut, Carroll said.
“They are both really physical and on the attack, and they bring it,” Carroll said.
“Carlos runs really thick and heavy, now. ...He’s over 230. That’s a big kid running the football.
“I’ve always liked having choices. And sometimes you go with who’s hot. ...They are going to both play.”
Special-teams coach on leave
Special-teams coach Brian Schneider has left the team for a personal reason, Carroll said. He will be gone indefinitely.
Assistant special-teams coach Larry Izzo is now the special-teams coach. He is in his third season on Carroll’s staff.
Izzo coached with the New York Giants and Houston Texans for seven seasons before Seattle. He played in the NFL for 14 seasons.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 3:50 PM.
