No Bobby Wagner, no Geno Smith, what else to expect in Seahawks’ preseason game vs Vikings
Bobby Wagner had been waiting for this.
For years, before the Seahawks sent him away for one season with the Los Angeles Rams, Wagner had joined Seattle’s defensive linemen in a foot-speed competition through a ladder on the grass at the start of the light practices a day or two before each game.
Wednesday was Wagner’s first day-before-game practice since he signed his contract to return to the Seahawks in March. They play the Minnesota Vikings Thursday in the preseason opener at Lumen Field.
Continuing the tradition, Wagner and wide receiver DK Metcalf jogged over to join the defensive linemen as soon as the team-wide warm-up line drills for this walk-through practice ended.
Jarran Reed led the drill. The new nose tackle looked sharp doing it — until some missteps in the second round.
“Look at J Reed. He already messed up,” Wagner declared.
Meanwhile coaches yelled: “Slow feet don’t eat!”
Metcalf was by far the most nimble-footed.
Wagner? He cruised almost casually through the ladder, as if on a ballroom floor. He approached it like a patriarch who’s won this, done this so many times before that he’s letting the young bucks go.
When coaches declared the obvious, that Metcalf was the fastest and most impressive, Wagner howled.
“He’s got CLEATS!”
This being the 33-year-old All-Pro linebacker’s 12th NFL day before a preseason opener, Wagner was in flat sneakers.
The jokes and scene were more examples of Wagner being all the Seahawks hoped he would resume being for them this training camp. And more.
“Bobby and I just sat down last night and talked about what’s going on in the world, and all. He’s been perfect,” Carroll said.
“He’s busted his butt. The first highlight I showed (Wednesday) about the team’s practice was Bobby and Quandre (Diggs) and ‘Chenna (Uchenna Nwosu) chasing the football full speed all the way across the field. I mean, he’s doing everything.
“All of the things that you think could be happening are happening, in the right way...
“He is really setting the standard for us.”
But don’t expect to see 54 playing for the Seahawks Thursday night for the first time since January 2022.
It appears many of the team’s veteran starters are going to play next week, when Seattle hosts Dallas Aug. 19 in the second of three preseason games.
Expected defense Thursday
Jon Rhattigan has taken his first snaps with the first-team defense of camp this week. Wagner took some plays off to give the 24-year-old backup middle linebacker and special-teams mainstay turns with the starting defense.
Drew Lock did the same spelling Geno Smith with the starting offense at quarterback this week.
On defense against the Vikings Thursday, if this week’s practices are indicators, expect Rhattigan to be inside at linebacker with Devin Bush, signed this offseason from Pittsburgh. The starting outside linebackers are likely to be two edge players coaches want to see prove themselves: Tyreke Smith, who missed all of his rookie season of 2022 injured, and rookie second-round pick Derick Hall.
The starting outside linebackers regularly are Nwosu and Boye Mafe, with Darrell Taylor still out with a shoulder injury.
Expect to see a lot of rookie fourth-round pick Cameron Young at nose tackle against Minnesota.
Reed has that spot for the regular season. He was throwing passes and catching them as a comical tight end and wide receiver against the linebackers in drills Wednesday.
The starting defensive line for the opener next month is on track to be Reed with Dre’Mont Jones and Mario Edwards at ends.
The players who will get frequent time in the secondary Thursday: Lance Boykin and Artie Burns at cornerback, Coby Bryant and rookie sixth-round pick Jerrick Reed at safety, undrafted rookie Jonathan Sutherland as the primary nickel defensive back.
Starting cornerbacks Tre Brown on the left and Michael Jackson on the right may start Thursday, but aren’t likely to play much past the first couple series.
Devon Witherspoon, the fifth pick in this year’s draft, won’t play. The rookie cornerback missed his third consecutive practice Wednesday with a hamstring injury.
Expected offense vs. Vikings
Expect Lock at quarterback for much if not all the first half and undrafted rookie Holton Ahlers in the second half.
“It’s really important. Drew is going to play a lot of football during the preseason,” Carroll said.
Rookie second-round pick Zach Charbonnet is back from a shoulder injury the first week of training camp. He is ready to play his first NFL game Thursday. So is DeeJay Dallas (a little bit). The other running backs likely to see a lot of snaps: Bryant Koback with undrafted rookies Wayne Taulapapa from Washington and SoRodorick Thompson from Texas Tech.
Lead back Kenneth Walker (groin) and rookie Kenny McIntosh (sprained knee) are out injured.
The starting offensive line may play some Thursday: Charles Cross at left tackle, Damien Lewis at left guard, Evan Brown at center, Phil Haynes at right guard and Abe Lucas at right tackle.
Expect rookie draft picks Olu Oluwatimi at center and Anthony Bradford at guard to get a lot of playing time against the Vikings.
Carroll raved Thursday about Bradford’s progress, saying the rookie fourth-round pick from LSU just needs to learn the playbook more thoroughly.
“I really like what he brings,” the coach said. “He weighed in at 342 this week and is moving his feet. ...
“When he gets settled in and we feel like he understands what he’s doing, he’s going to be competing to play. That’s how far he’s come already. He’s totally ready to compete to play in the game. We just have to see if he can learn his stuff and hold on to it. He’ll play a bunch in this game.”
Tyler Lockett coming back from unspecified soreness in his upper leg will keep him from playing wide receiver Thursday, not that he needs to.
“He took a couple of days off because he felt a little something, and we just gave him a break. ...He’s all right,” Carroll said.
“Just in general, we’re looking for a chance to make sure we don’t overload him. He came to camp in the best shape I’ve seen him in for five or six years. I can’t remember a year when he was in better condition or had better speed early in camp. We didn’t want to overdo it, because we’re so excited about him. We made sure to give him a break.”
Metcalf isn’t likely to play much if at all, either.
Third-year wide receiver Dee Eskridge figures to get a lot of snaps, maybe more than first-round pick and primary slot receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. These three preseason games are the only chances coaches will get to see Eskridge until late October. The NFL has suspended Eskridge for six games in an incident related to domestic violence in February.
Undrafted rookie Jake Bobo has been getting increasing time with the starting offense this week in practice. He’s likely to play a lot Thursday. So is Cody Thompson, who is emerging as the fourth wide receiver.
Colby Parkinson, Tyler Mabry, plus undrafted rookies Griffin Hebert and Noah Gindroff are likely to play tight end Thursday, while front-liners Noah Fant and Will Dissly mostly watch.
“We need to see all of the new guys. We’ve got really competitive spots that we need information on,” Carroll said. “Everybody needs to play football and these games are hugely important. For the guys we haven’t had the chance to see before in our uniforms and playing for us, it’s crucial.
“They’ve got to show something.”
This story was originally published August 9, 2023 at 4:39 PM.
