Russell Wilson: Up at 5:45am with a rookie, his different 2021 preseason — and Duane Brown
We see D’Wayne Eskridge missing the first three weeks of training camp injured. We think the top rookie draft choice must be falling way behind.
We don’t see Russell Wilson taking Eskridge onto the practice field at Seahawks headquarters each day.
That’s because we are sleeping.
At 5:45 a.m. every work day, with Bobby Wagner the only other player on the field, skipping rope and working out, Wilson and Eskridge spend up to an hour drilling all the plays in new coordinator Shane Waldron’s debuting offense.
“There’s still dew on the ground,” Wilson says.
We see Wilson not playing a preseason game, such as last weekend at Las Vegas and maybe Saturday night when Seattle hosts Denver at Lumen Field. We think he’s got the night off.
We don’t see Wilson and DK Metcalf, who also didn’t play against the Raiders, doing a game’s worth of work in the glittering new stadium well before, during and after pregame warm-ups.
“I did a little extra,” in Las Vegas, Wilson said Wednesday. “I’m normally out there for a good couple hours pregame, and then I did a little bit extra with DK. Just me and him, on the field. So I felt I got my game reps in, you know. I got a bunch of extra reps in, probably 15, 20 extra reps.
“I feel good. And then throughout the game, I’m always playing the game as if I’m out there. Physically, not being out there is one thing. But to mentally to get the reps is the most important thing, really, to be honest with you.”
Wilson may be getting more mental reps this Saturday.
Wilson vs. Denver Saturday?
Duane Brown continues to participate in meetings and morning walk-through practices but not in the full, afternoon practices. The veteran Pro Bowl left tackle wants a new contract beyond his deal that ends this season.
Jamarco Jones was Seattle’s Plan B at left tackle. He missed practiced again Wednesday, one day after he had returned from two weeks out with a strained groin and was the first-team left tackle in practice. Cedric Ogbuehi was the third option. But the former first-round pick by Cincinnati hasn’t practiced since early this month. He has an injured biceps.
So Wednesday it was back to Plan D at left tackle: rookie Stone Forsythe. He and three other reserve offensive linemen starting at Las Vegas was why Wilson did not.
On the fifth snap of the game, Forsythe did not communicate or react to what coach Pete Carroll called a basic Raiders blitz, obvious off the left tackle’s outside shoulder. Las Vegas rookie Nate Hobbs sprinted untouched for a free, high and hard shot on veteran quarterback Geno Smith. Smith left the game. He remains out from practice with a concussion from the hit.
Two plays later, Forsythe’s holding penalty wiped out a long pass to Cody Thompson that would have put Seattle into scoring position. Instead, the Seahawks remained scoreless into the third quarter of a 20-7 loss.
In a normal preseason in the 12 summers under Pete Carroll, Wilson and veteran Seahawks starters play a series or two in the first preseason game, the first quarter or so of the second exhibition, into the third quarter of the third game and not at all in the fourth and final exhibition.
This month the NFL has one fewer preseason game, a total of three. That was a compromise to the players’ union to get a 17th regular-season game for the first time in this 2021 season.
Only five of 22 projected starters on offense (one) and defense (four) played last weekend against the Raiders.
Carroll could decide to wait until the third preseason game, Aug. 28 at home against the Los Angeles Chargers, to play Wilson and most starters. That would buy time for Brown (unlikely) or Jones and Ogbuehi (more likely) to return for a veteran left tackle to protect Wilson’s blind side from unnecessary danger in August.
But this summer echoes 2012, the year Wilson became Seattle’s starter for good. Once again, he is running a new offense. Does Carroll believe Wilson needs to play preseason games to fully install first-time coordinator Shane Waldron’s quicker, more run-based and shorter-passing scheme?
Coy as usual, Carroll isn’t saying.
Asked if he hoped to play Saturday against the Broncos, Wilson said: “I mean, I’m always hoping to play,” I don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s Coach’s decision. I’m always ready. I’m always ready to play.”
Saturday is the first Seahawks home game with fans inside Lumen Field since December 2019. Wilson would like to play in front of them again.
“Obviously, being in front of the 12s is always great,” he said.
“So, we’ll see what happens.”
The Duane Brown Situation
Two weeks ago, Wilson said of the “hold-in” by Brown, who turns 36 this month: “We’ve got to figure that out, because we need Duane Brown.”
Thing is, the situation is trickier for the Seahawks than the negotiations were with Jamal Adams, the All-Pro safety they gave a record four-year, $70 million contract on Tuesday. Adams is 11 years younger than Brown. And Adams was a known, sunk cost to the team, known since the day in July 2020 they traded two first-round picks to the New York Jets to get him.
Some with the team expected this to be Brown’s final season. The thought was he’d play through his contract and retire at age 36 having earned $94 million as a four-time Pro Bowl selection and one-time All-Pro for Houston (2008-17) and Seattle (‘17-’21). The Seahawks took Forsythe from the University of Florida with one of their franchise record-low three selections in April’s draft, thinking he could learn this first year under Brown then potentially become his heir.
Then this spring Brown told the Seahawks he wanted to continue playing, beyond his 37th and perhaps 38th birthdays. General manager John Schneider and team salary-cap executive Matt Thomas have not been budgeting for that, as they have for Adams in 2022 and beyond.
So it’s not a slam dunk that Brown gets a new deal. This is not only a matter of when, as it was for Adams and the team.
Brown is going to play this season, almost certainly starting in the opener Sept. 12 at Indianapolis. Players in this little-is-guaranteed league are not down with giving away game checks. Brown would lose $555,556 per game if he skips, according to the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
Kam Chancellor stood firm on his principle of wanting a new contract through the Seahawks’ preseason and into the regular season of 2015. After giving up two game checks, he returned without a new deal while facing $1.39 million in fines and having forfeited $539,294 in salary.
So the question is: how soon before the opener will Brown return to the field?
Wednesday, the 15th practice of training camp, Brown was nowhere to be seen. After the practice, Wilson was asked at what point prior to the opener might he become uncomfortable without Brown as his left tackle.
Wilson didn’t directly answer.
“I think anytime Duane’s not out there it’s...you always want your star left tackle out there,” he said.
“So, just trusting the process. Just hoping that it works out. We definitely need him. That’d be huge for us. ...I’m sure it will get figured out, worked out. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
In his 14th NFL season, could Brown in Wilson’s opinion skip all of the preseason, end his hold-in the week of the Colts game and still be fully ready to play in this new offense?
“Yeah,” Wilson said. “I think Duane’s a guy...he’s probably the most physically fit guy on our team. He’s SO athletic. He used to play tight end in high school. ...He can really run.”
Wilson says in the team’s weight room, the 35-year-old Brown, at 6 feet 4 and 315 pounds, does 20 pull-ups.
“At his size, 20 pull-ups is crazy,” Wilson said. “And he’ll do three sets of them — with a weighted vest on, sometimes.”
We don’t see that, either.
Wilson is left hoping he will see Brown back at left tackle. Soon.
“He’s our leader up front,” the franchise QB said.
“Yeah, I think it’s going to work out. That’s what I’m hoping for. And that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 6:03 PM.
