Seahawks hold line

RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks are holding the line this week.

Their offensive line, that is, deciding to stand pat with the same five who started Friday at Kansas City. The Seahawks are preparing for their third game of the preseason, at San Diego on Saturday night.

The line consisted of three starters at new positions: Justin Britt at left guard, Garry Gilliam at right tackle and Drew Nowak at center, along with left tackle Russell Okung and right guard J.R. Sweezy.

Britt, Gilliam and Nowak ascended to their new roles last week when the Seahawks shook things up following the first exhibition game against Denver. After that game, Britt moved from right tackle — where he had started all 16 games as a rookie in 2014 — and Gilliam was elevated from second-string left tackle. Nowak was given the nod at center ahead of Lemuel Jeanpierre.

“We like the way that they mix together, and they have a real chance, so we’ll keep that intact again this week,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Monday.

Asked if that could be the starting line to open the regular season, Carroll said: “They’ve got a chance. We’ll see if they can hold it together and hold off the other guys that are battling with them. But we feel good enough about it.’’

That assessment comes after what, on the surface, looked like a mixed outing against the Chiefs, with the No. 1 offense scoring just a field goal in four possessions and not getting much of a running game going — the Seahawks had 30 yards rushing on 12 attempts in the first half.

But Carroll said the film review revealed better play than the stats showed, especially in the running game.

“It wasn’t the space we wanted, but there’s all kinds of reasons for that,’’ Carroll said. ”We’re looking to see them do right and play hard, and they did that. First group did well.”

Offensive line coach Tom Cable said Britt “looked really, really good’’ in his first game at guard. “He is very physical and adds athleticism inside, power inside. So I would say if we can have another great week with this, then we are really moving in the right direction.’’

The Seahawks entered camp with uncertainly at center, after the trade of Max Unger in the deal that netted tight end Jimmy Graham from New Orleans, and at left guard after losing James Carpenter to the Jets via free agency.

Alvin Bailey entered camp as the starter at left guard but couldn’t hold that job. On Friday, Bailey worked with the second team at left tackle, and Cable praised his play against the Chiefs, saying, “It was Alvin’s best performance.’’

Bailey, though, might be best suited for a backup swing role, able to provide depth at every spot other than center.

Nowak, meanwhile, has been battling Jeanpierre to replace Unger. Cable said Nowak took a big step with his play in the game against the Chiefs.

“I think he’s proven now that he’s capable of doing it,’’ Cable said.

Still, the Seahawks continue to explore their options.

They had free-agent guard Evan Mathis in for a visit Saturday, and on Monday, they worked out free-agent center Samson Satele.

Mathis made the Pro Bowl the past two seasons with the Eagles but was released in June due to a contract dispute. He was due to make $5.5 million this season, and it’s thought he would like to get at least that much this year.

However, the Seahawks have less than $5 million in cap space.