Seahawks kick off OTAs this week

The Seahawks kick off the first of three sets of OTA practice sessions this morning. These "Organized Team Activities" start today, continue tomorrow, and then finish up on Thursday, with more of these involuntary workouts set to pick up again next week, May 28-29, & May 31, then again June 3-6. The Seahawks' mandatory minicamp runs June 11th through 13th.

PFT put together a handy little primer on OTAs, for those wondering what they are:

OTAs are voluntary workouts. On-field coaching instruction is allowed, but live contact is prohibited. Per the CBA, prohibited contact includes "blocking, tackling, pass rushing [and] bump-and­-run" situations. Players can wear helmets, elbow pads and knee pads, but OTAs are not to be fully padded practices.

Some offense vs. defense team drills are allowed during OTAs; for instance, 11-on-11 drills can be conducted. Some special teams work is also allowed. However, no one-on-one workouts can occur, such as a receiver competing against a cornerback.

During OTAs, players are limited to two hours of on-field practice time and no more than six hours of total work in a given day.

The Players' Union worked very hard to set these strict off-season workload parameters when the new CBA was being written, probably much to the chagrin of the coaching staffs around the league.

The rest of the NFC West is in action this week as well:

Arizona Cardinals (Revenge of the Birds)
OTAs: May 14-16, May 21-23, June 3-6
Mandatory minicamp: June 11-13

St. Louis Rams (Turf Show Times)
OTAs: May 21, May 23-24, June 3-4, June 6-7, June 11, June 13-14
Mandatory minicamp: None

San Francisco 49ers (Niners Nation)
OTAs: May 21-23, May 28-30, June 3-6
Mandatory minicamp: June 11-13