By Gregg Bell
The News Tribune
RENTON — Chris Carson was wondering what all the fuss was about.
When the Seahawks’ 1,151-yard rusher from last season didn’t come out with his teammates for the very start of the first training-camp practice, it appeared Carson was still resting from practice following offseason knee surgery. That’s what he did all spring into summer, in organized team activities and last month’s minicamp.
But then the centerpiece to the NFL’s top rushing offense in 2018 emerged from team headquarters Thursday morning. He was lined up behind Russell Wilson with the starting offense for the first 11-on-11 scrimmage plays of camp.
He took a handoff and sprinted off left tackle Duane Brown. Then he caught a pass in the right flat from Wilson and accelerated down the sideline into a full, effortless sprint to the goal line 45 yards away without a hitch in his stride. It appeared Carson already was way ahead of schedule in his recovery from surgery, one hour into the first practice of training camp.
“Nah,” Carson said of being ahead of recovery schedule. “I mean, I couldn’t have gone in minicamp, you know what I mean?
“My knee has been fine for a while now.”
Carson said he had a minor procedure to “clean out some cartilage, that’s it.”
Carson being full go in his first practice since the days before early January’s playoff loss at Dallas was the most positive injury/recovery news for the Seahawks on day one of camp.
His health is a prime concern. It’s why Seattle drafted running back Rashaad Penny in the first round last year, as insurance and to have a second lead back.
Penny, healthy after a slow start to his rookie season because of a broken finger and surgery in last year’s training camp, got the second carries Thursday.
Carson missed two games last season with hip and groin issues. He missed the last 12 games of his 2017 rookie season because he broke his leg and got ankle damage in his fourth NFL games. Wrist and other issues limited his time in his two years playing at Oklahoma State, before Seattle drafted him in the seventh round in 2017.
He hasn’t played a full season of relatively full health since back in junior college. That’s three levels of football ago for the 24-year-old.
So, yeah, it was a semi-sized deal Carson was fully practicing on day one of training camp.
“It was great to see him,” coach Pete Carroll said. “We have always recognized that Chris is such a well-conditioned guy. He works so hard. He’s in great shape again, and he had a very, very prosperous offseason coming and dealing with his issue.
“It was a minor issue, but he’s ready to go.”
Here’s what else I noticed and heard on day one of camp—a brilliantly sunny, 80-degree day with a live DJ bumpin’ rap and rock music across the practice fields, as usual, and thousands of fans packing the shores of Lake Washington:
Metcalf keeps wowing
Rookie second-round pick DK Metcalf picked up where he left off from spring rookie minicamp, OTAs and last month’s minicamp.
That is, he was wowing everyone.
On one of the first passes Wilson threw in the first 11-on-11 drill, the blazing, hulking wide receiver sprinted from the left side of the field to the right at medium depth. Starting cornerback Tre Flowers was chasing Metcalf, and losing him. By the time Wilson’s rainbow throw reached Metcalf perfectly in stride near the opposite, right-side numbers painted on the field, Metcalf was about 4 steps past Flowers.
Then Metcalf turned left up the sideline and zoomed to the goal line. The crowd roared.
In the next, 7-on-7 passing drill, Wilson saw the 6-foot-4, 229-pound Metcalf using his 4.33-second speed in the 40-yard dash to sprint easily and well past veteran cornerback Jamar Taylor on a simple sideline go route. Wilson’s throw again hit Metcalf in stride, 5 yards past the helpless Taylor for another touchdown.
Pro Bowl veteran linebacker K.J. Wright has already seen enough of Metcalf running free through his defense. By NFL rules, the third practice day of training camp is the first one of the preseason and offseason on which defenders can challenge the ball in the air and general be more physical with receivers in practices.
“Yeah, it definitely pumps us up. And we are going to let him have (Saturday’s practice). And then after that, that’s over with,” Wright said, with a playful grin.
“We’re going to step-kick with him, lock him out. If he comes across the middle we are going to give him a nice, little love tap. And, so, it’s going to stop here soon.”
The Seahawks’ third practice of camp is Monday, after they take Sunday off. The league collective bargaining agreement mandates players’ days off from practicing each week during camp.
—Wilson’s first pass of training camp: Tyler Lockett made a diving catch on the sideline, right in front of the huge crowd. The fans loved that, too.
—Ziggy Ansah practiced on a limited basis without a helmet in position drills with fellow defensive linemen. Seattle’s prized offseason pass-rush signing may take all of training camp before he returns from shoulder surgery that ended his time with the Detroit Lions last year, Carroll said.
The somewhat makeshift starting defense with Ansah out, and Bobby Wagner watching but not participating as he waits for his seemingly imminent contract extension to get done: Cassius Marsh and Quinton Jefferson at ends; Jarran Reed (he can practice in the preseason despite his six-game suspension by the NFL) and Poona Ford at tackles; Wright at weakside linebacker, Mychal Kendricks at strongside linebacker and Austin Calitro alternating with rookie third-round pick Cody Barton at Wagners middle-linebacker spot; Flowers and Shaquill Griffin the cornerbacks; Bradley McDougald at strong safety and Tedric Thompson at free safety.
Um, who can consistently pressure quarterbacks in that group?
—The McDougald-Thompson pairing at safety figures to change in the next few days. Carroll said rookie second-round pick Marquise Blair passed his physical to show the strong safety is back from a hamstring strain from last month. Blair is on the physically-unable-to-perform list until he practices, which Carroll said could happen within days. And Lano Hill, also on PUP to begin camp, may return in a week or 10 days, the coach said.
Hill, the team’s third-round pick in 2017, was the strong safety with McDougald at free late last season until Hill cracked his hip and went on injured reserve.
—The starting offensive line was what it was all offseason OTAs and minicamp: Duane Brown at left tackle, Mike Iupati at left guard, Justin Britt at center, D.J. Fluker at right guard and Germain Ifedi at right tackle.
—The quarterbacks, in order, behind Wilson: former Jets and Giants starter Geno Smith number two and ex-Denver first-round pick Paxton Lynch number three. To me, Smith looks the part of the experienced backup Seattle wants for Wilson, a guy who could come in give the team a chance to win on short notice, if necessary.
That has yet to be necessary in Wilson’s career. He has yet to miss a practice let alone a game through seven NFL seasons with the Seahawks.
Smith is showing leadership, command in huddles and at the line of scrimmage and a more accurate throwing arm than Lynch through offseason OTAs and minicamp and the first drills of training camp.
—New kicker Jason Myers made three of four field goals during the special-teams interlude in the middle of scrimmaging. Tyler Ott snapped and All-Pro punter Michael Dickson again held. Myers, last year’s Pro Bowl kicker with the Jets, was good from 33, 38, and 48 yards. He missed wide from 43.
Seattle signed him in March to a four-year contract with a $7 million guaranteed and a $4 million signing bonus.
—While receivers such as Metcalf were blowing past defensive backs, cornerback Simeon Thomas stood out. And not just because he’s 6-3, one of Carroll’s latest projects of turning a long former safety into a long cornerback. Thomas, claimed last summer off waivers from Cleveland, raced evenly with Lockett down the sideline during an 11-on-11 scrimmage. When Wilsons pass arrived, Thomas was there and the ball went off him incomplete before it got to Lockett.
—Almost as a diversion, the Seahawks were throwing multiple times to offensive tackle George Fant. Wilsons first throw to last season’s extra tight end for running situations was a quick out. Wilson threw it outside, as if a normal receiver was running. Fant couldn’t get to it as it went off his hands. A few minutes later, Wilson threw another off-timed throw to Fant. It was behind the 6-5, 322-pound former college basketball power forward’s big hands and fell incomplete.
—There were other examples of Thursday not being Wilson’s most accurate practice. He was brilliantly on target throughout OTAs and minicamp.
—With the Seahawks drafting three wide receivers this spring (Metcalf, Gary Jennings and John Ursua), their most in more than three decades, competition is already fierce for roster spots there. One way to not make the cut is stopping on a route as Wilson does one of characteristic scrambles to extend a play. Malik Turner did that Thursday. Last year’s undrafted rookie who worked his way into six games with two catches last season, stopped running a go route as Wilson took off to his right away from pressure. Wilson threw left back across the field to Turner, but the ball sailed more than 5 yards past the stopped receiver onto the turf. Wilson and Turner talked about that on the way back to the huddle.
—And Wilson can actually overthrow the zooming Metcalf. He did it by about 3 yards on yet another go route near the end of practice. Metcalf accelerated even more and flailed his arms toward the ball as it skidded into the end zone. The rookie looked surprised.
Yes, Carroll’s stated goal of being bigger and faster at wide receiver to take more advantage of Wilson’s accurate deep throwing showed up on day one of camp.
