By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Seahawks OTA Highlights: Practice Updates and Injuries

Tuesday marked the first day of the Seahawks Phase Three offseason workouts.  During the Phase Three portion of the workouts, teams are restricted to a maximum of 10 days of organized team activities. On-field activities are capped at a maximum of 3.5 hours per day, per player, with no live contact. Players are allowed to wear helmets, and the practice pace is designed to mirror a typical regular-season walkthrough.

“ It was so much fun being back out there. Really love our intent right now. It’s been part of our messaging so far this offseason, and we’ve had a really spirited offseason program up to this point, going through Phase 1 and Phase 2. We started Phase 3, obviously, today,’   head coach Mike Macdonald said after Tuesday’s practice.

“I thought we had a great practice. We’re off to a good start. Let’s focus on being us throughout the rest of this program and go out the right way. Really happy with where guys are mentally. We’re just kind of all on a different planet right now, so we’ve got some guys that are taking some more reps than others, maybe some guys might not be here right now, but overall, it’s really a positive day.”

BEING INTENTIONAL

With the team’s Super Bowl win in the rearview mirror, Macdonald and his staff are looking to create a run-it-forward rather than run-it-back mindset.

“We’re using the term we want to run it forward, ” meaning our process and who we are. I think this is going to be a conversation we have consistently. I don’t think it’s a one-and-done type of conversation. Really, it’s just how we talk about and operate all the time. It’s something that we’re having conversations with our team and our units every day about who we want to be and how we want to do things, and this situation is no different. It’s really nothing more or less than that.”

WHY INTENTION IS IMPORTANT

To achieve the goal of building on the past, Macdonald is messaging intentionality to the players.  The importance of clear and consistent messaging was evident last year, as Macdonald used the ‘chasing edges’ mantra to ground, motivate, and inspire every player on the 73-man roster. All last year, Macdonald and General Manager John Schnieder preached the importance of each player outside the NFL’s active roster of 53 and practice squad of 16.

“Well, we’re trying to create an atmosphere where our guys can do the best they can, prepare to the best of their ability, and then once we walk out on the field, rip it. Put our best foot forward, and do not be afraid to fail. As long as the intent is there, it’s just so much better to work with our guys to train them and put them in a position to play great football. But if they’re coming out with the wrong intent, the whole process just gets roadblocked.”

PRACTICE NOTEBOOK

Making observations in May OTA and predicting an outcome in September would be pure hyperbole. To ignore May OTA  observations would be irresponsible journalism. To that end, here are some observations from Tuesday’s Day One Phase Three.

Jadarian Price ran with the ones and played the part, showing no hesitation in his movement when running the ball, catching a pass out of the backfield, and running blocking. The offensive line looked intact from last year, as did Sam Darnold, Jaxson  Smith- Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and  Rashid Shaheed.  AJ. Barner did not participate in practice and was working through the off-season, according to Macdonald.

“He’s good. He’s had the things in the offseason, but he’s attacking it as AJ Barner does, and as you would expect. He’s itching to get out there. But we’ll probably see him come training camp time,” Macdonald said after the practice.  With Barner sitting out, Elijah Arroyo seized the moment.

INJURY UPDATES

Missing from the practice were recently signed Dante Fowler Jr., Emanuel Wilson, Tory Horton, and Demarcus Lawrence.

Emanuel has got a personal thing going on right now, and Tory has made a lot of great strides. We got some feedback that can really accelerate his recovery, which is great. He deserves some good news. He’s been working really, really hard. It’s one of those things, it’s like, you don’t have a timetable until you do. That shows you’ve got just to keep grinding away at it. Some good news back on Tory’s front, which is really exciting. Again, we’ll have a better feel for Tory as we enter training camp,’ Macdonald said. Fowler Jr. and Lawrence were on their prescribed off-season plan, according to Macdonald.

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