2019 ScheduleAll times ET

2019 Schedule
10-6, 2nd in NFC West
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
7dBrady Henderson

Carroll: Strong side 'good spot' for LB Griffin

Seahawks linebacker Shaquem Griffin said he's "having so much fun again" since the team moved him back to the strong side, where he played at Central Florida.

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Shaquem Griffin said it was twin brother Shaquill's idea to hire a personal chef for the two of them. Shaquem said he's moving better after cutting out pork, fried foods and fast food. And he likes how much cheaper it is compared to taking his family out to eat.

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In need of edge rushers with Frank Clark gone and Ziggy Ansah coming off shoulder surgery, the Seahawks plan to use Barkevious Mingo more in that role than they did last season. Of Mingo's 497 defensive snaps, he rushed the passer on only 68 of them and dropped into coverage on 193 of them, according to ESPN charting. He had two sacks while mainly playing on early downs as an edge-setting strong-side linebacker (he also led the team in special-teams snaps). Said Pete Carroll: "If you watched him this camp, he worked a lot with (defensive line coach Clint Hurtt) in the pass-rush stuff because we want to really accentuate that for him and not divide his focus. Last year, it was SAM 'backer and a little bit of pass-rush stuff and he never really got to dig in. He can make problems for the opponent because he's so fast and he's so long so we really tried to accentuate that and we'll do that again through camp. We want to really specialize him as a rusher knowing that he can play the 'backer spot. He worked really hard to learn that. He did fine last year. We know that we have guys that can also play there so we're going to see if we can really bring him to the front with his pass-rush."

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Pete Carroll is confident that second-year tight end Will Dissly will be ready for the Seahawks' opener, even if he has to miss the start of training camp as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon. "We're totally thinking that he's going to be ready to go for the season," Carroll said. "We have no question about that." Dissly was playing starter snaps and had scored two touchdowns when he went down in Week 4. Carroll added: "The decision will be should we start him right from the beginning (of camp) or should we wait a week or whatever as we just ensure that he's back. We do not want to rush this one at all. We want to make sure that he's 1,000 percent confident and ready to go and can make all the breaks and the plants and (change-of-direction) and stuff, so we'll take a real good look at it. But it's really promising that he's going to be ready to go."

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The Seahawks are moving second-year linebacker Shaquem Griffin from the weak side to the strong side. That position in Pete Carroll's defense entails playing on the ball from a two-point stance, setting the edge and rushing the passer — which is what Griffin did at UCF. He's embracing the move back to his preferred position but says he has to get re-acclimated to rushing.

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The only certainty with the Seahawks at safety is that Bradley McDougald will be one of their starters, but even his position is up in the air. McDougald has played strong and free during his two seasons in Seattle. Which one he ends up at in 2019 will depend to some degree on who wins the other starting job: Tedric Thompson (free), Delano Hill (strong) or rookie second-round pick Marquise Blair. The Seahawks think Blair can play both spots but are trying him at strong safety first. That's where McDougald prefers to play. "I'm fully prepared to come in and play strong safety, really compete and battle with whoever," he said. "I can do both but I prefer to play in the box and closer to the line of scrimmage. There's just more for me to do there in the run game and the man-to-man coverages. But I'm always willing to do whatever to make the team work and be the best asset for the team. But I definitely intend to play in the box.”

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Seahawks safety Bradley McDougald elaborated on the knee surgery that has kept him out of offseason work, saying it was to repair a partially torn patellar that he had played through from Week 8 on last year. He and the team's medical staff tried rehabbing the injury but McDougald opted for surgery before OTAs because he wasn't happy with the progress. "I feel like I'm in a much better situation right now," he said. "I'm much more comfortable. My knee feels good. My body feels good. I'm just ready to compete." McDougald missed OTAs and isn't practicing in minicamp but said he could if he had to. "Yeah, for sure," he said when asked if he'll be practicing by training camp.

1:03

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What about rookie receiver DK Metcalf has stood out most to Russell Wilson? His brain. "He's really intelligent," Wilson said. "He really understands the game really well."

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Russell Wilson is entering his second season under offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who is also his de facto position coach. "We already have the same ideas as we're coming into the office," he said of their familiarity now compared to last year.

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Carroll expects Kendricks on the field this season

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday the team believes linebacker Mychal Kendricks will be available this season despite awaiting sentencing in his insider trading case.

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Pete Carroll's comments on Ziggy Ansah continue to suggest that the Seahawks' newest edge rusher won't be ready for the start of training camp. Carroll said Ansah's surgically-repaired shoulder is healed and that it's just a matter of regaining strength. He's worked with trainers off to the side during practice since signing with Seattle in May. Said Carroll: "We've got to wait. These six weeks coming up will be crucial and we have a really specific plan set up for him. There's a little traveling he has to do to go home (to Ghana), but other than that he'll be working with our guys throughout and then we'll just see when (training) camp comes. But we'll take the camp to get it done, though, I'm sure. I don't think we'll rush him. There won't be a need to start him up right out of the chutes. We'll see how he goes in the weeks to follow."

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Pete Carroll declined to discuss any specifics of linebacker Mychal Kendricks' legal situation but said: "We do expect him to be on the team this year." The sentencing date for Kendricks' insider trading case has been postponed multiple times. The Seahawks brought him back on a one-year, $4.5 million deal that includes no guaranteed money and $2.5 million tied to his availability via reporting and roster bonuses. "There's not much that I can say that's going to be proper at this time," Carroll said of where things stand with Kendricks' case. "Everything's moving along and he's real optimistic about how things are going. But really not too much to report. I can't tell you much more than that."

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As was the case during OTAs, All-Pro middle linebacker Bobby Wagner was present for Day 1 of Seahawks mandatory minicamp but didn't practice as he awaits a new contract. Wagner is eligible for an extension as he enters the final year of his contract and is representing himself in negotiations. Pete Carroll said Wagner and the team have agreed to not publicly discuss the status of those talks but gave another endorsement of the way Wagner has approached his situation, saying: "His presence is obvious. He's been around for everything, he's been involved with everything and he's handled it exactly the way he should under these circumstances."

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Defensive tackle Jarran Reed took part in position drills on the first day of Seahawks mandatory minicamp. That's the most he's done this offseason while recovering from sports-hernia surgery. Reed is coming off a 10.5-sack season and is eligible for an extension as he enters the final year of his rookie deal, so his return to practice is not insignificant. The Seahawks will need all the pass-rush production they can get from Reed with Frank Clark gone.

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Linebacker Cody Barton (third round) has signed his rookie contract with the Seahawks, according to his agent, David Canter. They now have all 11 of their draft picks signed.

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Three notes/observations on the Seahawks' receivers after their final OTA: 1) Don't forget about Keenan Reynolds, who will compete with John Ursua (seventh-round) and others for a role in the slot. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said Reynolds is having a strong offseason. It continued Thursday with Reynolds hauling in a deep ball from Russell Wilson. He also connected with Wilson on a scramble throw, which is significant because it suggests a level of familiarity that takes time to acquire; 2) Gary Jennings (fourth round) had been sidelined by a hamstring injury for every practice that has been open to reporters until Thursday. That's a good way for a rookie receiver to fall behind quickly, but it's a good thing for Jennings that he's back on the field before next week's minicamp; 3) Tyler Lockett said DK Metcalf (second round) is "way" ahead of where some might expect him to be, seemingly a reference to outside concerns about Metcalf's route-running. Lockett noted that Metcalf has been changing up his releases at the line of scrimmage to keep cornerbacks off balance. Shaquill Griffin said Metcalf did that to him on the first snap of seven-on-seven Thursday. "Things like that, I can see he's starting to progress because we go against each other the whole OTAs and you see what I'm doing different and now you kind of get me figured out and it's kind of cool to see he's adjusting to it," Griffin said.

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Jason Myers said he felt like he got a fair shot in the Seahawks' kicking competition last year before they went with Sebastian Janikowski, whom they had guaranteed $600K (Myers was guaranteed no money in his futures deal). Janikowski was up and down while Myers had a Pro Bowl season after landing with the Jets. His return to Seattle on a four-year deal represents a change in this respect: with Blair Walsh and Janikowski, the Seahawks were banking on bounce-back seasons. With Myers, they have a kicker on an upswing and are hoping he can repeat it, which is hardly a given at a position so prone to volatility. But the early returns are encouraging. "He's been really clean," special teams coordinator Brian Schneider said. "He's had a great camp. He just finished out today and made all his kicks, really two game-winners that we put him in. So he's been excellent."

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Shaquill Griffin said he came to the realization after some honest self-assessment that he had the wrong mindset entering last season. He didn't struggle with the move from right to left cornerback, he said. But he put undue pressure on himself to make plays while replacing Richard Sherman. "I started looking for plays that wasn't there," he said. "When you play like that, you focus on too many things instead of focusing on just your job and that's the mindset I had last year."

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Rashaad Penny, the Seahawks' 2018 first-round pick, said he's "learning how to be a pro" in his second season. He's being mentored by hall-of-fame running back Marshall Faulk, a fellow San Diego State product. Penny said they'll speak a twice a week for two hours at a time. He'll send Faulk his playbook and Faulk will show him things to look for. Penny was Seattle's third running back last year behind Chris Carson and Mike Davis but has been taking first-team reps while Carson has been sidelined with a knee issue. He drew strong reviews earlier this week from offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who said Penny looks slimmer and more mature. Penny said he's under 230 pounds after consulting with a nutritionist who put him on a meal-prep plan. "That's probably the best I've ever felt," Penny said.

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Shaquill Griffin wanted to cut weight this offseason after feeling like he lacked endurance last year while carrying over 200 pounds. Twin brother Shaquem wanted to add weight as he moves to an on-the-ball linebacker role. So they hired a personal chef that comes to their place every other day. Shaquill dropped about 12 pounds and now weighs around 194. He wants to remain there. "I'm feeling really great about the weight I'm at now and I'm just gonna stick with it," he said. "It's working."

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Team Stats

Passing Yards193.327th
Rushing Yards160.01st
Points For26.8Tied-6th
Points Against21.711th