Seahawks fans get up-close look at team under Mike Macdonald at Lumen Field

SEATTLE – It was a day for introductions at Lumen Field Saturday afternoon as the Seahawks held their annual Football Fest.

While roughly 10,000 fans or so were getting their first look at the 2024 Seahawks, new coach Mike Macdonald was also getting comfortable with his new surroundings.

“This is it?’’ Macdonald said as he walked into the interview room near the team’s locker room in Lumen Field, taking for the first time to the same stage Pete Carroll had for the last 14 years. “This is what it’s like postgame? More full maybe?’’

Yes, there figures to be a lot more media when the Seahawks open the regular season here Sept. 8 against Denver.

A lot more pressure, too, than Saturday, when the Seahawks spent about 90 minutes going through what has become a pretty typical-looking practice under Macdonald before ending with about a half-hour or so of some 11-on-11 sessions between the No. 1 and No. 2 units, and then a fully live session of 20-25 plays or so with the third teamers.

Starting quarterback Geno Smith, though, again sat out, missing his fourth straight practice with knee and hip issues suffered Tuesday. Macdonald said there was optimism Smith could return next week. Saturday, Smith was relegated to standing behind the offense wearing a headset, then signing autographs afterward.

Smith’s absence surely contributed to what seemed a mostly sluggish offensive outing.

In three 11-on-11 sessions quarterbacked by Howell, the offense had two three-and-outs and another drive that was stopped on a fourth down inside the 10.

The only two touchdowns in team sessions were each provided by third-team quarterback P.J. Walker.

One came on a Walker 8-yard TD pass to Jake Bobo in a drive pitting the second-team offense against the second-team defense. Bobo snared the ball under tight coverage in the front of the end zone, able to tap his feet inbounds just in time.

The TD catch continued what has been a strong training camp for Bobo, who made the team last year as an undrafted rookie free agent out of UCLA. Bobo also turned in a diving TD catch in practice earlier this week that stands as maybe the highlight play of camp so far.

“I don’t see him drop a lot of footballs,’’ Macdonald said. “It seems like he comes down with a bunch of them. But I think he complements our receiving room well, and we’re excited in the team’s phase. I think he provides more than a normal receiver would provide in that phase too, and then it’ll be fun to see how he fits in the receiver room and how that thing all shapes up because we got a lot of talent.”

The final TD came on the final play of the day capping the live session between the third-teamers, a Walker pass to former UW tight end Jack Westover that Westover bobbled and was able to control as he headed out of bounds.

Walker, though, also threw two interceptions (by D.J. James and Marquise Blair) during one-on-ones.

Macdonald noted that it’s hard to judge the offense given that there is no tackling to the ground.

“It was cool to see him have an opportunity with those guys,’’ Macdonald said of how the offense looked with Howell. “I thought our offense looks like our offense, but excited to get Geno back, too. It’s just a good opportunity for Sam to be with those guys rather than running with the twos the whole time. Again, we’re, what, ten days into camp? So as you’re talking, I’m thinking about how we improve the whole thing. I’m sure if you talk to Sam, he’s got things that he wants to improve on, but he’s also getting the ball out, getting it to our playmakers too, so a lot of good as well.”

Still, the last four days with Smith out has given the Seahawks a good view of how the number one offense would look with Howell in charge.

So what has Macdonald seen?

“We’ve gone against Sam before (when Howell played with Washington), and you feel the competitor with Sam,’’ Macdonald said. “I think that’s a big reason why he’s here. We believe in his competitive spirit, his toughness. The best of Sam, I believe, is not going to show in a setting like this because you can’t touch him. But this guy’s been through it, and (for him to) just come out unscathed, I have a lot of respect for him on that.”

Otherwise, much of what was on display Saturday echoed what has been seen during the nine previous practices at the VMAC.

To cite two examples:

• The number one offensive line, for instance, again featured, from left to right — Charles Cross, Laken Tomlinson, Olu Oluwatimi, Anthony Bradford and George Fant, who remains filling in at right tackle with Abraham Lucas still sidelined.

The number two OL again featured, from left to right: Stone Forsythe, Raiqwon O’Neal, Nick Harris, Christian Haynes and McClendon Curtis.

Still, Macdonald said nothing has been decided there.

“I would like to see them in a game as they go. But I don’t think we found the final five right now. Doing a good job, working hard, but I don’t think we’re making decisions anytime soon.”

• First-round pick Byron Murphy II continues to work with the first-team nickel defense at tackle, with veteran Johnathan Hankins typically working as the other tackle in obvious running situations.

And through what are now five days of padded practices, Macdonald said the team has seen what it hoped to get when Murphy was taken with the 16th overall pick and as the second defensive player selected.

“With Byron, I feel like I give you guys the same answer every time you ask,’’ he said. “He’s the guy that we thought he was. Again, let’s not crown him yet, but he’s on the way. He’s a force in there. I think the guys see it. I’m pleased with his effort. The guy brings it everyday. He’s a rookie. There’s things that we want to attack, but he’s a savvy football player. He knows what he’s doing out there. He’s not lost, plays fast, plays rugged. I think the future is bright for Mr. Murphy.’’

The Seahawks hope there also is for Macdonald himself, the 37-year-old head coach who will be experiencing everything an NFL head coach does for the first time this year.

But not only is Macdonald new, but so is a staff that includes just one holdover from a year ago (defensive passing game coordinator Karl Scott).

Macdonald said much of what they wanted to accomplish Saturday was simply getting the gameday coaching operation smoothed out as much as possible.

“That was a major focus,’’ he said. “Like I said, it was definitely one of the things we were trying to get done. And then, the next kind of big test is the preseason game down in L.A. (against the Chargers next Saturday), and then we’ll go from there and see what needed tweaking and how we’re going to move on from that. Again, it’ll be a process of the things we want to improve on and how we felt like it went.”