Things to watch as Seahawks begin OTAs

RENTON, Wash. – For the first time since the end of a 2022 season that was a surprise to almost everyone but themselves, the Seahawks will reconvene at the VMAC again this week to practice together on one field, offense against defense.

The workouts come with the legalistic term organized team activities (OTAs) to differentiate them from other phases of the team’s offseason program in regards to what is allowed.

Seattle will conduct 10 OTAs, all of which are voluntary, beginning with Monday’s – one of three of which is also open to the media. The Seahawks will have a three-day minicamp June 6-8, which is mandatory and also open to the media.

Here are some things to watch as the Seahawks start to get back at it:

• No, Jamal Adams and Jordyn Brooks aren’t there for now – but the team is more than just fine with it.

Coach Pete Carroll revealed last week that Adams and Brooks – each in recovery mode from serious injuries suffered last season – would remain in Texas for now to continue their rehab since neither would be able to do anything on the field if they were here.

That’s a not uncommon thing for rehabbing players to stay with their rehab programs this time of year.

But as happens in the 24/7/365 news cycle of the NFL, that became a point of discussion among some media and online last week.

The Seahawks are totally on board with the two continuing their rehab work elsewhere during what are, as mentioned, voluntary workouts.

Adams’ recovery from a torn left quad tendon suffered in the season opener against Denver last year is regarded as particularly tricky, and working out at his home in the Dallas area allows him not just to remain with the trainers he has worked with throughout but also remain close to the doctors who performed the surgery and can continue to monitor him.

And while Adams has done most of his rehab work at home, he has been around the team a few times since his injury, including attending the playoff game at San Francisco in January.

He also has attended meetings via Zoom and has regular check-ins with the team remotely (Brooks, who suffered an ACL injury Jan. 1, obviously has all those same capabilities for attending meetings remotely).

And players doing their rehab in their home area is hardly rare – as safety Quandre Diggs noted on social media, he rehabbed a year ago in Austin.

As Carroll said last week, each is expected back at some point during the offseason program.

“They’ll be here in a while,” Carroll said.

But for now, as Carroll said, “There’s no rush for them to be here because they can’t do the work yet. And they’re in really good setups where they are.”

• How will the interior defensive line come together?

What remains the biggest question mark for the Seahawks is the interior defensive line, or the three down linemen in the team’s base 3-4 defense, and particularly the nose tackle spot.

But some acquisitions in the draft and in free agency since then have beefed up the spot considerably. The thought is that for now, the Seahawks are pretty much done making any more additions up front, content to see what they have and make moves later if necessary, especially during training camp when player cuts are made.

The Seahawks are thought particularly pleased with what they saw out of defensive end Mike Morris, a fifth-round pick out of Michigan, during the team’s rookie minicamp, and also expect veteran Mario Edwards – who signed last Monday – to be a significant contributor. Each plays the end spots, where Seattle also in the offseason signed Dre’Mont Jones and Jarran Reed, the projected starters, replacing the two primary starters a year ago, Poona Ford and Shelby Harris.

Seattle also liked what it saw out of rookie fourth-round pick Cameron Young at nose tackle in the rookie minicamp and have since added to that spot with veteran free-agent signees Forrest Merrill and Austin Faoliu.

Faoliu signed with the Seahawks after taking part in rookie minicamp as a tryout player. And the 6-foot-3, 305-pound Faoliu, who played at Oregon and spent the 2021 season with Dallas, should be able to hit the ground running after a strong season with the Seattle Sea Dragons in which he was named to the All-XFL team. He will be given every chance to show he can have a significant role on the team this season.

• Will Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devon Witherspoon begin to do more?

Seattle’s top two picks – Witherspoon, a cornerback taken fifth out of Illinois; and Smith-Njigba, a receiver taken 20th out of Ohio State – were limited in rookie minicamp due to lingering hamstring issues. Neither issue appears to be a big deal, though obviously any mention of a hamstring in connection with Smith-Njigba is worth watching since the injury held him to just three games last year with the Buckeyes. Each player insisted that they are just fine and were simply being eased into things.

That obviously raises the hope and expectation that each will get fully onto the field soon and begin to more clearly show Seattle what it has in players who many around the league said were the best corner and receiver available in the draft.

Carroll said last week the plan is for Smith-Njigba to play primarily in the slot to start out, pairing with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf in three-receiver sets. That’s something Seahawks understandably can’t wait to see.

• Will any undrafted free agents begin to make a real name for themselves?

The Seahawks now have 23 undrafted free agents on their roster, one of the biggest UDFA classes in the team’s recent history.

That Seattle also has a pretty large 10-man draft class, who all appear to have clear paths to spots on the 53-man roster, will make it competitive for any of the UDFAs to get a spot.

But a few usually emerge – safety Joey Blount made it a year ago as a UDFA. One who seems sure to make it is Chris Stoll of Penn State, the only long snapper on the roster.

A few other UDFAs who looked like players to watch following rookie camp are nose tackles Robert Cooper (Florida State) and Jonah Tavai (BYU), at a spot where the Seahawks will be looking for depth; receivers Matt Landers (Arkansas), Jake Bobo (UCLA) and Tyjon Lindsey (Oregon State) and cornerback Arquon Bush (Cincinnati, where he was a teammate of Coby Bryant’s).

Quarterback Holton Ahlers of East Carolina also has a clear path to a spot on the practice squad as the third quarterback – he’s the only QB on the roster other than vets Geno Smith and Drew Lock. But in the “Always Compete” world of the Seahawks, Ahlers will have to earn it, and performance against veterans beginning this week will start to tell a lot.

• It’s Geno Smith’s team now.

A year ago, the Smith-Drew Lock battle was the first topic of interest. Now, the QB roles are clear, with Smith also now an unquestioned offensive leader. But the Seahawks are also hoping that having had a year in the system will make a world of difference for Lock, who knows this is his time to further show coaches and teammates that he’ll do the job this year if called upon.