Cooper Kupp, Sam Darnold among stories after Seahawks’ first day of minicamp

RENTON, Wash. – Cooper Kupp is getting acclimated while Sam Darnold is getting animated. Those, and more, are among things we learned as the Seahawks held their first of two minicamp practices this week at the VMAC.

Kupp excited to learn new offense

Minicamp wraps up Kupp’s first offseason with a new team since he joined the Los Angeles Rams as a third-round pick in 2017 out of Eastern Washington. He played for the Rams and coach Sean McVay every season since then until he signed as a free agent with the Seahawks in March as part of Seattle’s effort to replace the lost production of the departed Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf.

So how has it been getting to know a new team?

“Definitely new, but exciting,” said Kupp, Super Bowl MVP in 2022. “It’s been a long time since I learned a new offense, a long time since I sat in a meeting and had to put a face on the board and, like, ‘What’s this guy’s name?’ That’s a stressful situation. That’s a high-stress situation. It’s good, though. I’m excited about what we’re doing, and it is fun. I love to learn, and so being in this place where we’re all learning together, being able to step in and be a part of this whole offense, stepping into the same place as everybody else and being able to learn it together, it’s a fun place to be.”

Kupp figures to be used similarly to how he was with the Rams, working primarily in the slot, with the Seahawks likely to move Jaxon Smith-Njigba around a bit more.

But the offense of new coordinator Klint Kubiak – which shares more similarities with the scheme of 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan than that of McVay – will also ask him to do a few different things.

“There’s going to be the nuances here and there, things like that, but a lot of similar stuff, a lot of similar ideas in how you’re attacking a defense,” Kupp said. “I believe in this offense and what it takes to make it successful and the detail that’s involved with it. … There’s definitely some stuff that accentuates the things that I’ve done in the past.”

What may be the biggest takeaway of camp when it comes to Kupp is that he has taken part fully in every practice.

Kupp hasn’t played more than 12 games in any season since 2021 and turns 32 on Sunday, the two main reasons some observers around the league have questioned how well he’ll be able to help replace Metcalf and Lockett.

“I feel good,” Kupp said , appearing happy to let his actions speak more loudly than words when it comes to his health.

Kupp likes Darnold’s urgency

Kupp is also getting familiar with how to play with a new QB in Darnold after spending most of his Rams career with just two passers throwing to him – Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford.

Kupp said he has come to appreciate Darnold’s competitiveness and attention to detail.

“He’s kind of been in this offense a little bit, so he’s got a little bit of a leg up on a lot of the guys that are learning for the first time,” Kupp said of Darnold, who was with the 49ers in 2023 when Kubiak was San Francisco’s offensive passing game specialist. “You see there’s an understanding – he knows what it takes to make this offense go. It’s the details. It’s all that stuff, precision, execution. We’re going to get there. We’re, whatever it is, six practices in, seven practices in. We’re going to get there, and (it’s) because of the urgency of guys like Sam who see when it’s not right and can say, ‘Hey, this is how it has to be to make this thing go against this look and how we’re going to be able to attack this defense, this is where I need guys to be.’ Now, I love that. I love when your quarterback is taking that urgency into things and understanding and mastery of these concepts.”

Darold on Tuesday again ran the first-team offense exclusively with Drew Lock running the second-team offense and rookie Jalen Milroe the threes.

The team sessions were full of situational work, such as an extended period of fourth-down plays from near midfield. That helped limit the amount of highlight scoring plays compared to some of the earlier practices during OTAs.

Macdonald said when looking at the offseason as a whole he has seen what he hoped to out of Darnold.

“Sam has a great feel for the offense right now in terms of growing every day,” Macdonald said. “So you can feel the growth. You can feel the improvement, the confidence that we’re doing on that side of the ball and that we’re growing. It’s exciting to work with. He’s a heck of a competitor.”

Asked if he’s seen Darnold be fiery, Macdonald said, “He has some stuff to him.”

Is that a surprise, Macdonald was asked?

“No, we went against him (Seattle played the Vikings last season, a 27-24 Vikings win),” he said. “We felt it.”

Haynes gets center snaps as O-line rotating continues

The Seahawks continued to rotate players with the starting offense on the offensive line on the right side and at center, although left tackle Charles Cross and left guard Grey Zabel continue to work exclusively with the first team.

Tuesday, second-year player Christian Haynes, who is competing with Anthony Bradford for the right guard spot, played one team session at center, where Olu Oluwatimi and Jalen Sundell are battling for the starting spot.

“Christian has shown the ability to snap, so we’ve given him some opportunities to do so,” Macdonald said , the 81st overall pick in 2024.

Emmanwori works on pass-rush skills

Rookie safety Nick Emmanwori, the 35th overall pick, continues to get most of his work with the No. 1 defense in three-safety sets.

Those schemes may also at times put Emmanwori in positions to blitz and he has spent some time working on his pass-rushing in recent practices, as well. On Tuesday, Emmanwori spent one session working on pass-rushing with outside linebackers coach Chris Partridge along with cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who also gets some blitz opportunities.

“That shows up on college tape, his blitz ability,” Macdonald said. “There are some things that we’re working with him technically speaking, you want to teach pass rush and how to win on edges and things like that, but there’s also a playmaking aspect to it as well that you don’t want to take away from him, so we need to balance that out. Hopefully, he’s blitzing a lot.”

Roll call – Everyone present as Walker deals with ankle

Everyone on the roster was present for the practice, though some players who are rehabbing from knee surgeries were again out or limited, such as linebacker Ernest Jones IV, rush end Uchenna Nwosu and receiver Tory Horton. Receiver Dareke Young, who appeared to get injured in a practice last week, also sat out.

Running back Kenneth Walker III also has been limited with what Macdonald said is an ankle injury.

“He’s working through an ankle, but he will be fine,’’ Macdonald said.

Keeping the team healthy, and allowing players as much time to heal before the start of training camp in late July, played into Macdonald’s decision to move minicamp from next week to this week, and also cancel Thursday’s practice.

After Wednesday’s minicamp practice, veteran players will be free to go for the summer while rookies will hold a few more workouts next week.

“Our guys just did such a great job this offseason in phases one through three and felt like it was a good time, good change-up to go knock this week out of the park [and then] rookies get to stick around for a little bit longer,’’ Macdonald said. “It gives them a chance to get a break, get their bodies right, get away, and then come back better than ever for training camp.’’