Several Seahawks miss voluntary workout
RENTON, Wash. – The Seahawks who took the field for the opening of organized team activities Tuesday hardly resembled the team that will be expected to take the field next fall.
Absent from the first of what are 10 voluntary workouts over the next three weeks were quarterback Russell Wilson, tight end Jimmy Graham, defensive ends Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, linebacker Bruce Irvin and running back Marshawh Lynch – all starters.
The reasons for the absences ranged from tragic to routine.
Wilson and Graham were in Miami to attend the funeral of Tamara Meyerson, a 45-year-old who served as a manager for Graham. In her funeral notice, it was stated that Meyerson “loved and mentored Jimmy Graham as a son.”
Wilson flew to Miami on Monday night with Mo Kelly, the team’s vice president for player engagement, to represent the Seahawks and support Graham.
Coach Pete Carroll said it was Wilson’s idea to attend the funeral with the full support of the team.
“We know that there’s nothing we can really do, but we are trying to show the love and see if we can help out in any way,” Carroll said of Wilson’s attendance at the funeral, which resulted in a rare absence of a Seahawks workout.
Avril, meanwhile, was in Jacksonville following the death of his father, Samuel, over the weekend. The funeral is Thursday, and Carroll said Wilson might attend that service as well.
“Devastating losses,” Carroll said of the deaths.
Bennett and Irvin, meanwhile, were absent while apparently continuing to send a message about their dissatisfaction with their contract situations. Lynch was simply continuing his pattern of skipping voluntary workouts the past few years.
Bennett also sat out an earlier phase of conditioning workouts, sources saying he would like the team to redo his contract, a four-year, $28.5 million deal signed in March 2014.
Irvin is miffed that the team did not exercise a $7.8 million contract option for the 2016 season.
Carroll did not express any irritation with the absences of Bennett and Irvin, noting that the workouts are voluntary
New defensive coordinator Kris Richard said he is confident Bennett and Irvin are staying in shape while away from the team.
“We know those guys are out there working their tails off,” Richard said. “There is no doubt about it. Obviously our focus is the guys that are here. But when they come back it’s all love - they know that. So they are out there, they are handling their business. We trust that fact. They are going to trust the fact that we are working and handling business here. We would love to have them, there is no doubt about it. So when they get back we’re rolling.”
The absences created some odd-looking lineups during the non-contact, no-pad drills Tuesday, particularly on offense, where backups B.J. Daniels and R.J. Archer - neither of whom has played in an NFL game - took all the snaps at quarterback. (Tarvaris Jackson, the No 2 QB the past two seasons, also remains unsigned.)
The news was better for some other areas of the team, though, particularly in the team’s famed Legion of Boom secondary.
Two key players who were bothered by injury in the Super Bowl - cornerback Richard Sherman and strong safety Kam Chancellor - worked without limitations. Chancellor met the media afterward and said he feels better now than he has in any offseason. He was able to recover quickly from the knee injury suffered the Friday before the Super Bowl and start his workout regimen.
Free safety Earl Thomas, rehabbing from shoulder surgery, did not take part but is expected to be ready for the season.
The Seahawks hardly have been out of the news since the Super Bowl with endless discussion of Wilson’s contract extension, rumors of Bennett’s unhappiness and conjecture of how the team will respond to the devastating loss to the Patriots.
Chancellor, though, said he feels the team’s approach to this offseason might be better than it was a year ago,
“I told a lot of people that it feels like this off-season, everybody worked their hardest,” he said. “I’ve seen guys out there busting their tails the whole off-season. Just been going fast tempo. Guys are lifting like crazy. It’s just like the mind-set is just sharpened, even more focused, more driven and just hungry to get to the first game of the year.”