After Friday’s Seahawks practice, head coach Mike Macdonald answered several questions about the health of the team heading into Saturday night’s preseason opener with the Dallas Cowboys. Before he answered the health questions, Macdonald was bombarded with questions regarding the team agreeing to terms with CB Terrion Arnold.
Before the questions, Macdonald opened the presser with a heartfelt thank you to his players for their participation in the team’s Make-A-Wish Foundation event. The event had kids from the program watch the practice and get autographs and handshakes from the players.
“This is the last official day of fans here on the patio. This is really great. Then we had several young people from Make-A-Wish here, which is really special. One, it’s just a great opportunity to get these kids, their families, a great opportunity. Two, I’m really proud of our players. They really went out of their way to make a really special trip for these guys,’ said Macdonald.
“It’s really special; I’m really proud of our team. Hopefully, they had a great visit, and I’m looking forward to playing our game. Kind of a combo platter of pregame type of schedule, and we’ll be at the hotel tonight and walk through tomorrow morning and go play the game.”
A LASTING FIRST IMPRESSION
As for the Arnold signing, Macdonald explained the team’s reasoning for signing the former first-round draft pick, who is out on a $ 1 million bond while he faces eight felonies that carry a potential sentence of up to life in prison.
“I think it was an opportunity to bring on a player that we felt strongly about during the draft process. We also understand that it’s a serious situation with a legal matter. There’s a process behind it, so we respect that. That’s how we’ll operate too, just letting that process play out and let the league decide if and when his return to play is,’ said Macdonald.
Once the judicial process completes, the Commissioners will have their say regarding game suspensions.
What the Seahawks are banking on is that Arnold will be able to recover from the Judicial process without a major sentence, has learned his lesson, and the Commissioner’s office will not suspend him for an extended amount of time that will affect his football skills. The Seahawks were one of several teams Arnold visited. The visit between the team and Arnold left a favorable impression for both sides.
“ We understand that’s at play,’ said Macdonald, referring to Arnold’s pending judicial proceedings. “ But there’s an opportunity to bring him in and give him a chance to earn a position here. We feel really strongly about our locker room and our team. We had a great visit with Terrion (Arnold), and obviously we knew him throughout the process. I also referenced the folks who had been in his corner throughout the process, and we respect them. We’re not going to ignore those folks we really respect and have a strong opinions about as well. When you put all of those things together, it felt like it was a good opportunity for the team.”
Arnold was drafted in the first round ( 24th overall) by the Detroit Lions in the 2024 draft. He started 15 of 16 games in his rookie year with the Lions, recording 47 solo sacks, 10 PD, and one fumble recovery. In his second season with the Lions, Arnold started seven games, played in eight games, recording 23 solo tackles, one interception, and eight PD before being placed on injured reserve on December 1st due to a shoulder injury. After his arrest in February for kidnapping and robbery, the Lions released him on June 29th. The timeline of when Arnold will officially sign is being worked out.
“I do not have the specifics on the dates and things like that. All I know is that there’s an availability; if the league lets it happen, he could play. In terms of when that happens and how that goes down, it’s just part of that process. The facts of the case, all those things about the comments on what happens, that’s not our responsibility to have a comment on that, nor can we. I think we just have to understand that there’s a process at play, and we’re going to let it play out,’ said Macdonald
WALK THROUGH
The practice itself was more of a walk-through with players in shorts, T-shirts, and no helmets. The team did go through various game-like situations. According to Macdonald, most of the starters will sit out the game, giving the second- and third-teamers an opportunity to showcase their talents in a real game.
“I’m excited to see our guys play tomorrow. They have been working incredibly hard. You talk about layering training camp. We start with the ramp process, you go into the stadium practice, get one-on-ones, all these different types of periods. Now we’re layering it again with another team in our stadium, so there are more conditions that you add to the whole training process, “ said Macdonald. I’m eager for our team to be us in those situations
. Our players have, in my opinion, earned the right throughout this process to go let it rip, trust their training, and go have fun. Go play football that they know how, and our brand of ball, and hopefully it comes to life, and hopefully we have some cost-of-doing-business celebration penalties.”
INJURY REPORT
The team will be low on running backs for the game, with Jadarian Price and Emmanuel Wilson out for the game. Ryan Neal will also not participate as he continues to mend from a leg injury
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